##VIDEO ID:2dxGgJZDQdE## good afternoon welcome to the December 20th 2024 special meeting of the panic Township Council Miss Marsh hold on in accordance with the requirements of New Jersey's open public meetings act notice of the special meeting was filed in the office of the Township Clerk posted on the bulletin board in the municipal building and on the township website and mailed to all persons requesting notice in accordance with Township policy 48 hour notice of this meeting was also transmitted via fax or email to the Suburban Trends and Daily Record newspapers notice that this meeting included the statement that formal action including the adoption of resolutions is expected to be taken thank you please join me in the Pledge of Allegiance followed by a prayer and a moment of thanks for individuals serving our nation i al 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 most gracious Providence we ask that you bless this governing body with an abundance of wisdom and understanding so that every deliberation will result in actions which will promote the common good and the general welfare for all of the people of ponic Township amen amen thank you councilwoman that was wonderful thank you mayor Miss Marsh please call the role Mr Dy pres Mrs Florence Lynch here Mr Cole here Mrs Russell I'm here mayor herd I am definitely here all right there are no presentations at this time are there any reports or comments from any of the volunteers serving our community come on up in your beautiful Christmas sweater thank you hopefully not an ugly one no I very nice name is Bob fredman I um regarding the Historical Society I just wanted to make an announcement about our next talk we're having so we're having a talk uh at the library it's actually we organ niely jointly with the library it's Monday January 13th at 700 p.m. and it's going to be a talk on the Holocaust by the child of a Survivor and this is kind of in conjunction with the Holocaust Memorial Holocaust Remembrance Day which I think is later in the months so hope some of you can come to that what was the date again uh Monday January 13th okay what time was it 700 p.m. 7 p.m. at the library at the library thank you thank you thank you anybody else seeing none next on the agenda is public comment comment per period will be limited to a total of 30 minutes additional time is reserved later in the meeting we welcome comments suggestions and questions during this period but the purpose purpose is not to engage in dialogue if you have a specific question please feel free to post it and then follow up with with staff via telephone or email as a reminder comments are limited to 3 minutes if anybody wishes to address the council please wait to be recognized to come to the microphone and provide your name for the record come on up Paul mailor Panic Township under the advice of council I've been asked to read this open public records request into the record it was received by the Township Clerk on December 17th and it reads as follows please provide a copy of a letter from the Panic Township Public Library attorney Douglas Zucker addressed to my mayor Ryan herd and others that would have been dated after December 5 2024 but before December 16 2024 the letter was referenced by mayor herd during a verbal interchange with Paul maor during the public hearing segment of the December 16 2024 special meeting of the panic Township Town Council thank you thank you sir next M Dana witak 6 Brian cor Panic um at Monday's meeting I was not pleased the way um public comments um were addressed Mr maor got up here to speak his thoughts and um he was cut right off I have to say I agree with asking the council to have Kyle Russell removed from the the public library Board of Trustees because I feel that since her appointment um there's been nothing but Chaos on that board and it doesn't seem to be getting resolved a person should not have to resign because they are being treated um badly I don't know you know what words to use cuz I wasn't there cuz I'm kind of new to this but I'm seeing what's going on and I don't agree with that appointment and I do agree that she should be removed thank you next anybody else just want to make sure ma' you want to come up okay just want to make sure okay uh there being no additional public comments we'll continue with the agenda would anybody like to re respond to anything Kyle no okay moving on all right next on agenda is manager's report Mr Brewer uh thank you mayor two quick items with respect to things scheduled for the council's consideration later on the agenda one we have the library shared services agreement which was returned executed by the library for the council's consideration and approval and the council has in its packet a request from h2m uh Architects and Engineers regarding the route 23 Professional Services agreement the project as we know went a lot longer than was expected uh as a result of that a request has been submitted for addition $15,000 to be added to the Professional Services agreement because of additional uh inspection and administrative time spent on the project any questions that is my report any questions from Council just a quick thing on that last one so so this 15 is thousand is just because the project went longer yes it was related to um inspector's time in the field as well as the engineers time and