meeting for June 17, 2025. May I have a roll call, please? County Commissioners Bartlett here, Cruz here, D'Vor here, Duffy here, James, Deputy Director Lazar here, director Leapour here. Announcement for the open public meeting
law. Okay, go. Here it is. Ladies and gentlemen, the notice requirement of open public meetings law has been satisfied with respect to this meeting specifying the time, date, and location, including the annual notice
and adopted a reorganization meeting filed with the county clerk post in administration building and mailed to two newspapers in accordance with the provisions of the law. Please stand for the pledge of allegiance. Please join me in the flag
to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Okay. Oh God, who provides for thy uh 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 they may they pe that thy people may dwell in peace and safety through our Lord. Amen. Amen. Please remain standing for a
moment of silence to remember all the men and women who have died while serving in the United States Armed Forces and also to remember Speaker Emmerida Melissa Hartman and her husband Mike who were taken from us in Minnesota. Thank you.
Approval of the minutes for May 27, 2025. I need a motion. I'll make that motion. Second. Made by Orlando. Second by Terry Duffy. Roll call. County County Commissioners Bartlett.
Yes. Cruz. Yes. D'vor. Yes. Duffy. Yes. James. Deputy Director Lazera. Yes. Director Leapour. Yes. Need a motion to approve the proclamations. Second. Second. Motion made by Bartlett. Second by James. Roll call.
James. Uh, county commissioners Bartlett. Yes. Cruz. Yes. D'vor. Yes. Duffy. Yes. James. Yes. Deputy director Lazar. Yes. Director Leapour. Yes. Administrator's report. Thank you, director. Good evening, everyone. Uh, first on my
report is we have one more honore from last month's Asian-American Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander Heritage Month celebration. I'm going to turn that over to Commissioner Barley. All right. Good evening. One month is good, two is better. We had the privilege uh on May 27th of celebration
celebrating what is now known as Asian-American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. Um, API for short. Uh, it's our opportunity to recognize folks that have done inconsequential things not just for
themselves, but for their communities, uh, and in particular for their legacies. We're reaching a point particularly with the Indian-American community that I know so well that that first generation has now begat not just a second generation but a third and the
community is growing both uh you know through the birth of children like my son and through the continuing arrival of new immigrants. Um, and I'm not going to make the rest of my AsianPacific American Heritage Month speech, but
because our honore today is from Gujarat, I do want to take a moment to acknowledge the plane crash that took place in Amdabad a couple of days ago and the tragic loss of life there. The plane crashed into the dormatory at the BJ Medical College, which is my
father-in-law's alma mater. For those of you who know my father-in-law, Dr. Yorgis Jooshi and the thought of uh those young med students losing their lives in that way. Not to mention of course all the folks on the flight was uh particularly tragic. But we're here
for happier reasons. All of you know Mukeshbai. I know that because you're literally all here for Mukeshb. Um for those of you who don't know, I'm going to call him Meshbay because that's what you do when you honor and respect somebody. So I'm going to read this into
the record and then I'm going to give Mukesh's particularly close friend Bruce a chance to say a few words as well before we hear from Mukesh B. Whereas the month of May has been designated as Asian-American Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month in recognition of the outstanding
achievements and contributions made by immigrants from Asia and the Pacific Islands, Native Hawaiians and their descendants. and the board of county commissioners of the county of Pekk deems it fitting and appropriate at this time to honor and recognize Mukesh Panda and whereas Mukesh Pandya was born in
1953 in the farming village of Mangro Gujarat India and in 1976 earned a bachelor's degree in statistics from Sardar Patel University and a master's degree in public administration from South Gujarat University and whereas
Mukesh Pandya met his beloved wife Sadna in and in 1984 they met made the courageous leap to immigrate to the United States with their young daughter settling in Pay New Jersey and soon welcoming a son and whereas Mukesh Pandia started working humbly earning
$3.50 50 cents an hour in a book warehouse. But soon thereafter, his determination led him to pass the New Jersey Civil Service Exam and begin a distinguished 35-year career with the Pail County Board of Social Services, where he served from 1985 until his
retirement in 2020. And by the way, I know there's a bunch of social services folks here. You all know that that began that day community at the board of social services with you and those very first folks and it's grown something
really really wonderful there. Whereas for more than four decades, Mukesh Pandya has been a vital bridge between his community and American institutions, helping families navigate immigration, employment, and social services. And through his work with the Democratic Party has organized voter
registration drives and civic education programs to ensure Pay County South Asian community has a voice in local politics. And whereas Mukesh Pandia's efforts have put the South Asian community on the map in Pay County. And even in his retirement, he remains active in the
Indian Senior Citizens Association of Clifton Payek, continuing to provide vital resources, cultural programming, and community events that enrich the lives of families throughout the region. And whereas Mukesh and Sadna Pandia are now the proud parents of two
accomplished adult children and loving grandparents to two beautiful grandchildren. Now therefore be it proclaimed by the P County Board of County Commissioners that it hereby publicly recognizes and applauds Mukesh Panda for the significant contributions
he has made and the exemplary service and leadership he has unselfishly devoted to the county of Payic and to the community. And be it further proclaimed this board of county commissioners wishes Mukesh and Sadna Pandia and their family continued health, happiness and success. Thank
you. [Applause] Yeah, I asked him if he wanted to say a few words. No, I do. He'll do it later on. We'll go out for a drink and then maybe he'll want to do it. So, anyway,
I'm kidding. Uh maybe I'm not kidding. Um so, I remember your retirement. First of all, there was never a more beautiful setting than you had where you picked to do this. Indians have been at the forefront of good service at the border
social service. And I mean good service. Nobody waits for their food stamps. Nobody waits for their uh uh ID cards. Nobody waits for a check. They get what they need to get when they need to get it. So whether it's Medicaid, if it's Medicaid, they are in line to get it
first because these guys work their butts off to make sure that all happens. And for a lot of things, for food stamps, if you have a kid that's not eating, the food stamps become all critical. If you have a child who needs medical attention,
that Medicaid is all important. You know, we have a president who's ending some programs if you have cancer because I guess he figures it magically goes away on its own. So, this community is responsible for so many people making it
through life the way they should make it through life because they cared about all of you who needed help. And he was in there with all these other folks to make sure you got the help that you needed. And it's still to this day, nobody's done it better than you. Now
you can say a few words. [Applause] Hello. Hi. Good evening everyone. Thank you all for coming tonight to share in this moment with me.
