Good evening. The notice requirement provided for the open public meeting law has been satisfied. Notice properly given. Said notice having been transmitted to the Courier News on Tuesday, January 6th, as well as posted on the city's website. Clerk, may we have a roll call?
Council members Briggs Jones present. Cherry present. Councilman Graham present. Let the record refle reflect that Councilman Graham is present remotely. Councilman McCrae present. Councilman Wyatt
present. Vice President Cessums present. And Council President Hakaday present. We have all members present and a quorum. Okay. Thank you. Please rise for the pledge of allegiance and stand for the invocation. Pledge 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. Humbly we ask God, the giver of peace and the lover of charity, to give the entire family of nations true agreement
with his will, to grant the light of his spirit on all those who work for justice and peace. Amen. Amen. Amen. Okay. May I have a motion to approve the minutes of the regular meeting of April 21st, 2025? So move. Second. Okay. All
those in favor say I. I. I. Any opposition or abstensions? Okay. The minutes have been approved. Uh any communications from the mayor? The mayor is going to be here in You
want to come back to that? Yeah, we'll come back to it. Okay. All right. So, we'll skip past that and we will move to consideration of public hearing, second reading and final passage. All right. We have ordinances
MC 202515 through MC 202521 uh which are scheduled for public hearing and final passage for the regular meeting as advertised. All right. So uh those will be handing at our voting meeting. We now move on to
resolutions. All right. So we start first with our items, the legislative body items. All have had a chance to review. I'm asking for consensus to add these items to the voting meeting. Do we have a consensus? Yes. Yes. Any items
anyone wish to take off the uh the legisl legislative items items off? Okay. So, um if we have consensus, all those in favor say I. I. Any opposition or or abstensions? Hearing none, all the
legislative body items have been added to the voting meeting. All right. Uh business administrative items. Yes. Go right ahead. I have asked Councilwoman Cessums to present this resolution um to Dr. Durham who is here
today to accept the resolution. All right, Dr. Cessums, the floor is yours. So, this came with great surprise when the business administrator asked me to do this about two minutes ago on behalf
of the mayor, but this is a wonderful surprise because this is someone who I admire dearly. She is Planefield's living legend. So, I consider it an honor to be in your presence, but also an honor that I'm able to present this
resolution to you this evening. resolution granting advice and consent to the renaming of tennis courts at Mil Campbell in honor of Dr. Inz P. Dorm. Whereas Dr. Inz Porm was born in the District of Colombia to Edith and Henry
Phillips, the youngest of six children and spent her formative years in Jersey City, she grew up in a house who filled with love, support, and encouragement, which fostered her self-confidence and self assuredness. Whereas Dr. Dr. Dorm's passion and dedication to play the game
of tennis began in her pre-teen years in Jersey City. By the time she enrolled in college, Dr. Dorm was playing in state and interstate matches in 1958. She played her first American Tennis Association sanctioned tournament held
at the blackowned Shady Rest Golf and Tennis Club in Scotch Plains, the historic nurturing ground for black tennis players, including the legendary Althia Gibson. Whereas in 1963, Dr. Dorm won the women's single championship
match sponsored by the Jersey City Department of Recreation. Throughout the 1960s, she competed in national championship tournaments held at the historically black Wilburforce University in Ohio and Hampton University in Virginia. In
1974, she won the Planefield area tennis tournament in the women's single championship sponsored by the Planefield Recreation Department. And whereas in 1974 and 1980 respectively, Mayor Paul
O'Keefe appointed Dr. Dorm as chair of the newly created Planefield Recreation Tennis Advisory Committee tasked with reviewing architectural proposals, plans, and specifications impacting the final design of the Donald Van Blake
tennis courts located on Randolph Road. And whereas Dr. Dorm established a legacy of leadership in promoting tennis programs throughout her volunteer work after joining the Planefield Netherwood Tennis Club in 1968, the Planefield Board of Education,
Planefield Division of Parks and Recreations, the New Jersey Tennis Association, and the United States Tennis Association. Now, therefore, it be resolved by the city planefield council that the city council proposes the renaming of the
tennis courts at Mil Campbell Field be named in honor of Dr. Inz Dorham and be it further resolved that the tennis courts at Mil Campbell Field be named the Dr. Inz P. Dorham Tennis Court in
recognition of her dedication to tennis and its betterment to the Planefield community. And be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be presented to Dr. Dorham symbolizing the deep gratitude, esteem, and respect that
the city council holds for her selfless dedication and commitment to the expansion of tennis. Thank you, Dr. D. More is yours, mama. I I am so honored and
humbled. Sorry. I'm just so humbled and greatly honored for this recognition. As I was in late high school, we heard about Mil Campbell. I
lived in Jersey City, but you heard it all over this wonderful Olympian who was doing such marvelous things. And I never believed that I would get to play tennis with Milt Campbell. When I
moved to PL when our family moved to Planefield, we got into the Netherwood Tennis Club and Milt Campbell joined our tennis club. So I was able to say along with a lot of other people that I played tennis with this fabulous fantastic
Olympic person to be a part of his field in Durham Tennis courts. I I'm just overwhelmed by it and thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much. Three, two,
one. Her daughter is also a legend in the city. Number two, your mom. two. Hi, I just would like to say uh something a few things um not to take up
too much of your time, but as the resolution was read, there was a recognition of my mother winning tournaments here um in the early 1970s, late60s, and I just want to remind people of what Planefield was like at that time.
um for her as a black women woman, think about the Planefield Country Club, think about who was winning tournaments at that time. Um that was quite something. Um and with the joy that that brought to
everyone to have her win, um there were consequences to that. And so I just would like to remind everyone um that yes, my mom is a special person and I thank you for this recognition, but in a way we're talking we didn't really place
tennis within civil rights. Um but that was going on at that time and I just wanted to remind everyone, thank you so much for honoring her in this way. Well, we appreciate that much needed context. Uh, very relevant today. Um,
we're experiencing similar blowbacks and white lashes and all types of things. So, I can understand exactly what you're saying and we appreciate your legacy even more with that added context. So, thank you. Um,
that's all we have on the mayor's. Okay. Uh so we'll move to the department of finance. Would you present your items? Good evening all. Um I have one resolution for your approval. Resolution authorizing the
approval to cancel taxes in the amount of $12,84.36 due to 100% disabled veteran exemption. And this is for four four veterans. Any questions for any questions? Okay. Do we have consensus to
add this to the voting meeting? Yes. Yes. All those in favor say I. I. I. Any opposition or abstensions? All right. It shall be added. All right. The department of police. Good evening, Council President Hakad. Council members, I have two
resolutions for your consideration tonight. One is a resolution for the Planefield Police Department. We are requesting approval to purchase three patrol vehicles from Neielson Ford in an amount not to exceed $126,650.90. The second one is
authorizing your approval to apply and accept the New Jersey Department of Highway Safety Click it or ticket program for 2025. That's all I have. Any questions from council members? Go right ahead. Councilwoman Sherry.
