We're going to for the seniors. Yes. >> The following is the agenda for the regular burough council meeting in the bur of Thompson Lane Council Municipal Corporation in the county of the state. The meeting will begin at 7:00 p.m. on February 25th, 2026 in the municipal building, 25 Lennox Avenue, Compton
Lakes, consistent with the open public meetings as the meeting will be open for public comments and shall be in accordance with the terms and conditions of the burough's municipal code and body. Please stand for a flag salute. Pledge allegiance to the flag to the
United States of the United States of America and to the republic for it stands. One nation under God undery and justice for all. >> Please bless this council as they deliberate on the best of Pontton Lakes. >> In conformance with the open public
meeting law, public law 1975 chapter 231. Adequate notice of this meeting setting forth the time, date, place, and purpose of this regular meeting through notice posted on the Bulan board of the municipal building mailed to all have requested and paid for same and published in the suburban trends. Roll call, please. >> Mayor Sarah >> here.
>> Council president Kent is excused. >> Excused. Yes. >> Councilman Bay >> here. >> Councilman Cruz >> here. >> Councilman Hinton. >> Uh, I'm here. It's a little lonely on this end, but I'm here.
Sorry, Councilman Sanchez >> here. >> Councilman Benn here. >> With us this evening is our burough attorney Mark Serero and our bur administrator Michael and Chief Anthony Rodri. >> Thank you. Uh on an update, I just want
to uh update the public that the deal with Oakland and picking up their garbage has been officially signed by both sides. Uh so we're moving forward with that deal. This will be uh something that's going to benefit both communities greatly in in monetary value. Uh Oakland will be saving some
money on their end because they use the private contractor and we'll be picking up a rather large uh salary to do the work. We're also picking up some new employees uh some new garbage trucks. This will be this is a major undertaking and a major I have to thank all the administrators of both sides that were spent a lot of time this council who
spent a lot of time on on doing it. It is a good deal for Bmpton Lakes. you know, any extra dollar or money we can bring into this community from outside is a plus, especially in this in these tough uh financial times. So, I appreciate all the hard work by everybody and thanks. And, you know, there's going to be bumps in the road.
Let's not hide the fact that there's not going to be some bumps as we move forward with this, but I think it's going to be a good deal when we're all said and done. >> That is my update. Can I have a motion to open the meeting for public comments? >> Motion. >> Councilman Bennon, Councilman Hinton. All in favor? >> Against? Anyone from the public like to
address? Ken Horner, Mountainside Drive. So, I took your advice, mayor. I reached out to uh P County Commission regarding uh Hamburg Turnpike in Coffax where they had one lane not plowable, which caused uh significant problems in that
intersection. Once I emailed the county, the next morning, the trucks were there, cleared all the snow, two lanes, everything was perfect. And same for Cannonball Road too down where we live by the Highlands. For some reason, they don't seem to want to plow or salt beyond. I think the street's called
Dupon Place. >> Yeah. On the right there. Yeah. >> Uh once they hit Dupont Place, they make the turn and continue onward and again sent another email out. I took photos, pictures. Next day, Salt Truck was there and they actually plowed and took care of all the ice on the road. So, uh upon
your suggestion, everything uh worked out great. Good >> and thank you very much. >> Great. Thank you. Anyone else from the public address? >> Seeing no one, can I have a motion to close the public session? >> Motion. >> Councilman Bennon. Councilman uh Sant Santers. All in favor?
>> I >> against I >> Okay. Thank Thank you for those uh that got it done. Um look, the county is is working with us here. They're not our enemies here. We want to work with them. They want to work with us. Sometimes they miss things and uh you know, you have to make them put them on notice and they will come back and do it. You know,
you bring up a point that I I know a lot of especially the newer residents don't understand. We have quite a few county roads here in Palton Lakes for a small town. You know, Ramapo Avenue, Lakeside, part of Kfax, Wanuku Avenue, Ringwood Avenue. Those roads are all done by the
county for plowing. So, and I know those are the major roads that a lot of people are driving on and and you know, the county has the whole county to do. Uh, so it takes time for them to get to those roads. So, we help where we can our our our our town employees to get on it. But when those roads don't look like
the the interior roads, that's because they're county roads. So, just keep in mind that we do have quite a few county roads in town. But I'm glad it all got worked out. So, that's great to hear. Okay. Uh motion to approve the following minutes. Regular meeting minutes,
February 11th, 2026. Closed session meeting minutes February 11th, 2026. >> Motion. >> Councilman Beg. >> Second. >> Councilman Bennett. All in favor? >> I >> against. >> Uh, payment of bills and wires as listed below. Can I have a motion? >> Motion.