I'm deeply honored and humbled to stand before you tonight to accept this award during AsianPacific American Heritage Month. This acknowledgement means so much to me not just personally but for what it
represent for the AsianPacific American communities in PK County. First and foremost, I want to extend my heartfelt thanks to PK County Board of Commissioner for this incredible honor to me.
Your continue effort to celebrate and uplift the diverse voices that make up our community are truly commendable. A special and sincere thanks to Chairman John Curry and Commissioner Bruce James, Chairman Curry. You have always
considered and included others. Bruce, your friendship, your leadership, and your constant advocacy for inclusion have made a real and lasting difference. You have always
gone beyond the words, ensuring that our community is seen, heard, and valued. I must also remember my friend and colleague, former Clipton City Council woman Laura Murphy. I also want to thank Commissioner John
Ballet. John, your unwavering commitment to Asian-American community set to a powerful example. Thank you for your support of the Indian-American community. Also, special thanks you, your wonderful
wife Katy who has been a great friend and advocate of community as well as we appreciate your leadership for the next generation together. I want to thank all my colleague at P County Board of Social Services where I
worked for 35 years with some amazing people like Suku Desai, Yogesa, Liten Sukla, Arun Bad Desai, Rasendra Patel, Aay Taylor these are the people work hard in early 2020 that's the time we
work hard and I think for that work I can say that we are able to put our community in P county app also our new new team member Mr. and Ka I thank you. He just started with us.
We work together. We look after and one another and I miss everyone. I arrived here in 1984 and raised my family in Clipton, New Jersey. While we have moved to Los Angeles in retirement to be
closer to our grandchildren, I just can't leave the Clipton and P County. I continue to spend six plus more months here but do not look for me in the winter time. Thanks for my dear friends like Ailoas
Vinoda Panka Bana Raj Rana and Mesh Desai for supporting me all the time. Immigration is a difficult experience and I have been able to do everything because I have had I have had the support of those around
me. There are many friends like there are many like me who faced the hardship broke the barriers and paved the way. I want to thank my wife Sadna Pandya and my two kids for all their support and
love. Sadna has never stopped me from doing anything that I felt was important for our family and for the community and helped do everything we have wanted to achieve. This award motivate me further to work for the continued well-being for
of our community. Thank you once again for this meaningful honor. Thank you and thank you for all coming tonight and share this moment with us. Thank you everybody. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Well, let's we're going to get
together and take a picture. Sen, you should come up too. And I just want to say as we gather for the photo, I want to acknowledge our Pay County surrogate Zoa Kasanova who's here with us tonight and provided a proclamation as well uh for you Mukeshpay as well as our Pay
County clerk Danielle Ireland Immhof and two members of our congressional delegation Nelly Poe and Mikey Cheryl each of whom provided congressional certificates as part of your recognition. So let's gather around. Yeah. Yeah. Family.
All right. One more. Um, she's going to start and then uh before I go to my next item, I just want to recognize some uh other dignitaries in the room. We have with us
uh Halden Councilwoman Alexander Tacic. Um Hailen also P County uh technical institute commissioner. Uh so welcome uh Coun Hen Council President Carlos AAC. Carlos and um Manchester Board of Education
Commissioner Liliana Bayz Molina. Welcome. All right. Um, next we have two proclamations honoring the P County Teacher of the Year and the New Jersey School Board Association Board Member of the Year. I'm going to turn that over to our our resident education commissioner,
Commissioner Vazara. [Applause] You're the deputy education commissioner. Okay, welcome everyone. This is a great night. Um, we get to honor two people
who put education first in the lives of our children. And we have our teacher of the year for Pay County, Bernardet Orca from Manchester High School. And we have our school board
uh person of the year, but not just for Pay County, but for the entire state, and that's Charles Carabalo. You know, it takes both both sides of education to come together to make sure our children get the education they
deserve. And New Jersey is number one in the county. I not the county, the country for education number one. This is a great state to educate kids in the entire country. Amazing. But they, you know what? They both in their own
ways make significant contributions to education, public education. Now, I know both of these people pretty well, and I want to just say just a couple of little things about them because beside their commitment to
children, their active engagement in their school districts, uh, taking the best interests of kids into consideration, no matter what they do, we depend on our school board members and we depend so much on our teachers,
our educators, our administrations in the school. I mean, they just make the education in New Jersey what it is today. And I just want to talk about one program for each of them that I've been to both. And the first one is going to
be Charles for the last I don't know, Charles, three years maybe. Um, I've been attending a program called Unsung Heroes. Unsung heroes recognizes high school students,
those that are graduating mostly, and they recognize these children, these children, teenagers, for their contributions to the to their communities and to their schools. Now, what makes them especially like
outstanding is that they're not they may not be the kids that are your star athletes nor your star uh academic kids who get, you know, all the great awards. These are kids, your downto-earth kids
who might not even be recognized until a program like this came along where they are recognized for what they do to enhance the lives of the people in their schools and communities. And I think that's an awesome program. So Charles, thank you for bringing that to New
Jersey. I mean, that's a great program. [Music] [Applause] Now, a program that Bernardet started at Manchester High School, I believe you did start it, and I've been to that, too, is a multicultural
event. And she, Bernadette brings the high school kids together, and what they do is they show off their culture, they show off their ethnicity, they bring dance, they have music, they have food,
they have the arts. By the way, the food is amazing. And they dress in the clothing of their cultural background. So that they bring together all these kids from different ethnic backgrounds who just kind of melt together. It I
don't know how you do it. It's such a huge program and I commend you. It anybody who's been there and anybody who can stop in there, please do because you will not be disappointed. So today we have the honor of presenting
both of you with proclamations saying hey thanks for everything you do. And the first one is going to be for Bernardet Orsa. I would like to call up our county commissioner Rodney D'vor who Bernardet since the other day has been
waiting for this. Right, brother. Yeah. Miss Bernardet, could you please come up? [Applause] Okay. So, that's so pretty.