Yes, ma'am. Is this three in addition? Sorry. Is this three vehicles in addition or is this swapping out? It's really swapping out. Um over the past year, we've had several vehicles that have been totaled in uh in accidents.
So, as as you see, there is actually a line here where you talk about a trust account. that trust account is set aside for vehicles that are totaled, crashed, and through insurance funds, we use that money to purchase new vehicles. So, it's it's a swap out, but I'm actually three ahead because you granted me three at
the end of last year. Thank you. You're welcome. Any other council members? Okay. Uh hearing none, do we have consensus to add this to the voting meeting? Yes. Yes. Yes. Okay. All those
in favor say I. I. Any opposition or abstensions? Hearing none shall be added. We'll move to the Department of Public Works. Mr. Council President, members of the council, the Department of Public Works has four resolutions for
approval. Resolution 21825 authorizes amendment to resolution 41024 for the purchase of one new 2020 weld sweeper uh under ESJ State Co-op. This is because equipment availability. This is from Timberman Equipment and the new price
will be $3,979149. That's for additional features and because availability of equipment. Uh resolution 21925 authorizing a professional service contract and only associate uh for the side of the field basketball courts
resurfacing and additional improvements not to exceed $16,000. Resolution 22025 authorizing professional service contract known Associates storm water infrastructure mapping uh MSS4. This is for something that we have to do based on NJD
guidelines. Uh resolution 22125 authorizes award professional service contract to remin uh for the Hanak playground complete the inclusive playground and other improvements. That's all I have Mr. President. Okay. Uh questions from
council members. question. Yes, Councilwoman, Vice President, Director, um is this just for the the um family room or is this a family room and a community room? It this a family changing station that's going in there.
It's already there, but it's going to be renovated and fixed up, painted, etc. Make it look really nice to be in compliance too with CIP completely inclusive playground dig. Okay. the grant fund. We have to do that to make sure the changing room there has
addition to a pathway etc. and handicap parking. So all has to be part of the playground grant. Thank you for that. I know um some constituents have reached out about wanting to have a family uh family room and a a space for it changing. So thank you for that. That's all my questions. Council President.
Okay. Thank you. I have one question. Sure. Go right ahead. For R221-25, what's the timeline on completion? I read the phases, but it wasn't clear on when the project was going to start and end. 221-25 Hannah Atkins. Oh, so we can
everything together because we have to debate everything together. So, uh hopefully maybe if it works well with sometime in the fall should be perfect. Thank you. Other questions? Yes. You said um it's sometime in the fall. Is it going to
start in the fall or that's when it's going to be finished? know the goal because right we're in May now so June July probably once it's approved then we start putting everything together so maybe sometime June July okay thank you further questions all right do we have
consensus to add this to the voting meeting yes yes any opposition or abstensions all those in favor say I I All right be added to the voting meeting okay the department of economic development. Please present your items.
Good evening, council. I have items R 2222 through 226. Item 222 is related to a resolution of support for owners assurance for the historic society, also known as the
Drake House. They are going to be applying for a grant to the New Jersey Historic Trust to do certain repairs and also look at development. So, they're doing things like carpentry. They're
going to update the porch and update the caretaker's residence. The next resolution is related to a performance bond. The construction has been complete for 1014 South Avenue. So returning the
performance bond. The next resolution is related to the application and acceptance of a department of environmental protection grant. This grant is for the purpose of
updating our community forestry plan for the entire city. is a community forest street communities grant. The next two resolutions are related to the center of
excellence. So last time resolution 226 was tabled related to the parking deck. Going back and looking at more technical analysis, the number of units for the
residential units behind the center of excellence has been reduced from 250 to 219. This allows the parking deck which is the 226 resolution to be at a one one
for the number of residential parking units and the parking spaces. So the total number of units just to remind everyone for the parking deck it will be now be a total of 410 units. 100 of
those units will be for city hall employees and visitors. 210 units will be for the residential part of the center of excellence for the 100% affordable units. Then 100 units
will be for the 50,000 square ft of commercial/ community space above the parking deck. To remind everyone, the parking deck is going to be a sustainable deck. It is going for
platinum lead certification. It will have live green walls. It will have solar panels. It will have a backup generator. And now it will have a total of 60 electric vehicle parking spaces,
some of which will be available to the public. And also to note as a part of the community benefit for the parking deck, there will be a demonstration shuttle program, shuttle services. So, the
$500,000 community benefit will go towards a demonstration shuttle service. Part of this shuttle service will look at potential service service going to and from the municipal parking lots during
construction and it will look at potential of an ondemand app. Other parts of the shuttle service will service the entire six miles of the planefield boundary. Okay. Is that all? Yes. Okay. You said a
couple time units. I know we're talking units of parking or parking spots when you mean units. Uh just to clarify, uh are there any questions from council members? Council President, please go right ahead. Director, um and and I appreciate um our conversations about
this and the followup um from the city. I I appreciate you all being open to hear from the residents as well as council persons. Um, but you said that the units are going to go down to 219 for one to one and then you said city
hall will be 100 and then the office space will be 100, but then you said the parking spots will be 210. Did you mean 219? 219. Thank you for the correction. It will be a total of 419 parking spaces. I just wanted to make sure I
remembered that that correctly. And then the second thing is on R224-25, is that USD or state of New Jersey D? State of New Jersey D. And is it a 2024 grant or a 2025 grant? It we actually
applied for a 2024 that so it's to accept the grant. Okay. All right. That's all I have. Thank you, Council President. You're welcome. I have a question, please. For R225-25, will there be an opportunity for a tenant to purchase a parking
permit should uh a household have more than one vehicle? Yes. So, the additional spaces that are also going to be either the commercial spaces or the the community spaces will be under the management of the parking utility. So,
there will be permits available for purchase. Thank you. And the second question, could you talk more about that second shuttle that's going around Planefield? Sure. So, we are looking at shuttle service for key destinations, mainly looking at the downtown area to and from the train stations to some of
our our medical office and also shopping facilities. But a part of this is to make sure that we have a circulator throughout the city. Do you have to be a Planeville resident to ride the shuttle? As of now, you do. We are looking at it because it is going to be a