>> Councilman Bennett. >> Second. >> Councilman Santers. All in favor? >> I. >> Against. >> I. >> Consent agenda. Anybody need something? Poll. >> No. Okay. Whereas the mayor of Burough Council of the Burough Company Lakes have removed the consent agenda consisting of various
proposed resolutions and whereas the mayor Burough Council of Burough County Lakes does not desire to remove resolutions for individual action from that agenda. Now therefore be resolved that the following resolutions on the consent agenda are hereby approved. Resolution 26-120
through 26-138. >> Can I have a motion? >> Motion. >> Second. Council, who was that down there? Venon. Santers. Councilman Santers. Councilman Vennon. All in favor? >> I against. >> Um, ordinances whenever we're ready
>> for second week. Introduction bond ordinance appropriating 103,130 and authorizing issuance of 97,973 bonds or notes of the burrow for the acquisition of various equipment by the
burough confirmation of state. >> Anything you want to say on that? Uh Mike >> uh yes thank you mayor. So this uh ordinance uh 26 uh-06 is for the purchase of the 32 dumpsters
and the one utility pickup truck for the department of public works for the burrow of Oakland shared service agreement. Again the down payment uh and uh you know following debt payments are funded by the burrow of Oakland uh by the fee that we are charging the borrow
of Oakland rather. Um so again this is the introduction. Uh the final adoption will be scheduled for March 11th at which point uh we will be able to purchase the equipment and work towards implementation. Thank you. >> Okay. Motion approve ordinance 2606 for introduction.
>> Motion. >> Second. >> Councilman Beck. Councilman Beg. Roll call, please. >> Councilman. >> Yes. >> Councilman B. >> Yes. >> Councilman Cruz. >> Yes. Councilman Hinton.
>> Yes. >> Councilman. >> Yes. >> Ordinance. >> An ordinance amending chapter 190 article 14A block 100 block 8 redevelopment plan. >> Uh explanation from the attorney.
>> Sure. Uh so this has to do with the old A&P site uh which is now I guess the Lidle site that shopping center. That shopping center was identified as uh an overlay zone for uh the uh potential
affordable housing. Uh since it was a since the uh third round was started, the uh property was subject to redevelopment. So rather than doing a zoning ordinance as we did with regard to the Monontlair Avenue property, we're
able to amend it by way of a redevelopment amendment uh to include that as a permitted use. Uh the affordable housing units uh if uh ever pursued would be pursued as uh a second floor and third floor addition to the
shopping center should uh they uh proceed. And I just want the public to understand we're not saying that that this is happening. This is a place that we have to identify as somewhere that could be put in place for COA obligation for the state. There's no one no talks
and plans of doing any of this right at this moment. I don't some people might take that as oh that means we're building something there. We are not. Okay. Uh motion to approve ordinance 2607. >> Sure. But that does open it up for
second story, third story, fourth story. How high are we talking? >> Well, it would fit within our our we have a five story, but they could if they wanted to, but it's it's individual pieces, too. >> I I I it it's it's a it's up to a
twostory uh apartment on top of the existing structure. Yes. >> Is it the whole comp? No, it's not the whole complex. >> No, no, it would be the pinch owner. >> No, but it's it's it's this is just the zoning. Yeah. We're not contacted by
them saying that this is something that they want to pursue. >> Right. Right. >> This is uh just a site that we are designating as a potential uh way to satisfy affordable housing obligation. And we identified numerous sites in town that because we have to to get to the
numbers for COA obligation um that will never be >> built and and this has been in the third and the fourth round affordable housing plan. So this is nothing new. Uh all it is is is now uh because of the way that they did the fourth round regulations,
they require that we put into place the ordinances that implement the zoning uh option by March 15th. So for us to do that, we have to introduce this tonight and then adopted at the next council meeting. Okay. So there still leaves the
opportunity in the future that we could put anywhere up to five stories all the way across all those stores. >> All we're doing right now is the zoning to make that happen. But then they would have to present and do the whole process.