As a fellow educator, when I first met her, it was instant energy, instant positivity. It was she's awesome and we've learned to always speak before Bernardet because anyone speaking after
Bernardet is a challenge because she's awesome. I believe you're certified or you teach Spanish. Correct. That is correct. But in knowing Bernardet, I believe she can teach anything. That's the kind of personality she has. She
teaches life. uh she teaches in inclusivity. Her energy is ridiculous. She throws gyms and everything she talks about. People learn every time she walks in the room. So, it's it's a privilege and an
honor to know you and to give you just a thank you for what you do because I know you do it effortlessly and you are very impactful. So, thank you. Now the the the challenge as you know we know and when you get older is to try to
read this. Now here's here's a problem with with people we we give proclamations when they do a lot the font is smaller. Do you want me to hold so we like to actually do proclamation people don't do anything because the font is larger we can read it. Uh the board of county commissioners of P
County, New Jersey. Whereas the board of county commissioners of the of the county of Pake has a desire to recognize Bernardet Orsa for being named the 2024 2025 P County Teacher of the Year. And whereas Bernardet Orsa graduated from
William Patterson University Pioneer Suma Cumlada with a bachelor's degree in Spanish. And whereas Bernardet Orida has been a Spanish teacher at Manchester Regional High School since 2008 and has taught Spanish 1, Spanish 2, Spanish 3,
Native Spanish, and Heritage and Culture. And whereas Bernardet Orsa has spearheaded many wonderful programs such as the Make a Difference Club, Camp Manchester Regional High School, Camp Students overcoming substance abuse or
SOSA, the high school fashion show which promotes in inclusivity of all people with all abilities, the Hispanic fair and the multicultural fair. And whereas Bernardet Orcsa plans the multicultural fair every year to
include dance and music performances, deep and meaningful educational drive into the cultures of dozen of nations around the globe and an incredible smorgish board of international culinary delights. And whereas Bernardet OA was nominated by her fellow educators at
Manchester Regional High School in Helden, becoming the first teacher from the district to ever win this annual award. Let's give a round of applause for that. Now, therefore, be a proclaimed by the P County Board of County Commissioners
that is hereby publicly recognized and applauds Bernardet Ocea for the significant contribution she has made to the county of Pay and to the community. And be it further proclaimed that the board wishes Bernardet Osha health, happiness, and continued success. God
bless you. [Applause] So now I have to talk after you. Well, um this is truly an honor. I uh I only wish honestly that I knew what an
honor this was when I was first, you know, dawned with the uh Whoops. You're the county teacher of the year because I really treated it like, you know, I was a little like shy about it like me county teacher of the year. How is that even possible? like what am I doing? Who
said I should be county teacher of the year? So I I kind of hid it under a bushel, right? Like I hid the light. And now, you know, as the months went on and the recognition started and the speeches, I'm like, "Wow, had I known then what I know now, I would have treated it differently." Like, I would
have treated it with so much more respect because it truly is so much more than I ever had any idea. But I have to say that I stand before you today as county teacher of the year. Not because of who I am, not because of any of these great things that you heard about, which
they are great, I have to say, but because first, my God gave me the vision, right? He gave me the ability, the wisdom, and the vision to touch these children in ways that I wanted to be touched and treated as when I was a child. Um, having gone, yes, to William
Patterson, but I started at Eastside High School. um as a high school student and then my college career started 20 something years later uh because I didn't graduate high school because I was one of those students that you know
I was too cool for school. So my time at uh you know P County Community College changed me. That's where I learned that I was smart. That's where I learned that I had a brain and that I could learn. And so I will always remember P County Community College my starting place. and
then William Patterson, my ending place, which then sent me here to Manchester High School. Um, I never knew that I would be here this long. I thought I'd teach about five or 10 years and get out. But I fell in love with my students, fell in love with teaching,
and I don't really see what I do as anything this grandiose deserving of all of these accolades because I do honestly what I do for my kids. So, thank you so much for honoring me, for just doing what I'm paid to do. I appreciate it so
much. I thank you. I thank you those of you who came out tonight to be here to honor me and to take pictures. Did anybody get a picture? Cuz he's taking a video. Just wondering. Okay. Just making sure. And did you say
turn around? Thank you, John. All right, we got that in. But thank you. Seriously. And um you know we have so many amazing educators in P County. Amazing educators. So to be crowned you know the P County teacher of the year is
unbelievable, overwhelming. Um but I have been enjoying the ride I have to say. So thank you again for everything. before we take pictures. Yes, I promise Carol Cordado she sends her love and best. Unfortunately, she had to be with
Congresswoman Pro her again AC. But she sends her best. So, God bless you. Congratulations. Thank you so much. All right. What do we do? Commissioners, I'm going to hold that. Okay. I'm going to hold this. I'm going to move this to
the side. I'm going to get in front of it. To the back. Do you think you can take the little sticky off? Of course. Well, we want to make sure we get lost. Now we know. Congratulations. [Applause] So, our next educational
Honore tonight, Charles Carabalo beat out school board members from across the entire state of New Jersey to be was voted the number one school board person of the year.