demonstration effort. Okay. Thank you. It is a free shuttle. Yes. Thank you. Question. Um in these units, are there going to be any handicap units? Yes, it's required. And how many? Um I
have to look to give you the definite number, but there's a requirement of the percent of accessible units by the state. Um the reason why I brought that up is because um there's a great concern of mine. I um when I was out and about
um the uh Elwood Square, even though there are some h those people in there, there's about four or five units, they're handicapped, they don't have assigned parking. So one of the gentlemen who I visited twice already, he has to walk all the way down and
around to get to his car. He has a motorized scooter. He has a walker and someone else. And I said, "Where do you park, sir?" He said, "I like I park all the way down and around." I said, "Why do you go so far?" And he said, "I don't have an assigned parking." So, that's a great concern of mine, especially with
this gentleman being handicapped. Then the other gentleman, I said, "Well, where do you park?" And he said, "Well, I park pretty far, too, and he has a static leg." And I said, "So, that's a great concern of mine, especially when we had these developers coming in here and building. I don't mind that. that's
that's what they do. But when it comes to handicap, that's a problem for me when I know that a gentleman has to walk so far to get to his space and that should be a great concern of ours also um as well. So um that might be something you want to think about signed
parking. I don't know. Yes. So for the accessible units that will be at the center of excellence residential underneath the building there are a total of 75 spaces. We will work to with the developer to make sure that all the
handicap spaces that are required are under that building. And a part of the agreement when the site plan is presented will be a shared service parking agreement for that. So it'll be just straight down the elevator. And the handicap spaces by layout are
requirement. They're right by the elevator. Okay. Good. And then the last statement I wanted to make is, and I'm sure you all had paid attention to it, those that are do social media, is that um when they were doing construction um this past week in a couple places, there
was no wet trucks out there. So, we want to make sure that there's wet trucks on the next go round when they're doing demolition or any construction. That was brought to my attention. constituent sent me the video actually and I said, "Well, you I'm going to bring this up in the city council meeting that took place on
Bergen Street and it took place at the 953 West 4th Street in Prescott." Okay, Council President, follow-up question. Please go right ahead. Director, the 75
designated spots under or closest to the residential building, that is separate and apart from the 419. Correct. Okay. And the 75 spots that will that are adjacent to the actual residential facility, those spots will be owned by
the city. Did I read that correctly? So, we will own those 75 no matter what their hours. But the they are deed with the center of excellence building itself. They're deed with the center of excellence. Okay. But the 419 are a separate owner, an operation, separate
develop. Oh, yes. Thank you. Yep. I I have a I have a question. Go right ahead, Councilman. And director, I don't know if you would have the answer to this uh tonight, but it's not a problem if you do. Regarding the solar panels, uh with respect to the
solar renewable energy credits, um where we can no longer hear you, Councilman. Sorry. It's almost like you faded out, Councilman. Okay, we can hear you hear me now. We can hear
you now clearly. Okay. So, with respect to the so to the to the solar panels and the solar renewable energy credits, and like I said before, I don't you know, I don't suspect you may have the answer to this tonight. Uh but, uh would those credits benefit the community or where
do those credits or to whom um do those credits benefit? So, those we will have to look into that further. As of now, the solar panel, it's going to charge the backup
generator as well as the storage battery. Uh that energy is going to be used for charging the electric vehicle charging station as well as used for city hall. I don't know if there'll be
additional load that will be able to be applied elsewhere. Copy. Um, and with respect to the generator, um, I know that they have a lifespan and I know that we're going to do some sort of maintenance to make sure that if and
when we need it, it's going to work. Um, do we own it forever or how does that work? Yeah. Yes, it's a part of the unit. So, we currently have on city hall property right now a backup generator for the
entire building. This is to replace and increase capacity. Okay. Thank you, Councilman Wyatt. All right. Thank you, Council President. Uh, two questions on 225-25 and 226-25. These are two massive
projects that's going on, but I don't see any language that mandates for local hiring, contracting with minority or womenowned businesses. Um I know that we've been had many of projects going throughout the city over the last couple of years. Uh when will we start or when can we start to see this type of
language in these uh proposals? You've adopted this language over a year ago through a set aside ordinance that requires that with any procurement contracts, any professional services, any of our our contracts at all that
there is a good faith effort made for minority, for womenowned, veteranowned, and disabledowned businesses. In most cases, they range from 10% to 15%. But you've adopted that. It's in every
contract language. Also, in every contract language that we distribute, there's a local source first, which means that there has to be an effort to hire Planefield residents. Okay. So, the effort is there. So, pretty much we
don't have any local businesses that are getting the jobs or the opportunities. No, that's not true at all. Okay. I've seen many of projects here and I wrote around and just didn't see it. So, I just wanted to say I read through this entire contract and didn't see it in there. Uh, second question, uh, this
agreement, it does not mandate the public engagement throughout the development process. Um, especially where we're talking about the parking deck. So, we did the center of excellence. I know that you held several uh, meetings where you had community input, but this is another massive project that changed the character of
our city as well. Once uh the city approves this, it becomes more administrative than collaborative. Uh the third one is why I'm am happy to see the community benefits of the $500,000 for a shuttle service. Uh this project conclusion if everything moves smoothly
will be April of 2027. Am I correct? The completion of the is the estimated timeline. It can start earlier. Yes. Okay. So, and I know that you did mention some of this, but just for clarification purposes, where will the city employees and residents
who want to conduct business at city hall park at for the shuttle for two years? So, part of that was the reason for the shuttle service. So, part of the shuttle will one of the shuttles will be used to address parking which will be at
alternate locations mainly looking at parking that will be in lot 7. We also have a parking lot over on Cleveland Avenue. We have another parking lot in in lot five by the police station, but the shuttle service will run
continuously to those alternate locations. Okay. And lot seven is the lot behind downtown. Is that lot seven? Well, it's Park Avenue and East 7th Street. Park Avenue and East 7th Street. East 7th Street. Okay. So, lot seven.
All right. Okay. So, for two years, employees and residents will park there and be able to take the shuttle over. Okay. All right. No further questions. Any other questions? Okay. Do we have consensus to add these items to the voting meeting? Yes. Yes.