>> Correct. But we're leaving the by passing this. We're opening up the opportunity that could that could be >> opportunity is always there. We're just using it for our co-a obligation. If they wanted to do that tomorrow and present that, they could, you know, to the boards. They'd have to ask for, you
know, variances and numerous things, but they could always ask to do it. >> But if we don't pass this, then they can't do it. >> No. >> And and and if you don't do it, you're going to be subject to builder remedy lawsuits and lose your immunity from being sued by other developers that want to develop highdensity housing anywhere
in the township. So, uh, this is something that, uh, I strongly encourage the governing body to adopt. uh this is something that is continuing the road that you have been on and have approved uh from the third round through the
fourth round. Well well the that predates my tenure as your attorney. >> So a builder's remedy I don't know if you know what that is. The builder's remedy means yeah >> we don't identify the site. They could then come in because we didn't put it in our in our COA obligation and just build
whatever they want there. They they no one could tell them what to do and it's in other towns it's happening already. they found some properties that weren't identified and they take over those sites and do what they want as long as they fit within the zoning that's in place already. >> So, if they were to go through with that
and put five stories there, there's enough parking. There's enough >> Well, those are all things that would have to be >> those are those are all factors that have to be accommodated for this isn't an absolute right to do development of any particular sort. This permits
uh hold on one second, let me pull out the ordinance. Up to 140 units on that site as a max. In order to get there, you end up having to satisfy RSIS parking standards, which
on an average would be one and a half parking spaces per unit. So the parking space. >> So you're talking 225 parking spaces >> more. >> Yeah. Well, it's going to be 140 plus half of that. So it's 70. That's uh
Yeah. 210. Okay. >> Right. So uh there's not room for 210 parking spaces now. So that that would be a governor on a restriction on the number of units that you could put there.
So, >> so we've identified numerous properties in town because we're a small town. You have to identify open space where this can happen. And since we're a small town, it's very hard to identify areas. But we do have to identify because we don't identify, then if a builder comes
in and finds anything available, they don't have to come to us anymore. They can do whatever they want. And uh and that becomes a real challenge. And a lot of towns have had some real issues with builders revenue loss. That's why that's the attorney's recommendation that we do pass this. >> Right. Right. Because if the the entire
process was pursued to provide immunity to the municipality so that builders can't come in and sue the township to permit them to put highdensity housing on any property that they have in the
township. So, the thought is and and there's no and and I don't know exactly what was done before I I came here. >> Uh there's no silver bullet to avoid your your m your affordable housing mandate, right? This stuff has
been litigated since the 1970s. It's been lost every round since in 1970s. There were a group of cases called Mount Laurel 2, a group of cases called Mount Laurel uh uh one and two. Uh and then even in the third round, there are cases that all went all the
way up to the Supreme Court. If you remember, Governor Christie didn't uh staff the uh Council on Affordable Housing. Governor Murphy came in, he abolished the Council on affordable Housing. the legislature came in and in their ultimate wisdom mandated this
process to be all done by the end uh well by March 15 now but with in uh other interimm milestones that you satisfied with your former attorneys last year. >> You ended up having to have your plan adopted by June 30th. Well, this wasn't
that plan that was adopted that this board voted in support of on June 30th. um and he ended up having to accept the prospective need number uh by I think it was January 31st of last year. So that that's what started putting into motion all of this. We are now in our final
stages. Uh we did and we are endorsing tonight uh or you actually did endorse uh a modification to the housing element fair share plan which uh made certain
adjustments like increasing the inclusionary rate that's the number of affordable units in a housing development so that we come and then that was a negotiated resolution with fair share housing to come up with a
plan that they accepted. Um, and these are the final stages now to put into place the zoning necessary for us to achieve our immunity. Okay, so that's what this one was. and and and
clearly through um I got sidetracked a moment ago, but since a builder could come in and sue you to build on any property that he has, the conventional wisdom is, well, maybe since we know that we're going to
lose that battle, uh it's always best for us to try to pick the place that does the least amount of damage to our community with regard to traffic. possibly with regard to uh I'm not sure if Pmpton Lakes is
big enough where there's competing schools, but you don't want to overload smaller schools. So, some towns, you know, kind of move the housing development. So, they they spread out what they think the impact of the children is going to be. They certainly spread things out to consider uh the
community standards, the the type of neighborhood around the site. uh because you don't necessarily if you're around single family homes, if you could avoid taller structures there and you you move it to areas where maybe it could act as a transitional buffer between higher
intensity industrial and and neighborhoods. So obviously all these sites were selected through your planner to minimize the impact and and it was the wisdom of this governing body that these are in fact the best sites for us
and that's what this is here today >> and and this is mandated by the state. So this is something we have to do. If we don't do it we find ourselves in jeopardy. >> True. And and if you end up going to court and and uh if someone is pursuing a builder's remedy lawsuit, what they're
going to do is they're going to look for every fine tooth flaw that is in your affordable housing plan and they may end up convincing the court that you have an unsatisfied obligation that's even it for more units than what we agreed to
provide. So, you're talking about possibly uh expanding the number of units you have to provide for throughout the town. Uh taller structures, higher density than what you are uh are uh
settling for. And in this particular case, I can tell you that certainly from my review, the the densities that we're looking at are reasonable compared to what they could be. They're not reasonable compared to what you probably all would like, but what you're doing
here is you you have a gun to your head and you have to provide something. So, it's best to capitulate to what you know you can live with even, you know, begrudgingly because the alternative is is less flattering.