His He's got a quiet demeanor, but he moves mountains. So, and I'd like to ask Commissioner Orlando Cruz to please come down to give him his uh proclamation. And Charles, come on up.
Let's give it up for Charles, everybody. So, I just, you know, my wife uh serving on the school board three terms, I understand fully how being a school board member can be the most selfless uh job in politics uh or as an elected
official. you you you are so instrumental in the development of so many young people uh thousands and thousands of students, hundreds and hundreds of teachers and uh you know taking care of so much uh infrastructure in those school buildings uh and you don't get
paid for it, right? And and you're always the first or um receiving the most critical uh or critiques, I should say, uh for what's happening in those buildings. And so people don't really understand uh what it takes to be there. And despite that, we had two individuals
today uh that we honored, one being an actual uh teacher and then one being a school board member that 22 miles apart approximately between Helden and Bloomingdale. And these two individuals are doing the same work uh impacting the lives of so many young people. That's so crucial uh this day and age. And it may
be I'm no historian, but this may be the first time in P County that we have a teacher of the year and a schoolboard member of the year. So I think that in itself is a reward for all of you guys. So give yourselves another round of applause. We are uh beyond proud uh of those
accolades. So it is my honor to read this proclamation into the record uh cementing uh your your accolade as schoolboard member of the year in the in the halls of P County uh forever. So whereas the board of county commissioners of the county of Pake has the desire to recognize Charles Karavayo
for being named the 2024 2025 New York uh New Jersey school board association board member of the year. Whereas Charles has been a member of the Bloomingdale Board of Education for 12 years and has served as its president, chaired numerous committees and represented Bloomingdale on the B butler
Board of Education who is uh who is receiving is one of the receiving districts for the Bloomingdale High School students. Whereas Charles has served as president and vice president of the Pake County School Board Association from 2017 to 21, helping expand his Unsung Heroes program, which
recognizes students from county high schools that make outstanding contributions to their schools and communities. And whereas Charles has also served as a member of the New Jersey School Board Association legislative committee from 2017 to 2023 and has served several years as a small
group leader at the New Jersey School Board Association's new board member orientation weekend. Whereas Charles was Bloomingdale's delegate to the P County School Board Association for many years and currently serves as Bloomingdale's alternate delegate to the Morris County
School Board Association. He also serves as chair of the negotiations committee and is board liaison to the township seniors mayor and council. Whereas Charles has been a strong supporter of Bloomingdale's initiatives such as the senior student bridge program which
pairs middle school students and local senior citizens with the purpose of building bonds. And now therefore, let it be proclaimed by the P County Board of County Commissioners that it hereby publicly recognizes and applauds Charles Karabayo for the significant contributions he has made to the county
of Pake and to the community. And let it be further proclaimed that this board wishes Charles health, happiness, and continued success. Congratulations. [Applause] Thank you very much. Just want to say a
few words of thanks. I You see, I need a little bit of help. I can't do it on the flag for a debt. Uh I follow her a couple times, so hopefully I'm well prepared. Uh good day. I want to take a moment to express my deep gratitude to those who made
today possible. My family whose unwavering support has carried me through every chapter of my life. The educators who believed in me even when I struggled to believe in myself and the commissioners whose service touches lives in ways we may never see but
always feel. I take a few minutes to quickly share why this moment means so much to me. When Luke called me to attend this event at 41 Grand Street instead of another location, it brought everything full circle. You see, I le I literally
started next door at Memorial Day Nursery. I attended a nursery from the age of four until I was 10. A relationship I formed with a director and associate director stay with me into adulthood. This is my neighborhood, my roots. I
grew up on Main Street, Jersey Street, and on Jackson Street, just two blocks away. I went to PS3 and PS2. And when my family moved again, if I were like the Jeffersons, we're moving on up, but only instead of the east
side, we met to People's Park. As an eighth grader, like many students, I faced important decision. Which high school to attend? I chose Pay County Tech Vocational High School because at the time, I didn't believe college was
in the cards for me. That is until the end of sophomore year. My gu counselor stepped in. His name was George and he changed the direction of my life. He encouraged me to believe that college
was possible. He helped me to build a resume, prepare applications, and most importantly convinced me to tell my family that I could do this. And I did. I went on to earn my bachelor's and eventual master's degree.
George How your associate dedicated 39 years to helping students like me. And today the same school has two of the four valvictorians and Salvatorans attending Harvard. That's the legacy
public education which is carried on by Sandy and Rodney and others. That's the power of believing in someone before they believe in themselves. When I ran for school board, it was in the hopes of making things better.