everybody with the meetings to manage the project so I so I think next time if we allow the contractor to delay we need to put this on them cuz they're the ones that really as requested for an extension correct I think the challenge is if we have to manage the project longer we have to pay the fees but when we make our decisions whether to Grant such requests it's information we need to be mindful of yeah now are we all set with the contractor now there's no more change orders coming are we done with that piece we are waiting for close at okay when does that come in do we know I don't have an exact date okay all right beautiful uh there are no public hearings or ordinances for in introduction next on agenda is resolutions Miss Marsh with resolution r224 2020 228 confirming the designated memberships in the Quantic Township Fire Department 229 authorizing the acceptance of a hold harmless agreement from Richard and Kelly carer for Block 604 lot 4.04 which is 8 Juniper Court 230 authorizing an interlocal agreement with the Panic Township library for services 231 authorizing an amendment to a Professional Services agreement between the township of panic and h2m Architects and Engineers formerly crew Engineering Services Incorporated for construction related Engineering Services associated with the route 23 Northbound and southbound sanitary sewer extension project 232 providing for the insertion of a special item of Revenue in the 2024 budget pursuant to njsa 4A 484 2024 233 authorizing the discretionary Award of a contract for the repair and renovation of a municipally owned affordable housing unit to La design and construction in in an amount of $188,500 234 approving change order number one for the 2024 sidewalk and Paving program increasing the contract with civilian Sun General Contracting Incorporated of Nutley New Jersey by $3,833 80 to a revised contract price of $252,800 and 2024 235 approving payment of the itemized claims is set forth on the December 18th 2024 Bill list and 2018 feema elevation escrow list thank you so much are there any comments on the resolutions from Council John Kyle no davea I'm good I guess the only thing I was going to say so on the one on 233 because it's under a certain amount like we didn't have to get multiple so it it we um quotes were required but because it exceeds $17,500 pay to play requirements are in place which is why the resolution is scheduled for the council's consideration we did get one other quote though we we did get the required quotes at least one other yeah the law requires quotes in excess of $6,600 but beneath $4,400 but if it exceeds over 175 it has to be done by resolution okay and then 232 that was just oh wait no not that one um that was it and the other one about the I think that was just on fence right yeah the hold harmless is offense on a drainage e okay I'm good thank you is there a motion to adopt these resolutions I'll make a motion to adop resolution R 224-228 through R 224-235 call second R call Mr Dy yes Mrs Florence Lynch yes Mr Cole yes Mrs Russ yes they're heard yes all right there's no uh items for discussion reports or notices so Council reports and announcements uh councilman deri thank you Mr Mayor um not much just want to congratulate um and say good luck to Joseph Rybeck on joining the fire department thank you very much for um your willingness to serve with us um so if you celebrate Christmas Merry Christmas to all um it's good good time of year celebrate Hanukkah which is kind of coming up soon happy Hanukkah and uh just thankful to be here thank thank you sir uh councilwoman Florence Lynch uh yes I also just wanted to congratulate uh new member Joe Rybeck on the fire department um what else uh I don't know if I reported this last time uh the senior luncheon that was held on December 12th sponsored by the senior citizen advisory committee went very well um so thank you for all who were involved in that it was the same day as the town party thank you for the town party that that went well very well as well um the economic development committee they met at um one of the committee members homes tisho tishan so thank you to Tish for hosting I could not go because as you can hear I'm getting over a cold came home from Atlantic City sick don't give it to us um W Across America was a very nice event I went uh sponsored some REITs went out and laid some REITs um on the veterans Graves that was a a very nice ceremony I uh sponsored I between first Reformed Church and scandin and there was a lot of participation and sponsorship that was very nice and unfortunately I missed uh coach uh Kell uh kellet's cere um ceremony what was it last night at high school cuz I was sick I was going to go but um you know she has done so much for panic over the years what's the matter right oh cuz I'm sick I'm sorry but anyway um Merry Christmas to all happy Hanukkah happy holidays and that's my report thank you so much councilman Cole so I'll start off with some um ugly comments there nothing ugly during Christmas um I went to company to uh fire department meeting last Thursday mhm and after taking a 20 minute beat down uh they wanted me to share their comments with Council uh to let them know let all of you know that they are thoroughly disgusted with Council and the town manager uh for not giving back the 15% or 18% for the fire truck uh I didn't say