>> So, statewide most all towns are going through this. >> Every town, >> every town except towns are receiving urban aid. So yeah, I mean there's 56. >> Okay, buddy. >> Say that we are now meeting our
commitment and no additional properties are going to be applied to be included >> in this round. Yes, >> in this round only. >> But so this is a 10-year round. This lasts for 10 years and then they start the whole process again. And if they change our numbers again, which they do every round, then 10 years from now,
we'll be looking for more space to say we can build on. you know, when it reaches a point, and I asked that question last night to our planner, what happens when you reach density max and you can no longer provide space. There are formulas that were put in place by the state to figure that out, but it's
very complicated, she said, and not a lot of towns are able to do it. But, you know, we're a small little three-mile town. You take a town like a Patterson, this could be, you know, thousands of units if you don't do it the right way. Now, do we force the uh I'm assuming we're not going to wait for the last
minute. If the tenant here, they tell us they're going to increase our commitment. Um do we have any properties now that are being looked at or longterm assuming if it does happen? Hopefully not. Um so that way there's no
surprises. I'm not sure if there's already property being considered just for the plan. >> So our our commitment this when we sign off on this obligation, we're done for the now for 10 years. They can't change that. That's the number. Um 10 years from now, who knows what what they'll be
asking for. I can't tell you. Uh but right now, our obligation will be filled when we sign off on this. We know we have a number. We reached that number through our planners and through all the meetings we've had. I we had a special meeting last night, for example, with the planning board because they have to
approve this also and they approved it. Um so that will put our obligation in. So, we would be done at this moment. >> And and and there there's no benefit to earmarking property today
for affordable housing obligations that you think might come to fruition in 2035. Uh and uh it's kind of hard to articulate why, but I'll I'll certainly try if that's what your question was. I think
it was right councilman. >> Yeah. My concern was you know of course you know this property was a little bit of a surprise to hear that you know to be included. So you know in 10 years who knows what will happen. So yes it's more we already you know visiting or not at
least discussing properties that could potentially be included now or something that we just need to send it off to the side. We don't know what's going to happen in 10 years. I assume we're going to have to >> Well, well, there there's another
ordinance on uh this evening that that is uh providing for some housing uh to to address unmet needs. So, in in one sense of the word, uh I I we're doing that to uh to to a certain extent. Uh
but to um earmark property to be used for housing uh in a subsequent round that we're nowhere near at this point in time only assures that that property will be used
for housing at that point in time. Um, I know that as a community you all want to be fair and provide uh affordable housing and it's probably the impact of uh the uh market rate units that have to come along with it that actually create
the hardship on over congestion. Um, but if you were earmarking property for 2035, that's not something that's going to reduce your obligation to provide additional housing, then uh it's actually probably more likely to set a
floor and only increase what your obligations are in the future. So, I certainly wouldn't advise that. And and the and the reason why that uh is a truthful statement is because and I'm sure everyone here has
heard of the the terminology of a vacant land adjustment, which is a tool that the planners utilize to even after the state sets what your prospective need is, you have a way to offset that need.