And I quickly learned want to help is only the beginning. I had so much to learn about educational governance, which is why I continued my training by attending seminars and classes so I can grow into the role and truly serve my community.
Today I continue to be inspired by the commitment of educators like Sandar, Bernardet Orsa, Dr. Naria. Their examples remind me of why education matters. So to the commissioners here today,
please keep going. Please keep pushing forward. Whether you're educating young minds, helping seniors, or delivering life-saving safety net programs, your work matters. has a ripple effect that stretches far beyond what any of us can
measure. Finally, I want to share one last moment that brought all of this home for me. On January 8th of this year, I attended the swearing in ceremony for our county sheriff and commissioners. Watching our governor administer the oath to the
sheriff and witness the oaths for the commissioners in that beautiful auditorium was powerful. It was also deeply personal. You see, that was supposed to be my graduation venue in 1970, but due to unfortunate delays, we missed it and was uh being able to use
it just by one year. Standing here now surrounded by people who have shaped my journey and continue to shape our community continue to inspire me. Thank you for allowing me to share my story and thank you for all
continuing to educate, serve, and to lead and to believe in the people of Pay County. Take a picture. So, is it Caravo or is it Caribella? I think it's Congratulations. Thank you. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That's a law.
Come in front of the podium. Come in front of the podium. [Music] [Applause] No, I'm kidding. Yeah, I should have. I made them. Actually, I have a few at home left.
I should have brought um Alex and Carlos up. All right, commissioners. Next on my agenda is we have a uh quarterly state county board of health meeting. I'm going to call up our health officer, Ariselli Pintel. She's been doing a great job uh filling the shoes of of Dr.
Gunhill. Big shoes to fill. Um and I'm happy to report I I spoke with the Bloomingdale business administrator uh this afternoon. Uh Bloomingdale was one of the towns that we took on under a shared service agreement. Things have been going great. We now service uh seven communities in P County as as the
uh the health office. and I think our health department continues to be a a beacon of hope in a lot of misinformation around public health. So with that, I'll turn it over to you, RSL. Thank you. So, good evening, commissioners, administrator, and county clerk. So, for today, we're going to be
going over the highlights for 2024 in our department. As you know, we have six different divisions in Pose County Department of Health Services. So, we'll start out with mosquito control. Um so as you know mosquito control they protect us from mosquitoes they do
surveillance um because they are the deadliest animals around in the world uh because of the diseases that they carry. So for 2024 51 West Nile virus uh mosquito pools were detected in Pay County. There was one human case of
Westnile virus uh for a person who was doing a blood donation and we had 12 human cases of deni which were all travel related. Also mosquito control they provide different services to people who make phone calls. It could be complaints or
other nuisances that they're dealing with. So they responded to 213 uh different calls. They inspected and provided treatments to a total of 15,255. They tested overall 285 mosquito pools
and that's where they identified the 51 in the county. And they also provide fish stockcking to the different rivers ponds around the county. So that was a total of 22,237. And if that's not enough, they also provide public education programs to
schools or agencies or anyone just looking for more information. In our division of environmental health, our SEIA group, they completed a total of 679 inspections and complaints um for right
to know. They basically get a list from NJD of businesses that maybe haven't fully reported their chemicals in their businesses. So they make sure and they confirm that that takes place. Um they train county employees regarding
chemical hazards in the workplace and also distributed 115 free radon test kits to county homeowners. Our office of consumer protection which houses our registered environmental health specialists. They concentrate in
the towns that we have shared services agreements with and they provided a total of 483 establishment inspections, 18 reassec reinspections, 30 recreational bathing inspections, 574
septic inspections, plan reviews at 162 and permits at 81. And of course any nuisances or complaints that they receive, they respond to that. So they did a total of 149 our office of solid waste and recycling.
They provide also educational programs to schools, camps and recreation facilities. So they provided a total of 143 programs that reach a total of 2,457 students.
Also they provide um they provided 31 recycling collection programs throughout the county. Here you can see some of the images. So they did their bike collection, their clothing and textile collection and also the paper shredding events.
For emergency preparedness, we have volunteers. Actually in P County, we have over 250 medical reserve corpse that are willing to help us and provide us with their time anytime we have a clinic, a program or just an event that's occurring in the health
department. So for them they provided us with 209.98 hours of volunteer time. Um so that for us total to an economic value of 8,100 of due to their services.
Communicable disease and nursing. This is our division where we have our nurses. They provide different clinics throughout the towns. So they have their wellchild clinics. They have their children vaccines and adult vaccine clinics. and we're located throughout the county which um our main clinics
take place in Totoa, Wanuku and West Milford. Also, we provide free eye vision screenings. Uh so for 2024, we provided 308 vision screenings and also managed 17 communicable disease outbreaks that occurred within the towns
of Prospect Park, Wanuku, and West Milford for health promotion. Overall, this is for chronic diseases, cancer, and other items that you don't see on this list up here, but they provided 516 different programs and reach over 3,500
participants. Um, special events, we had our women's health extravaganza where we reached 60 women um for 2024. men's health extravaganza, we reach 101 men and they were provided with free um clinical breast exams and also prostate
cancer screenings with their PSA blood work. In our last division, we have weights and measures. So weights and measures, they literally weigh and measure everything that deals with consumer products, anything that we're purchasing. They really look out for um
the consumers in Pay County, making sure that we're getting sold and priced at the correct amounts. Um so they did a total of 1,68 businesses inspections and they inspected, as you can see, 11,000 plus
devices, um 154 price verifications, and 147 commodity audits throughout the county. And that's all I have. Any questions? [Applause] Thank you, Commissioner. Thanks. I I
would just I before you go, note two other things. Um I I I we heard a lot about uh federal health cuts um over the course of the earlier in the year by the Trump administration. I'm happy to report that uh after some litigation by the uh New
Jersey Attorney General and some other attorney generals um that was rescended um that those grant agreements will play out. One that expires in June um one that expires next year. So so that is good news on on the the public health front that while we don't think the funding will be renewed, we at least
kept it through the end of June and next year. And the other thing I want to update the board on is as you know we've uh been building a satellite office uh in West Mford that's going to have the health department, human services department and and a senior services site. Um construction is going well. We're hoping to open that early next
year. So good progress on the public health front. Thank you. Thank you everyone. All right, moving along. Next we have uh Dr. Arty Kakar, our human services director. Um June is uh hunger awareness month and uh Dr. Kakar and her
department have been at the forefront of a lot of cutting edge programs uh that she's going to brief us on. So Dr. Good evening everyone. Uh so June is the hunger awareness month. Uh last year this month we had launched our emergency
food provider coalition. So we wanted to give an update on that and where we are as a county in terms of our commitment to address the basic human need of food security. So uh we just wanted to present where we are as a department and the county.