Yes. Uh all those in favor say I. I. The exclusion of two. I have two. I'm going to pull out. Okay. Uh which two do we not have consensus for? 225 and 226. Okay. So 222 to 224. Do we have
consensus? Yes. Okay. Uh any opposition or abstensions from those 224 to 222 to 224? Okay. Those shall be added to the voting meeting uh 225 and 226 as well, but
it'll be voted on separately. All right. Uh we next move to ordinances on first reading. Uh would the business administrator please present the ordinances listed on first reading? Yes. Thank you, council president. We have two ordinances for
first reading this evening. The first one is an ordinance related to the property that we were just speaking of 512 to 524 Wong A. And this is for the tax exemption related to that property as well as the financial agreement. Um,
this is a property that's currently not being taxed and will be taxed at the rate of 10% of the gross revenue. So, it's expected to be about $150,000 added to the city's tax roles uh moving forward. The second ordinance is an
amendment to the um land use ordinance and this one is related to increasing off- streetet parking. So, in response to we we've been getting a lot of resident complaints about the process of widening your driveway and the
difficulty of it and the expenses related to it. And so, this amendment will allow uh one and twocar garages to be up to uh driveways to be up to 20 ft wide. And we hope that this will will
remove a lot of the barriers that residents have in that process. Okay. Thank you. Any questions from council members? Okay. Do we have consensus to add these to the voting meeting? Yes. Yes. All those in favor say I. I. Any
opposition or abstensions? All right. All right. So, we've gotten through that. We'll take a five minute uh recess and return to our voting portion of the meeting. Let's
Okay, we will resume our business with or without the clerk. um going to take the privilege to go out of order and return back to communications from the mayor. Uh we have some
presentations that we will begin with. Honorable major uh mayor Adrien, the floor is yours. Well, thank you, Council President. This first one I will like to
read some remarks before we present the U proclamation and this is about our EMS system. the partnerships that we have with Union County and with
JFK and JFK and Union County have been incredible collaborative partners to us and have allowed us to strengthen this critical service to the Planefield residents. As most of you know or all of
you, the rescue squad closed its doors several years ago without us at the city having any idea that they were closing. They did it abruptly and without notice to the administration, to the council, and we
were left in a lurch. and we relied heavily on mutual aid from other cities and they pretty much thought we were taking advantage of them. But we were in a tight space. We couldn't do better after we were left in a lurch as a
result of the closing of the plane school rescue squad which the city had nothing to do with the closing of the rescue squad. So having multiple rig stations strategically throughout the city has allowed us to greatly reduce
response time so that we are regularly in the six minute range for responses beating the NFPA standard of 9 minutes. Now that is as a result of this great partnership that we have with both Union
County and with JFK. Not only have these services allowed us to increase our response time, but they have allowed us to heal fractured relationships with other squads and have turned away from
promoting that had turned away from promoting mutual aid to playing field because of over reliance on them in the past. And I made reference to that a few short seconds earlier. And so we want to
thank the leadership at JFK and the county's EMS teams for their collaboration and transparency. Of course, the EMTs who are on the ground every day making sure our residents are
taken care of. And we have to be enormously thankful and grateful to these two service providers that have stepped in at a time when the city needed them the most and they have not
missed a beat. And Planefield has a level of emergency service response that is second to none any place in the region. And so it gives me great pleasure quite frankly to present this
proclamation to demonstrate how we feel about these services. And normally I don't read full proclamations but I would read this one. Whereas emergency medical services is a vital public service and whereas the members of
emergency medical services teams are ready to provide lifesaving care to those in need 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. And whereas access to quality
emergency care dramatically improves the survival and recovery rate of those who experience sudden illness or injury. And whereas emergency medical
services have grown to fill a gap by providing important out of hospital care, including preventative medicine, follow-up care, and access to teley medicine. And whereas the emergency
medical services system consists of first responders, emergency medical technicians, paramedics, emergency medical dispatchers, firefighters, police officers, educators, administrators, prehosp
nurses, emergency nurses, emergency physicians, trained members of the public, and other out of hospital medical care providers. And whereas the members of emergency medical services
teams, whether career or volunteer, engage in thousands of hours of specialized training and continuing education to enhance their life-saving skills. And whereas it is appropriate to recognize the value and accomplishments
of emergency medical services providers by designating the emergency medical services week. Now therefore, be it proclaimed, I, Adrien Math, mayor of the city of Planefield, in recognition of
this event, do hereby proclaim the week of May 18th to the 24th, 2025 as Emergency Medical Services Week and do urge our residents to support and
recognize the invaluable services provided by our emergency medical services providers. That's the end of the proclamation. The emergency providers will join us here. You'll take a photo
and you'll have an opportunity to get some remarks if you choose. You are most we thank you. We thank you. We thank you. And this is the proclamation that is being presented. And so hold it in the
middle. Three, two, one. Okay. Thank you, Mayor Matt. Thank you, Planefield Council. We do certainly appreciate the honor, especially in recognition of EMS week next week. We really do appreciate the role that you
all have allowed us to play in supporting the Planefield community. We're very grateful to our partners in fire and in police. And of course on behalf of both Union County and JFK, we look forward to serving the community together for years to come. Thank you
again for the opportunity and for the recognition. Three, two, one. Thank you, man. We appreciate you. So I was just asked to address a quick question about whether or not there are any training opportunities for the
residents of Planefield and there always are. Uh at JFK University Medical Center um actually in Edison we have an EMS training center and that training center does run EMT initial training. It is a six-week program and that EMT level is
traditionally the basic level, the entryway into an EMS career. Those opportunities are always available. I could certainly make sure that I I pass that information along. And as far as entry into EMS goes, that that really is that first step. So, we are always and
Union County, I know, actually just put something out, they are also always looking for EMS providers. It's definitely a profession where the number of requests really do outstrip the number of resources any given day as the population continues to age and even as our own workforce continues to age.
We're always looking for skilled providers with the mentality of being calm in the chaos and being able to make house calls, being the first to respond to somebody's emergency and really bring some order to that chaos. So, if there is anybody that you know that's interested in something like that, I'll make sure that the information gets
provided and we're certainly more than happy to discuss training opportunities for anybody interested. Great question. Thank you. Thank you. Uh Mr. President, this next proclamation has to do with something that occurred
this past weekend. It occurred on it occurred on Friday. It was the arrest of the mayor of Newark, Raz Baraka, by ICE. And so
this is a mayoral proclamation that speaks to that. Whereas Raz Baraka, mayor of the city of Newark, the governatorial candidate, prominent advocate for social justice, human
rights, and the dignity of all people, was unjustly detained by US immigration and customs enforcement on Friday, May 9th, 2025. And whereas may Raz Baraka's arrest and
detention is a clear violation of the values upon which our country and community is built. Values of compassion, fairness, and the respect for every individual's rights regardless
of their immigration status. And whereas the treatment of Mayor Raz Baraka represents a broader troubling trend of targeting marginalized communities, undermining the pursuit of justice and
perpetuating fear within our neighborhoods. And whereas Raz Mayor Raz Baraka has dedicated his life to the empowerment of our nation's most vulnerable residents. And his efforts
have made all of our communities stronger, more inclusive, and more compassionate. And whereas this arrest serves as an affront to the basic principles of justice, equality, and due
process. and that we as a city stand for what our nation was founded on. And whereas Mayor Raz Baraka was released later that evening, his arrest highlights the current tensions between local leadership and law enforcement,
raising broader concerns about civil liberties, political dissent, and the treatment of public officials who engage in protests or advocacy. And whereas the city of Planefield will continue to
stand with Mayor Raz Baraka and our city will be a welcoming city where every resident is treated with the respect and the protection they deserve. Now therefore, I, Adrien, Omap, mayor of the
city of Planefield, in witness thereof, have here to set my hand and cause the seal of the city of Planefield to be fixed on Monday, May 12th, 2025.