And and the bureau in fact did do it. uh they made an adjustment uh arguing that while you may feel that this community should have 500 affordable units, we don't have vacant land that's s substantial enough to accommodate it. Uh
and as a consequence, you used a vacant land adjustment and knocked that number down. But even with that reduced number, we were obligated to provide uh certain properties uh to provide uh opportunities for realistic development of affordable housing. And this property
was uh identified again uh probably 6 years ago >> at least. >> Uh yeah, if not more as as that site and we are just now implementing the zoning necessary to accommodate that. And and
by the way, the state sets the number. You know, we don't we don't have any say on the number setting. We can fight it and we reduce it a little bit, but at the end of the day, the state comes up with the number for every community in New Jersey. Um, and you know, some communities are way past the number that they're even going to get to. Um, some communities fight, and I think we only
lowered a couple units. It wasn't like we lowered hundreds of units. We lowered a couple units. Um, but every unit helps uh that we lowered to. So, that's why we fight it. We have a great planner, son, who who's been on top of it. She presented to this court. she presented last night to the planning board. So, this is what it's about that we we have to move this forward or we'll find
ourselves in a hole. That's what it's about. >> Okay. So, the business owners were already aware six years ago that there was possibly going to be included. >> There was a conversation with because they have to say yes. They they could say no and then we'd have to go look somewhere else. Um so, we approached
them last time and we talked about it and then at the last moment we pulled out of that site cuz we found I think it was the Tilcon site we were going to use at that time. So, we used the Tilcon site. Now that the Tilcon site's used, we can't use that. We have to come up with another one. So, we went back to revisit this this building.
>> Okay. >> Okay. Okay. Motion to approve ordinance. No problem. >> 2607. >> Motion for introduction. Councilman Bennett. >> Second. >> Councilman Santers or uh roll call, please. >> Councilman Bon, >> yes.
>> Councilman Bay, >> yes. Councilman Cruz. >> Yeah. >> Councilman Hayden. >> My first uh inclination is to vote no, but through the explanation from the attorney and from the mayor, my vote is
yes. >> Councilman Sanders. >> Yes. >> Okay. Next. >> Okay. So, we're up to An ordinance amending chapter 190 article 15 affordable housing 190
article 17 affordable housing development fees to address the township's affordable housing obligations under the amended fair housing act in the uniform housing affordability controls ahead continue >> so this ordinance is mandated by the
same rules and regulations that uh were enacted acted for the fourth round. Each round has a different set of rules. Uh the rules aren't dramatically different. They're most of them are are somewhat minor adjustments. we uh were provided a
model uh ordinance uh from the DCA uh and uh there were some things in that ordinance which didn't apply uh to Pompton Lakes and they weren't part of our prior affordable housing ordinance.
Uh and what we're doing here is amending our prior ordinance. Uh our planner uh put this together. Obviously, I reviewed it. Um, and you'll see just like every other ordinance, the bold language is enacting new language. The struck out
language is removing language that was redacted. This is simply to comply with regulations that were mandated uh by our legislature uh and the DCA. Uh, and this complies with that. Um so uh this applies to
various portions of our affordable housing ordinance which discusses things like uh the set aside ordinance which imposes obligations for developers that will develop unexpected housing development in the
town. Uh if they secure a use variance for example uh then uh depending on the size of such a project they would have an affordable housing component to it. uh development fees, which people uh that uh do additions to their houses or
build new single family homes or commercial development for that fact uh have to make uh a contribution to the affordable housing trust fund uh and uh marketing plan things along those lines.
Uh again, this is an ordinance uh that is necessary for us to maintain uh our immunity and we have to implement it and everything that's in this has been a provision that's been mandated by the state or state agency >> and this is just to bring our old app
back up to uh to compliance. Right. >> That's all it is. >> That's all same thing. It's just changing. >> We're not creating any new obligations. All we're doing is setting forth uh the the the procedures essentially. >> Okay. Any questions on this one?
>> Is this the ordinance that we just recently got um just the other day? Michael, >> that is correct. Yes. >> This was 36 pages that >> I spent two hours. >> Yes. >> First three pages I fell asleep and I had to wake up and start over again.
>> This stuff is very complicated. Trust me. >> Uh yes, it was. And uh I just had a question on uh who is the MHL, the municipal housing liazison >> from the count. It's Mike Michael that does it for us. >> Oh, that's for us. Okay. That was
another question I had. I was just curious. >> Yeah, it was a it was a little on a boring read. >> Oh, it's okay. >> I have to give our attorney a lot of credit for >> reading through that and understanding it. Mhm. >> It would have been a lot easier for all of us if we just copied the the old one.