So in 2024 we had done a needs assessment uh with William Patterson and these are some of the highlights uh highlighted recommendations that um were suggested uh to provide trauma-informed uh approach and services uh lived
experience expertise wraparound services and cross uh sector collaborations food rescue policies and choice pantries and as a department what we have done is addressed these um by providing training
to about 300 uh community based off uh organizations staff for last year and for this year so far we have done 115 staff. Um for the lived experience expertise um the committee was being formed within the EFPC which Mr. Owens will talk about in a little bit. uh for
the wraparound services and cross- sector collaborations we have the impact project where we take input from all our partners and we have been working with the pantries in providing uh warm handoffs so the clients are connected with the services and to address the
lack of services in up county we have been able to provide our mobile pantry that is the county's mobile pantry through kumac and we they are up there providing services um to the residents food rescue services were actually not
there in the county before. So last year we put an RFP out that was awarded to tabletotable and these are the level of services in just last since they were awarded and you can see that there's a huge need and this helps our pantries up county to serve the residents in regards
to the policies and the choice pantries which we have been working on. uh we are working with the state office of food security with Bach and we will hopefully have a straight plan uh in September that he will be presenting. So we are a big part of that.
Uh in terms of funding and services we have divided the service type in three uh categories soap kitchens, pantries and food rescue and these are the level of services for 2024 and the funding associated with that. Um, as you can see, food rescue was a big piece that
was missing in the county. So, we've been able to provide these numbers and our soup kitchens, which is Salvation Army, EVAS, and Oasis pantries with Kumac and New Hope and tabletotable. We've been able to meet the needs of the residents in the community. Lastly, the
mobile pantry that um we um did the ribbon cutting in September and we actually awarded it in December. Um you can see the needs. The pantry not just provides food, it also provides wraparound services because food security is not just about giving food,
it's about giving services so residents become self-sufficient. So this is where we are with the service numbers. We are currently in 11 municipalities and we are working with the rest of the five to be able to get in there. So with that, I wanted to also say that
when we established our emergency food um food policy um food council, we were able to actually put an RFP out for um neutral party which is a consultant uh Mr. Owens. He has extensive experience
in food security from New York City. He's been working with the food bank and also has worked on campaigns against hunger. So we are happy to have him and he'll talk a little bit about the food security. Thank you. Good evening everybody. All right. So um we'll start by speaking
about the strategic plan. Um the strategic plan's goal is to help address food security within Pose County. The first component of that is the emergency food provider coalition um which aims to bring together grassroots food security
organizations and their partners to help address food security in Paya County. The EFPC focuses on collaboration and a traumainformed approach to serving the community. for membership. Um, so far we have uh
faith-based organizations, emergency food providers, health censored nonprofits, government, and also community members. Um, we have 20 active members and we've held six meetings since December and have also seen the formation of the lived experience group
which works to inform the main EFPC from the community member perspective. The EFPC um works in collaboration and they focus on mutual support, funding, food and volunteers also sharing best
practices um for distribution. They work with food sourcing and client management. There's also supportive services including SNAP, navigation, housing and immigration. And there is funding in terms of grants and also
fundraising. Um in order to address operations, um the strategic plan will focus on volunteer management, capital, equipment, technology, services, resources, and for food sourcing and
logistics um will also be addressed. For short-term recommendations, the strategic plan um recommends providing food providers with training and technical assistance to help strengthen and sustain their programs. Um
continuing to facilitate meetings and cultivate engagement for the Payic County EFPC and share the Payic County Emergency Food Provider Best Practices Guide. For long-term goals, we have obtaining
funding to support Payic County emergency food providers with grants for food and also operational cost. Um the roll out of the uh emergency Payic County emergency food resource map um and help facilitate the relationship
between local farms and emergency food providers. Um for the best practices guide, it will cover food safety, distribution, volunteer management, collaboration, and
resource management best practices. Um the healthy food access map is an exciting tool that will um help residents find and access healthy food in their neighborhood. Um, it will also provide up-to-date information for
contacts, locations, days and hours and closures. For next steps, um, we will be sharing the strategic plan via the county website, the impact basic website, the find help resource link, and also via
email distribution. And thank you so much for your time. Any questions? Thank you, Dy. Thank you. [Applause] Uh, director, just two other items I want to note. Today, uh, we sold 2.87
million in uh, chap chapter 12 college bonds. Uh, three biders. The lowest bidder was Roosevelt and Cross with a net interest cost of 3.29%. uh speaks to the county's continued uh financial strength and stability. I'd be remiss if I didn't recognize our our
chief financial officer. I've said it before, I'll say it again, the best CFO in the state of New Jersey. So, great job, Rich. And uh the other thing I would I I just want to uh point out uh on your agenda tonight is uh two items. Uh first, the the reappoint of our purchasing agent,
Sherry Arbanitakis, and uh of our clerk to the board. both are doing a Sherry has been doing a fantastic job, you know, proactive with departments, uh, making sure that, you know, we're complying with the local public contracts law, solutionoriented,
and Lou, who, um, I think often goes unrecognized for everything he does for this board, for this county. Um, he he's in the middle of everything. Um, and, you know, kudos to you, Lou. my my mom watches the meetings and she always
asks me who's that guy next to you always running around and that's Lou. Um so so thank you and I'm wholeheartedly recommending both of those reappointments. So that's all I have today. Thank you. [Applause] Okay. I take a motion to suspend the
regular order of business. I'll make that motion. Second made by Orlando, second by Rodney. Good to go. County County Commissioners Bartlett. Yes. Cruz, yes. D'vor, yes. Duffy, yes. James, Deputy Director Lazera, yes.