And this proclamation speaks to how I feel personally and how residents from across the city that I have spoken to, how they feel about what
transpired in Newark this past Friday. We have to respect the first amendment and other constitutional rights of every person that lives here. Whether he or she is an
immigrant, whether he or she is documented, whether he or she has citizenship, we are all entitled to the rights that are embedded in the constitution. And so it is important for
all of us as leaders, as elected officials to send the right message, a very strong message that we will not sit idly by and watch as injustice
is exercised by authorities against any citizen and against elected officials. Not only was Ras Baraka subject to the indignities of an arrest, but other federal elected officials were also
mistreated. And it is something that we must all speak out about. And so those are my remarks on the issue. And I hope all of Planefield joins me in recognizing the enormity of this
issue and the message that it sends to all of us. Thank you, Mr. President. Thank Thank you to the governing body. And at this time, I'll ask the police director to speak on on police
week. Thank you, sir. All right. Good evening, everyone. Good evening. All right. As you as you may or may not know, this week is National Police Week. National Police Week is a week that is set aside
really for the honoring of fallen officers. Here in the city of Planefield, we have four we have um we have John Gleason, we have Robert Perry, we have Frank Busk, and we have Abigail Powette. And that's in the order of
their deaths. Um, we do all we can to appreciate, honor, and support our police officers. And when I came here as the police director about three and a half years ago, one of the things that I wanted to do was build a strong
community bond between the police and the public. That is extremely important to our overall mission. I think it has helped us in a lot of the things that we have done today. That doesn't happen without the men and women who are sitting here and the ones who are out guarding the streets right now. These
individuals sacrifice their lives every day to make sure that our families are safe at night, that the motoring public is safe, and that we do everything that we can to enhance the quality of life in this great city. Now, that being said, the office of the mayor has a
proclamation, and I'll read it. Whereas law enforcement agencies play an essential role in protecting the rights and freedoms guaranteed to every American citizen by the Constitution. Whereas these brave men and women willingly place themselves in harm's way each and every day to protect lives,
uphold the law, and serve our nation with courage, dedication, and integrity, and often at great personal risk. Actually, let me stop. You guys come up here. Come up here now. Come up. All
right, let me continue. Whereas it is important that citizens understand and recognize the duties, responsibilities, and sacrifices of their local police department, and that officers themselves remain mindful of the vital role they play in ensuring the safety and
well-being of every citizen, defending against violence and disorder, shielding the innocent from deception, and standing as a shield for the vulnerable against oppression and intimidation. And whereas National Police Week observed May 11th through 17th, 2025 provides an
opportunity to honor the service and selfless efforts of law enforcement officers and to pay a special tribute to those who have fallen or been injured in the line of duty. Within National Police Week, May 15th is designated as Peace Officers Memorial Day in honor of
federal, state, and municipal police peace officers killed or disabled in the line of duty. And whereas on National Police Week, special recognition is due to the men and women of the Planefield Police Department who exemplify the highest standards of public service,
carrying out their duties with honor, bravery, and an unwavering commitment to the safety and well-being of our community, steadily helping to reduce crime and uphold the values of our Queen City. Now therefore, Mayor Adrien Omat, City of Planefield do proclaim the week
of May 11th through 17th as 2025 as National Police and Peace Officers Memorial Week and call upon the citizens to join in in commemorating police officers, past and present, who through their faithful and loyal devotion to their responsibilities have rendered a
dedicated service to their communities. and in doing so have established themselves an enviable and enduring reputation for preserving the rights and security of all citizens. Signed and sealed by the honorable Adrien Map,
mayor of the city of Planefield. Mayor Guys, the friend John Three, two, one. Okay, we now move on to ordinances on second reading and final
passage. Madame Deputy, please read MC 2025-15 by title and certify its compliance with uh the law. MC 202515 is an ordinance to exceed the municipal budget appropriation limits
and to establish a cap bank NJSA 48 col4-45.14 2,882,742.72. It is hereby certified that notice of a public hearing on this ordinance was published in the Courier News on April 23rd, 2025. Floor is now open to any member of the public that
would like to speak regarding this ordinance specifically. Hearing and seeing none, no one being online, I'll close public comment. Um, we have a motion to adopt this ordinance on second reading and final
passage. So move. Second. Second. Okay. Clerk, may we have a roll call? Roll call. MC 202515. Council members Briggs Jones. Yes. Cherry. Yes. Graham. Yes. McCrae. Yes. Wyatt. Yes. Vice President Cessums. Yes. Council President Hade.
Yes. That is unanimous. An ordinance has been adopted on second reading of final passage. Thank you. Madame Deputy, please read MC 2025-16 by title and certifies legal compliance. MC 202516 is an ordinance to amend and
supplement chapter 16A article 16A section 1 schedule 1 no parking on the south side of Wong Avenue the 1200 block. It is hereby certified that notice of a public hearing on this ordinance was published in the Courier News on April 23rd 2025.
Okay. Is there any member of the public that would like to speak regarding this ordinance specifically? Name and address for the record. Thank you. Hello, my name is Richard Loosley, 310 Hillrest Avenue in Planefield. Um, I'm confused about the
location of the,200 block of Wong Avenue. I don't know whether it refers to the uh tax lot and block map for the city, in which case I don't think there is a 1200 block. And if it refers to the
address 1,200 to the 1300 block, that's between Kensington Avenue and Hillside Avenue on Wong Avenue. Um, I see no reason to exclude parking on the south side. There's parking on the south side
of the 1100 block. There's parking on the south side of the 1300 block. I think there's parking on the south side all the way to the end of Wong Avenue at Leland Avenue. So, I just stand in opposition to this if there is no good reason for banning parking on the south
side of this one particular block in the middle of a residential neighborhood. Thank you. Is there anyone else? Okay, public hearing is now closed. Uh, did you want an opportunity
to address the question or just proceed? Are we done? Wait, is that location? They're going to talk about the location. You want to address it? Yes, please. Yes. Can you please address the question? It's in response to It's in response to residential concerns in that
area. Um there are several issues that are taking place in that area and in our effort to uh lower crime and improve the quality of life throughout different parts of the city is an action that we feel necessary to take at this time. That's why it was presented. Thank you. Thank
you. Okay. May I have a motion to adopt this ordinance on second reading and final passage? So move. Second. Okay. Clerk, may we have a roll call? Roll call. LMC 202516. Council members Briggs Jones, yes.
Cherry, yes. Graham, yes. McCrae, yes. Wyatt, yes. Vice President Cessums, yes. Council President Hakaday, yes. This ordinance has been adopted on second reading, final passage. Okay. Thank you. Madame Clerk, um, Deputy Clerk, please
read MC 2025-17 by title and certify its legal compliance. MC 202517 is an amendment to the ordinance of the city of Planefield in the county of union amending chapter 17 the land
use ordinance article 9 section 17 col 9-23 buildings or structures per lot A primary and accessory dwelling units. It is hereby certified that notice of a public hearing on this ordinance was published in the Courier News on April
23rd, 2025. Floor is now open to any member of the public that would like to speak regarding this ordinance specifically. Anyone online? Go a hearing and seeing none. Public hearing is now closed. May we have a motion to adopt this ordinance on
second reading and final passage. So moved. Second. Clerk, can we have a roll call? Roll call. MC 202517. Council members Briggs Jones. Yes. Cherry, yes. Graham, yes. McCrae, yes. Wyatt, no.