much during the uh beat down I just sat there and took it all in uh I did make one comment uh because they also said that um if the town cannot afford the trucks that they are purchasing they are no longer this was not voted on but they no longer want to put any money towards those trucks and if they're not ready to roll they will not roll and that's when I said didn't you go over on the budget for the chief's truck and they said oh no we didn't do that I said I I think you did and that's why you had to contribute money towards it but they're disgusted there was one fireman that said um he was on the company uh when we purchased that truck 27 years ago it was in the 80s yeah right and he remembers that the 18% that they put towards it the majority of was that was for equipment that they put on the truck and that they took off the truck that they still have so who knows I was here I wasn't here I I would just casually remind them that these trucks are owned by the township and not each individual Fire Company um you know so I told them I I would let them know I would let all of you know uh so I'm letting all of you know um I don't think we should change what the way we uh that the money would go back into the fire apparatus fund I thought that was a great idea I thought that was um another fireman also said that they've had two recent fundraisers is not one council person supported it I don't smoke cigars yeah I have to agree with you on that one yeah I don't either but um on better news congratulations to the new fireman that's uh going on company to uh best of luck to him um i' also like to welcome home first lieutenant Kevin key Kevin was deployed on January 27th of 2024 spent 326 days deployed wow to the Syria operation inherent resolve Kevin was welcomed home at Fort Dicks by councilman elect and Lieutenant Colonel Vince sakusa this past Wednesday night uh Vince has been back and forth to Fort Dicks many times in the last 10 days and that's where he is today uh welcoming home he's there for every New Jersey National guard Troop that comes home from Syria or Iraq uh the last one will be I think on Sunday he said and Kevin will go back to being a New Jersey state trooper in February after a much needed rest thank you Kevin Merry Christmas to everyone happy Hanukkah and happy New Year that's all I got thank you uh councilwoman Russell um Library board did meet the uh new library director is doing some much needed updating we're painting and we agreed to do some painting and she really brought in she's bringing in the middle schoolers years ago they used to kick them out yeah they now they welcome them in and they give them pizza and it's creating pizza nice yeah they give like a yeah they give like a pizza well you know what if if people come to a place where they feel happy and they feel welcome and they had a cool thing the other day where if you wanted to go and bring all your presents you could go and wrap them there they had wrapping paper they had bags they had scissors which is kind of cool you know you just it's a shame all these lies are flying around about the and all those yeah libr it's really it's really doing good and I also want to point out that we have a lot of volunteers and I'm very thankful for our volunteers and they shouldn't be bullied people should be respected these are your neighbors these are people who live among you and to come and disparage them and just always beat on them time after time just because you don't like what they say is wrong well some people are just miserable and they're just a cancer to our society it's a sh we have to respect everybody it's just not right um looking forward to a great New Year everything looks to be going well in the town it's a beautiful snowing merry Christmas happy Hanukkah and enjoy the rest of the year thank you all right all I have to say is I want to first thank Council this is my last official meeting in my political career so I want to thank everybody it's been a pleasure serving with all of you thank you uh I've learned so much from each and every one of you Melissa Dave even this guy over here Mr bre and of course our wonderful keep us out of trouble person and then Carol Of course I remember Carol when I first got on Council how you scared me try nature I knew what needed to be done and what didn't need to be done but for the residents of panic I just want you to know that I love you I appreciate you and I will never stop fighting for panic uh it is that important my job and time is done here and I appreciate every single minute of it I've learned so much and uh with that said merry Christmas happy Hanukkah and until we meet again thank you next on the agenda is public comment as a reminder we welcome comments suggestions and questions rather than dialogue and comments are limited to 3 minutes if anybody wishes to address the council please wait to be recognized come to the microphone and provide your name for the record come on up um Mary kman um there a couple things about the library I would like to ask about uh one thing that happened at the library board meeting was that there was someone who wrote Into The Librarian about the concern of the concentration of the kids coming out of school the cars I guess there have been a couple accidents in that particular area and I didn't know if council is working on trying to figure out