Director Laapour, yes. Capital ordinance 2025-05. Capital Ordinance of the County of Bake, New Jersey, authorizing the resurfacing of various county roads in the amount of 3,500,000 and and appropriating
2,884,426.13 from the general capital fund reserve for capital acquisitions and $615,573.87 87 cents from the capital improvement fund of the county. Motion to open the public hearing from capital ordinance 2025-05.
I'll move it. Lazarus, second by Rodney. Roll call. County commissioners Bartlett. Yes. Cruz. Yes. D'vor. Yes. Duffy. Yes. James. Yes. Deputy director Lazera. Yes. Director Leapour. Yes. Anyone present wish to be heard on capital ordinance
2025-05? Please step forward. Step to the podium. Seeing no one at the podium, I move to close the public portion. Second. Motion made by Duffy, second by Orlando. Um, roll call. County Commissioners Bartlett, yes. Cruz, yes. D'Vor, yes.
Duffy, yes. James, yes. Deputy Director Lazera, yes. Director Leapour, yes. Motion to adopt capital ordinance 2025-05. Take that motion. Second. Made by Duffy. Second by Cruz. Roll call. County Commissioners Bartlett. Yes. Cruz. Yes.
D'vor. Yes. Duffy. Yes. Yes. James. Deputy Director Lazera. Yes. Director Leapour. Yes. Motion to resume the regular order of business. So second by D'vor. Second by Lazar. Roll call.
County Commissioners Bartlett. Yes. Cruz. Yes. D'Vor. Yes. Duffy. Yes. James. Deputy Director Lazar. Yes. Director Leapour. Yes. Uh, Commissioner reports. Um, Commissioner Bartlett, you have anything? Uh, not not tonight. Oh,
I'm sorry, Commissioner Cruz. Uh, yes, Director. I just want to take this opportunity to thank um uh all the voters that participated in our last primary election. Uh, and I also want to take this moment to congratulate all of our graduates throughout P County, all
16 municipalities, all high schools, uh, middle schools, and, uh, our community college as well. I was I had the privilege of participating um along with Commissioner D'vor at the community college graduation uh seeing the uh age range of the individuals that
are um that finalized their educational path at the community college. Uh so it's it's definitely a sight to see and I look forward to participating at our technical high school graduation next week. Thank you. Thank you, Commissioner D'vor. Thank you, Director. Uh I also
agree with your sentiments on the graduate uh P County this year. Um uh but this Thursday is Junth and um it's a day of honor uh to end the slavery in the United States and to celebrate black freedom, resilience, and culture. I
encourage everyone to support and celebrate the many events taking place throughout Pay County. These gatherings are more than celebrations. They are opportunities for reflection, education, and unity. that's come together as a community to recognize the significance of these historic day. But I also want
to highlight the fact that uh I will be um cheering the county's first Junth celebration at Gary Mountain uh this particular Thursday uh from 3 to 8 uh at the boat house. Uh weather permitting. Um I was reluctant to actually announce
it because we're tittling with the weather of what is going to happen. But I also wanted to make sure you understand that throughout the county and this particular starting Thursday over the weekend there will be Juneenth celebrations. So I encourage you to go
out uh celebrate learn uh for Junth for ours at the county. We will have about uh five to seven food trucks about 15 to 20 vendors uh live music and a DJ. So
come out if you can. 3 to 8 June 19th. God bless your day. Okay, Commissioner Duffy, you have anything? No, no, nothing on lose contract. We review that a little bit. No, we
haven't done it yet. And your mother's right. Who is that guy sitting next to you? Hardest working hardest working man in P County. Yes, he is. Yes, he is the best. Yes, he is. He is the best. Oh, boy. Um, Commissioner James, you're good. Okay, very good. Uh,
communications. There's none. Take a motion to open a public portion of the meeting. So moved. Second. Motion made by D'Vor. Second. By Cruz. Roll call. County Commissioners Bartlett. Yes. Cruz. Yes. D'Vor. Yes. Safy. Yes. James.
Deputy Director Lazar. Yes. Director Leapour. Yes. Anyone from the public wishing to be heard, please step forward to the podium. State your name and address. You have three minutes. Seeing no one at the podium. I move to close public portion. Second made by Duffy to
close. Second by you pick James. Roll call. James. Okay. County Commissioners Bartlett. Yes. Cruz. Yes. D'vor. Yes. Duffy. Yes. James. Yes. Deputy Director Lazar. Yes. Director Leapour. Okay.