Vice President Cessums. Yes. Council President Hakaday. Yes. Six in favor, one opposed. Ordinance to be adopted on second reading and final passage. Thank you. Madame Deputy, please read MC 2025-18 by title and
certifies legal compliance. MC 202518 is an ordinance of the city of Planefield in the county of Union granting a tax exemption with respect to certain property identified on the city's tax map as block 109 lot 41, block 122, lot
1, block 131, lot 15, block 209, lot 4, block 239, lot 22, block 502, lot 10, and block 727 lot 17 and designated in the
city's tax records as 608 West 4th Street, 937 West Thirdrd Street, 1147 South 2nd Street, 45 Brokaw Boulevard, 121 Liberty Street, 659 West 4th Street, and
1261-1263 Arlington Avenue, Planefield, New Jersey, and authorizing the execution of a financial agreement with Home Ownership Small Lots Urban Renewal LLC tax abatement to be transferred to home buyers. It is hereby certified that
notice of a public hearing on this ordinance was published in the Courier News on April 23rd, 2025. Okay. The floor is now open for any member of the public that would like to speak regarding this ordinance specifically. Anyone on the line hearing? Seeing none, public comment is
now closed. I now entertain a motion to adopt this ordinance on second reading and final passage. So move. Second. Clerk, can we have a roll call? Roll call. MC 202518. Council members Briggs
Jones. Yes. Cherry, yes. Graham, yes. McCrae, yes. Wyatt, no. Cessums. Vice President Cessums. Council President Hockaday. Yes. Six in favor, one opposed. Ordinance has been adopted. On second reading and final passage. Thank
you, madame clerk. Deputy Clerk, please read MC2025-9 by title and certify its legal compliance. MC 202519 is an ordinance of the city council of the city of Planefield authorizing a transfer of redevelopment agreement and financial
agreement between the city of Planefield 803 South Urban Renewal LLC and 803 Urban Renewal LLC and authorizing the execution of an assignment and assumption agreement in connection therewith. It is hereby certified that
notice of a public hearing on this ordinance was published in the Courier News on April 23rd, 2025. The floor is now open to any member of the public that would like to speak regarding this ordinance specifically. No one's online, no one's in person. Uh public hearing is now
closed. I'll now entertain a motion to accept this uh motion and a second to adopt this on second reading and final passage. So move. Roll call, please. Roll call. MC 202519. Council members Brooks Jones, no.
Cherry, yes. Graham, yes. McCrae, yes. Wyatt, yes. Vice President Cessum, yes. Council President Hawiday, yes. Six in favor, one opposed. Ordinance has been adopted on second reading and final passage. Madame Deputy, please read
MC2025-21 by title and certify its compliance. MC 202521 is an amendment to ordinance and repeal certain 2022 amendments of the city of Planefield in the county of union amending chapter 17
the land use ordinance article 9 section 17 col4-10 17 col 10-4 and 17 col10-5 Historic Preservation Commissionformational meetings actions requiring a certificate of
appropriateness and referral of permit ments. Okay. Uh the this is first reading. So no public hearing. Uh I'll entertain a motion to adopt this ordinance. This is second. This is second reading. Okay. I'm I'm at
the wrong part. Okay. So the floor is now open to any member of the public who'd like to speak on this ordinance uh specifically. Hearing and seeing none uh public hearing is now closed. I'll now entertain a motion and a second to adopt this on second reading and final
passage. So moved. Second. Roll call, please. Roll call. MC 202521. Council members Brick Jones. Yes. Cherry, yes. Graham, yes. McCrae, yes. Wyatt, yes. Vice President Cessums,
yes. Council President Hakaday, yes. And that is unanimous. This ordinance has been adopted on second reading and final passage. That concludes ordinances on second reading and final passages for this evening. Okay. We now move to public comments limited to resolutions and motions being considered this
evening. Total of 30 minutes has been allocated for the same. Any member of the public would like to call in for public comments. The number is on the the city website as well as on the YouTube link.
Um please council president. Yes. If you don't mind, at the end of public comment, just so that I catch you before you close the meeting, I do have a question. So, uh, once we're done with public comment, I'd like to ask a question. Thank
you. Okay, come on up. State your name, address, and the motion or resolution you're speaking regarding. Good. I just I'm not sure what the motion is. It's about the shuttle service.
Okay. Is that open? Okay. I'm not sure what it is, but um the question was based on what I heard. Name and address. I'm sorry. Good. Quanet Palmer Chambers 1227 East Front Street Apartment 43B Planefield, New Jersey. Thank you. Welcome. Um my first question was how was it going to be paid for? And I
understand that's going to come from the developer. My second question is because a developer is paying for it, is this a um civil service position? And the second question is
will it be fully handicap accessible? And if are we going to be carding people? There was a question about was it for Planefield residents only? Are we going to be carding people? because there might be people who are not playing for residence but they might work downtown. So they could be
employees with either one of the businesses or whatever. So what are the you know have we worked all that out? But definitely is it going to be fully handicap accessible uh for individuals who might need that service and might need it to be handicap accessessible.
All right. Thank you. Thank you. Your questions will be answered at the conclusion of uh this portion. name, address, and resolution. Sal Corano, 1284 East Front Street. I have a one question in reference to the parking
in the shuttle. It was mentioned that it's on the corner of Park and 7th. Is that the Twin City parking lot, the PSCG parking lot, and we own part of that lot, or is it the lot that's only on
Seventh Street? So, I'd like clarification on that, please. Second, it's not a secret. All of you have heard it. The last two council meetings, I questioned the building next to my personal residence.
Um few days after the last council meeting, three police officers respectfully rang my doorbell, questioned my wife and I in our robes about a complaint lodged by the
developer that I removed political signs and that I broke into their basement. Yes, it was an allegation that I would be glad to share with my attorneys.
Um, we keep on talking about the kumbaya moments. The Democrats, the Republicans, the Trumpies, the people that can't stand Trump. We need to start behaving that way in this town.
I assure everybody that my reputation is more valuable and than any defense fund I may or may not have. The officers, again, respectful,
God bless them. They asked, "Is there anything I'd like to say or my wife would like to say to the neighbor?" and I said gladly have them follow you to the police department and file charges. We were already on the phone with the
attorney. I I say that to all of you not as a threat, but you need to back down or face the consequences as well. Sorry to to interrupt the speaker. However, this is just this public comment specific resolutions in order to Which resolution are you talking about? Which
resolution are you referring to? None. The first comment was about it. So I I stand corrected. Thank you. And when the actual public is allowed to speak, I'll repeat myself. Thank you. About anything.
All right. Not seeing any others. Uh public hearing for resolutions. Motions being considered this evening is now closed. Uh we'll now move to the consent agenda items. Mr. Clerk, will you please announce the consent agenda? Certainly.