how to solve that problem of the safety of the kids and the cars and I know it's been a problem for a while I guess so um and um and whether or not the library or you have a steering committee going on to see what kind of solutions could you know happen with the children and the amount of cars coming in and out of the parking lot um and um so that was one of my comments um and in the um Shar Services I was reading it didn't come out on the internet all of the shared services that I could see and it had something to do with the town um looking at the potholes and then I didn't know whether they would have the final say of fixing the potholes or whether they will work with the librarian or how how that will all work out in the end and finally how the um the new um pole parking lot will happen and when that might happen um in terms of I support Paul in terms of the public request for what happened I wasn't here on Monday but I'm glad that he's requesting that um and I do respect the volunteers and but if someone is going to be um disrespectful to me and or not P the truth then I have a problem with that so I am glad that um hopefully things will settle down and the library is so exciting to go to now not that it wasn't before because it's always been exciting to go period no matter who the librarian is because I'm glad to see that you know there was a time when people in banic didn't even want to have a library so it it's really super duper that we have Library we have to continue to have the library and um I'm really happy that um Governor Phil Murphy uh passed the um freedom to read act that's really essential for keeping our library open to the public and everyone so thank you very much thank you so much anybody else come on [Music] up in mailer with panic Township just for the record uh I've have not yet received a response to the public records request that I uh suggested earlier so if any of you were in receipt uh from such correspondents from the attorney from the library uh I'd appreciate the courtesy of you responding um and I'll take issue uh also with councilwoman Russell's uh suggestion that people that are in conflict with Library trustees are disparaging them we are in conflict with them and we certainly have the right both here and at uh Library trustee meetings to voice that conflict which is exactly what we do in addition uh councilwoman Russell you may have forgotten uh in your in your report but the flat roof at the library is again leaking um a situation that might have been resolved when the contractor was there to re to replace the shingled roof uh but it's leaking again it will it's been fixed again it will likely leak again because it's a flat roof thank you for your time thank you anybody else okay seeing none uh any answers to any of the questions not yet okay and as far as Paving the parking lot um there was going to be looking into if there was a better way to do some flow with the cars and stuff yeah the design will be in consultation uh with the library director okay and anyone else identify from the library's perspective who participate I remember we spoke about that I had asked the library director to reach out to you about you making sure people aren't parking too close I don't know if she did or not yeah the the concerns been related to the PD to make sure that the walls are being follow challenging as it is there's congestion points throughout the town exactly when you drop all scho by the elementary schools you got a 15-minute period where people are late and think they're more important than everybody else so they drive fast exactly unfortunately people have to follow the rules Ro so before we pave that uh Frank we'll take a look at we'll do a design have a meeting and see if there's any needs to be changed and okay or anything that can be changed to make it safer okay there's an appropriation currently in the capital budget which is being prepared for the council beautiful any other questions seeing none next on the agenda is minutes for approval we have December 10th 2024 and December 16th are there any comments on these minutes yeah I just have one small comment um I know at the last meeting I was via phone and um actually councilman Cole corrected me um on the senior citizen advisory committee when I said they were holding a lunch in next week it was actually this week the week that I was reporting um so I had corrected it so that was it other than that it was just a correction that I need um when I announced the senior luncheon I thanked him for catching the mistake so in other words the when I reported this on the 10th the luncheon wasn't the following week it was that week that's all so maybe we can just make that change no I'm supposed to report what was said but I can probably change it so no I corrected what I said you corrected it then yes oh okay I'll fix it yes sure thank you Melissa I'm sorry I didn't realize what you were saying it they are they that's fine sorry about that beautiful is there a motion to approve these minutes I'll make a motion to approve the minutes I get a second from December 16 all in favor I I opposed okay there are no items listed for close session there being no further business is there a motion to adjourn I'll make that motion I'll second all in favor I opposed meeting adjourned at 1:22 p.m. Merry Christ Christmas everyone [Music]