County Council, we have a late starter. Yes. Director through you. We have one late starter tonight. It's a resolution authorizing an award of contract to Millennium Strategies LLC. the grant writing services pursuant to NJSA48 col 11-4.1
exeact. I would simply ask that N86 be added to the consent agenda. Okay. I'll take a motion to add N86 to the agenda. By James, second by Duffy. Roll call. Cath commissioners Bartlett. Yes. Cruz.
Yes. D'Vory. Yes. James. Deputy Director Lazar. Yes. Director Leapour. Yes. I've also been asked to have N29 voted on separately. Need a motion. I move it. Second.
Duffy. Roll call. County Commissioners Bartlett. Yes. Cruz. Yes. D'Vor. Yes. Duffy. Yes. What did you want? You I didn't want anything.
No. No. We're just we're just taking it off the voting. Correct. Correct. Uh, director, I can just go through the roll call one more time. Sure. All right. Please. Uh, county commissioner Bartlett, I just want to clarify. So,
this is for the adoption of um N29 only. Yes. Cruz. Yes. D'vorain. Duffy. Yes. James, yes. Deputy Director Lazar, yes. Director Leapour. Yes. I need a motion uh on the consent agenda
N1 through N28 and N30 through N86. Need a motion. So move. Motion made by second. D'Vor second by Jinx. Roll call. Sure. Okay. County Commissioners Bartlett.
Yes. Cruz. Yes. D'Vor. Yes. Duffy. Yes. James. Yes. Deputy Director Lazar. Yes. Yes. Director Laapour. Yes. Um, new business bond ordinance 2025-06. Director, before we vote on this, I just
want to give a little brief recap of what it is. Um, last year and and this year, uh, the county secured uh grant funding from from Green Acres um for uh an improvement project at Peekman Preserve. It's one of our recreational facilities in the township of Little
Falls. um this bond ordinance would be uh appropriating that money. Um you just approved uh a resolution authorizing uh bids for this project. So hopefully in September we'll be breaking ground on uh the construction and improvements uh at the pecking preserve. So okay, thank
you. And uh Matt, while you're talking about it, I see the amount here is 1.875 million. Is that the full amount of the green acres grant or we do we have a piece of this? No, it's uh excuse me. Um it's a Green Acres grant award from
2024. It's a Green Acres loan from 2025. So um help me with that, Rich. Which is the long Thank you. Okay. Um, bond ordinance 2025-06.
Bond ordinance providing for the improvements to PCman Preserve in and by the county of Pacific, New Jersey, appropriating 2,18,000. Um, therefore, and authorizing the issuance
of 1,875,000 bonds or notes of the county to finance part of the cost thereof. Need a motion to approve bottom orders 2025-06 on first reading. So move second. Bartlett. Second. Second by Cruz. Roll
call. County Commissioners Bartlett. Yes. Cruz. Yes. D'Vor. Yes. Duffy. Yes. James. Deputy director Lazar. Yes. Director Leapour. Yes. Need a motion on personnel. I'll move the personnel. Second by Cruz. Second by Bartlett. Roll
call. County Commissioners Bartlett. Yes. Cruz. Yes. D'Vor. Yes. Duffy. Yes. James. Yes. Deputy director Lazera. Yes. Director Leapour. Yes. Did a motion on bills. Move the bills. Moved by Cruz. Second by Bartlett. Roll call. County Commissioners Bartlett. Yes. Cruz. Yes.
D'Vor. Yes. Duffy. Yes. James. Yes. Deputy Director Lazar. Yes. Director Leapour. Yes. Before I call for an adjournment. Oh, we have something. Just our our next meeting in July is at the uh Wanuk campus of State County Community College. Just a reminder for anyone that might be Can I just through
you director just say Lou I am so relieved that you're going to be with us for more years. Here you are. Thank you. Oh Before I take a motion to adjourn, I just want to acknowledge um someone on
this panel here is turning 40 tomorrow. the big 40. Matthew, with a day over 39, welcome to the club. All I can say is I wish I was trying to force you tomorrow. Right. Take a motion to adjourn. I'm
sorry. Can I just say so? Sure. Yeah. Uh, good evening. I would like to publicly thank each member of the board of county commissioners for your trust, confidence in reappointing me to my seventh term as clerk to the board. It is a truly an honor and a privilege to
continue serving you and the residents of Bay County. A special thank you to County Administrator Matthew Jordan for your outstanding leadership, valued friendship, and strong professional support. To county council Nadeshwaters,
thank you for your steady guidance and excellent working relationship that we share. To the commissioner staff, Lisa, Jasmine, and Vivian, I sincerely thank you for your dedication and tireless efforts. And for all our our department
and division heads, I appreciate your strong partnership and we we've built together. Also, I would like to thank my wonderful wife Danielle for all your love and support. Thank you once again for for this incredible honor and
privilege to serve. Thank you. Thank you. Did Did you have something prepared if we didn't approve it? Yes. I was going to I was going to write my resume. I'll take a motion for adjournment. Thank you. So moved. Motion made by
Duffy, second by D'vor. Roll call. County Commissioners Bartlett. Yes. Cruz. Yes. D'Vor. Yes. Duffy. Yes. James. Yes. Deputy Director Lazar. Yes. Direct Director Leapor. Yes. Thank you. Good night everyone. Safe trip home.