The consent agenda items are identified as resolutions 2125 through 224 25. Uh not on the consent agenda are resolutions 225 and
22625. They have a motion and a second for the consent agenda. So move second. Clerk, can we have a roll call? Roll call on the consent agenda items. Council members Briggs Jones. No. Which which item specifically on the
consent agenda do you object to? Consent agenda. Um, yeah. Yes. C Council President, we cannot have a no vote on a consent agenda. Therefore, we're going to have to revise. Oh, you said the window. Oh,
okay. Yes. Okay. Yes. Thank you. I'm sorry. All right. Can you start the roll call over, please? Roll call on the consent agenda items. Council members Briggs Jones. Yes. Cherry, yes. Graham, yes. McCrae, yes. Wyatt, yes. Vice
President Cessums, yes. Council President Hogay, yes. Those consent agenda items have been approved. We now move to resolution 22525. We need a motion and a second. Council motion and a second for 225. So move. Second. Uh roll call, please. Roll
call on resolution 22525. Council members Bricks Jones, no. Cherry, yes. Graham, yes. McCrae, yes. Wyatt, no. Vice President
Cessums, yes. Council President Hawk, yes. Five in favor, two opposed. This resolution's been adopted. We now move to resolution 22625. Motion and a second, please. So move. Second. Roll call. Roll call. Resolution
22625. Council members Briggs Jones. No. Cherry, yes. Graham, yes. McCrae, yes. Wyatt, no. Vice President Cessums, yes. Council President Hawkiday, yes. Five in favor, two opposed. Resolution has been
adopted. That concludes resol resolutions for this evening. Okay. All right. So now items on first reading. Uh Madame Deputy, please read MC 2025-22 by title. MC 202522 is an
ordinance of the city of Planefield and the county of Union granting a tax exemption with respect to a a portion of certain property identified on the city's tax map as block 835 lot 4 512-524 Wong Avenue and authorizing the
execution of a financial agreement with East 5th Planefield COE urban renewal LLC in connection therewith. Okay. I'll now entertain a motion to adopt this ordinance on second reading and final second reading. I'm sorry, first reading. So move. Second. Okay.
May I have a roll call? Roll call. MC 202522. Council members Bricks Jones, yes. Cherry, yes. Graham, yes. McCrae, yes. Wyatt, C. Vice President Cessums, yes. Council President Haw. Yes. That is
unanimous. This ordinance has been adopted on first reading. Okay. Madame Deputy, please read MC2025-23 by title. MC 202523 is an amendment to the ordinance of the city of Planefield in the county of Union. Amen. Amending chapter 17, the land use
ordinance, article 9, section 17, colon 9-42, G and P, parking, driveways, and loading. Okay. I'll entertain a motion to adopt this on first reading. So move. Second.
Clerk. Roll call. Roll call. MC 202523. Council members Briggs Jones. Yes. Cherry, yes. Graham, yes. McCrae, yes. Wyatt, yes. Vice President Cessum, yes. Council President Heday,
yes. That is unanimous and this ordinance has been introduced on first reading. Okay. Thank you. Uh we'll now move to general comments. A total of 30 minutes has been allocated for all public comments. Each speaker will be given three minutes.
Name and address for the record. If you are online, uh, the information for call-in is on the YouTube channel or posted on the city's website. Floor is now open. S Corano, 1284 East Front Street. I
apologize for going out of order earlier. Um, however, continuation from my earlier comments. The officers were polite. I f I felt it was a little overkill. three officers coming to my
door at 8ish in the morning. I also felt um they're doing their job. The political climate is you're either a friend or an enemy. And that's horrible.
It's a horrible, horrible inhumane humanity or human trait sadly across the United States,
but very self-evident here in playing field. We could talk all we want, but you're not going to shut people's voices. You're not. you. We should welcome what I'm doing right now. You
should welcome disscent, not pick and choose and try to make things up. Developers development is good, smart development, fair
development. Haven't heard a thing tonight about employing playing fielders. Numbers, real statistical numbers. Haven't heard a thing tonight about how is the money being spent in
Planefield in Planefield businesses. Haven't heard a thing about it earlier when I brought up two things. One was on the agenda. Still haven't gotten an answer that it was quoted the parking lot was Park and
Seventh. I know this town. I've lived here over 50 years. The only parking lot I know is Twin City parking lot. It may be owned by multiple entities, but if that I'd like clarity on that. If not, it's the little parking
lot where they usually give food out or they had blood testing and all the other testing for COVID over in that parking lot on Seventh Street. So, I'd like clarity for that. And I would appreciate
if somebody wants I'm open for debate. I'm open to be wrong at times and I am wrong at times. Be a man. Stand in front of me and state your case cuz I'm doing
the same thing right now. Thank you. name and address for the record. Good. Hi, how are you? Juan Chamblas again, 1227 East Front Street, plane from New Jersey, apartment 43B. Um, this question is for the police director. Can you give
clarity to um a statistic that um MAP HQ put out uh in the room saying that this city is the safest it's been in six decades? Six decades.
So that means that any and everyone who's come before, mayor, police director, police chief, whatever, has done nothing for the city. And it hasn't been until our savior has arrived because what I keep hearing is this,
this, this, this, but there's never any talk about I stand on the shoulders of people that came before me. So can you just speak to what that six decades uh statistic actually means? Thank you. Okay.
Name and address for the record. My name is Robert Edwards. I live at 510A West Forest Street, Planefield, New Jersey. Uh I come before the council because of an issue, an ongoing issue. Uh, one of the steps that I took was to withhold
the rent from April to now due to the excessive electricity EMF not only coming into my apartment, but it's flooding the bedroom. It's flooding the kitchen, it's flooding the um the living
room. Uh, I had a few of my neighbors come and take pictures of what this looks like in real time. And that's what's happening to me every single
day. This is another picture. What is that a picture of? I'm sorry. What is it a picture of? Describe what that is. The pictures are of the bedroom and the device that you yourself held in hand in
2023. This is a EMF um electromagnetic field detector. It detects how much electricity is coming through the socket and into the apartment or into the
dwelling. I have the box here. I would also, as a side issue, recommend to the fire department that you get one of these $40 uh devices because it may be very helpful in your fire prevention work because apparently from what I'm
understanding, there's a lot of uh electrical fires occurring and this can probably save lives. It is also good for homeowners to have to know uh let us say they live around high towers uh you know
high electrical towers. It gives them an idea of what's actually coming into their home and that has happened many times. This is a commercial uh instrument. This is something you can go up online and take a look at it and see.
Actually they have several of them. This is the one. This is the only one that I could afford. But right now, there's an emergency in in in my apartment and some of the other tenants. I don't know what they're going to do, but I'm here to talk about an immediate emergency
because I can't sleep because I'm getting shocked. I've been to the hospital at least twice in the last 30 days, not to mention all the previous uh hospital visits subsequent to that. So, I'm bringing this emergency to the city
council to help me because it's it's affecting my life. It's affecting my health and I may not be here next month. That's how serious this is. Is there anyone online? Okay. Name and address for the record.
Uh Nancy PR 1129 Myrtle Avenue. First of all, thank you council for passing resolution R222-25. I appreciate it. Um I'm just going to give you a little history lesson. Um there's a few historic groups in town, Save the Queen City, Netherwood
Heights Neighbors Historical Society, and we all talk about some of the important locations and the people that lived in some of the houses. And recently there was a tour and I've lived in this town all my life and I had no
idea about this gentleman, but there's a house on Planefield Avenue that people pass every day and don't realize the importance of the house and I know it's in a in a zone that may be redeveloped, but I would hope that the city would consider at some point a way to put
signage up, not necessarily make these places historic districts, but at least recognize them because I think it would bring some pride. But um 310 Planefield Avenue was owned by Dr. um Dra. He lived from 1881 to 1959. He graduated from
Howard University in 1909. He went to and he also graduated from medical sc school there in 1913. He originally was from South Carolina. He was the youngest of 21 children. And friends of his, I don't know who those friends are, I haven't been able to research that yet,
persuaded him to come to Planefield in 1914. And in 1918, he purchased the property on Playfield Avenue. Um, he purchased the old Marsh Farmstead and he built his brick house. He built the house as a doctor's office for
$10,000. In that house on the first floor, he had his offices and he also had an operating room and neighbors would go there to get care. And he was a he was a doctor at Muenberg for over 45 years. Now, everybody knows that I've done a lot of research on Muenberg and I
never heard of this gentleman and um I just think that um we should take a look at and put a sign up at his house. He was in the United Civic Welfare League. He was also part of the Morland Y MCA. And today I heard from someone that he
might have that might have been the offices of the NAACP at one time. I have to research that. But it is a house that if you go past it, you don't it's really stately and it's an important house and and I think the gentleman's uh house
deserves a sign or some kind of recognition because as um Dr. Inz's daughter said, he lived during a time when things weren't very pleasant in this town. and I lived through some of those times in this town and um I just
think that we have a lot of sites in this town that need to be more recognized. It's just not about the buildings but the people that actually occupied those buildings. Thank you. Thank you. Okay, seeing none, no one's online. Our
public hearing is now closed. Uh if there's any questions outstanding for the administration, I'll give them an opportunity to answer. Nothing mandatory. Yeah. Okay. I I know there were two questions, but one one kind of struck me as kind of
funny. Uh talking about six decades. Six decades is probably from the time of the riots until currently. If you look at the time from that time upon checking the records that we have and the records that we have through the FBI and also
through elder officers who have worked in this department from 1973 until currently that are still alive. Okay. Last year was a year where we did not have a loss of life by violent act in
this city. The first year since the riots. Okay. As a matter of fact, okay, plus it wasn't last year that that person died. It was actually July of 2023. It's actually been 675 days since
we have had an individual who has lost their life in this city due to an act of violence, which is considered a homicide. Okay. All other violent crime stats are trending lower, and they have been for the last 3 years. Okay. Now,
this isn't about what anyone else has done in the past. We are not here to downgrade or talk about what other people have done. These are people who work for this city, former mayors, former police directors, former chiefs of police. They did the best at their jobs and that's what we are doing now.
We're trying to do the best at our job. So, it's not a comparison of what they did or what they didn't do. It's just a statement of what is going on in the city right now. Because that's what we should let people know. People feel safer in this city than they have in a
very long time. It's not by accident. It's because the streets are safer. They just are. Um we're doing everything that we can, like I said, to build community relations, strengthen our community uh uh alliances, and these things bear
fruit. They work. So, the statistics are what they are. That's that's all I can say on that. There was there was another question. I can't remember what it was. Does anybody know? Okay. Thank you, sir. Okay. Um the parking lot, the address is
114 East 7th Street. It is the 71 space lot that's behind Scott's Drugs in In terms of the accessibility, we have not selected the vehicles yet, but we note the importance
of that and we'll be looking into it. Um, in terms of whether it will be a civil service position, these vehicles are demonstration routes. They're going to be temporary and hired by the
developer themselves, but we will have input on them. I believe that was it. Did I miss one? Oh, identification. I'm sorry. Identification. Um, we'll look into how we will have identification whether
you're looking asked to show ID or some proof of residency, but because this will be a free shuttle for Planefield residents, we we will have some kind of identification. Okay. Thank you. Councilman Graham, uh,
you were on, you said you wanted to ask a question. Yes. Um, and I think the best person that would uh be able to answer this question would be our uh BA uh Abby Levenson um regarding the um FMBA
um benefits for the retirees. And I want to tie this to comments from uh and I want to have clarity as to what's going on. Are we in the middle of litigation? I know that there were some comments
during public meeting a couple of months ago at a city council meeting and the entity that I'm not hearing from is the current FMBA. I haven't heard anything from them or I haven't uh seen a statement from them regarding this
rumor of litigation, these arguments that I see on social media. Can you just please clarify that? Yeah, I I could go ahead and clarify that. So, I'm not really a fan of litigating legal matters in the court of public opinion, but I understand that
there is a lot of speculation about this. And so um I'll give an update which is just that the city's understanding as per our labor council which is who we go to for you know interpreting decisions and all union
related matters um is that the FMA retirees for whom chapter 78 payments in retirement are be are not are exempt are FMBA retirees who started retiring in
the 2018 contract. And so it is the opinion of our labor council that this decision that granted this exemption is for retirees in the 2018 contract and beyond. And therefore, retirees who uh
left the left employment prior to those contracts are not exempt unless they met the original chapter 78 contribution um exemption that the state that the state gave which was 20 years in June of 2000 June 28th 2011.
So, I understand that there seems to be um a a narrative about, well, why can't the city just grant them the benefits even though it's even though we're being, you know, we're understanding that they were not included in this decision? And what I would say to that
is that it it does set a very dangerous precedent for us to grant additional benefits than are in the union contract and are ruled on by an arbitrator because we really have to look at the larger picture and the financial impact
of doing that because what you do for one you do for all. You know, if it doesn't come in the way of a judge's decision or a union contract really what you do for one you do for all. And so when we look at the city's financial um obligations, we have to make sure that we are keeping that in mind and and
that's where we stand. So it is currently I believe that we are currently looking for clarity on that from an arbitrator, but that is that is where the city stands. And Mr. President, if I may add one thing, there's a rumor out there on
social media that there is someone who was paying zero contribution towards health benefits and now they're paying a $10 contribution co-pay. That is
absolutely false. That person is still paying zero. Okay. Zero. Thank you. All right. I think that we've uh discussed all we have to discuss and I'll entertain a motion to adjurnn. So
move second. All All in favor say I. Anything adjourned.