Well, yeah, that would be the easiest, right? But even the model charge, but you know, I had to kind of go through this and and S did a whole lot of work on this. >> Um, and this is something that really falls within her purview, her expertise. Uh, so I I certainly wasn't in a position to tell her, let's just use the
model, >> right? >> You know, so she did a lot of work uh blending them and making them work together. and uh it was a job well done. >> It was talking about a deed restriction for at least 60 years. Um the the deed
restrictions are 40 and 30 years respectively. Uh if you have a phase in uh well no it's 30 and 40 years respectively. >> This page that I was reading when it said 60 years where uh where could you put >> Oh it's 36 pages.
>> Okay. >> Hey Randy just to help you out. you can uh put it in an AI overview and it'll just break it down for you and make it short so you don't have you don't have to read all 36. I mean I I went through it too just to let you know. >> All right. Motion to approve ordinance 2608 for introduction. >> Motion.
>> Councilman Bennett. >> Second. >> Councilman Beg. A roll call please. >> Councilman Ben. >> Yes. >> Councilman Beg. >> Yes. >> Councilman Cruz. >> Yes. >> Councilman Hinton.
>> Um yeah. After all that reading. Yes. >> Councilman Sant. >> Yes. >> And the next one is for final adoption. >> Correct. >> Yes. >> Ordinance 26-05. Second reading has been advertised. An
ordinance amending chapter 190 article 4 of the municipal code of the burough component links to address the bureau's affordable housing obligations under fair housing act and the uniform housing affordability control. Just final say on it, right?
>> Uh so this is a zoning ordinance. This is related. Uh this uh ordinance uh has been an ordinance. This property owner was uh interested in uh an overlay zone. Uh this is where I think it's prestige uh auto.
>> This is the Montclair site. >> Yeah. Yeah. Exactly. So So this is I guess this is positioned between the quarry and and some residential property owners. Uh so uh San felt that this was
good planning. Uh we're talking about uh providing them uh some afford uh some uh density here with an inclusionary rate of uh 20%. Uh across the board uh regardless whether or not it's a for
sale unit or a uh a rental unit >> which is an increase from our initial last round was 10%. So we've been increasing to 20%. Again, this is just a place we've identified to maybe at some time build on, not us, the owner. Um, so
that's all this is. This is a second reading. We've already kind of talked about this one. Uh, but just reminding everybody because we have to find >> correct. And and she put in all sorts of uh reasonable uh zoning, uh, requirements such as setbacks, uh, etc. to protect the community.
>> Motion to open the meeting for public comment on ordinance 2605. >> Motion. Councilman Venning. >> Second. >> Councilman B. All in favor? >> I. >> Against any anyone from the public like to address this ordinance. >> Seeing no one motion to close the public session.
>> Oh, sorry. Go ahead. >> Happy New Year. >> George Papov, 11:04 Kfax Avenue. Late this afternoon, I received a notice. >> No, no, no. This is not an open session. This is just to speak about this ordinance. >> Oh, I'm sorry. We did the open session
already. Meaning start meeting start at 7 now since the beginning of the year. >> Okay. I wasn't aware of that. You'll have another one, right? >> Yeah, that was noted. Yes. Yes, we posted that. >> Yes, we will have another public. >> We'll have another one later. Yep. >> Okay. So, you didn't have anything on this ordinance. Okay. Um motion uh
motion to close the meeting for public comments on ordinance 2605. >> Motion. >> Councilman Santers, Councilman B. All in favor. >> Motion to approve ordinance 26. >> Oh, you have a question? Yes. I have a few questions. Um, this property is 450
month. Correct. >> It's was broken into two sections, but yes. >> Correct. He had built six units already on the left side of the property and he was looking to build four or fivetory apartment complex on
the right side of the property. that was pretty much knocked down and he was going to go back to building six more industrial units on the right side of the property. How does this ordinance affect that situation? >> It doesn't.
>> Is it still possibly if he meets all the requirements like we mentioned before and he was able to get through all the boards then yes, but we identified Sam has identified this as an area that we can use in our plan. That doesn't mean that gives him permission to do what he has to do. he still has to go through all the boards and do all the things and
if they don't agree with it then it doesn't happen. Um we can't tell him what to do. It's his choice to do what he wants to do >> and and this is an overlay zone which just provides him an additional option for the land. So if he wants to still go forward with the six other six
industrial units he certainly can. Uh again what uh San was doing uh was identifying uh in her opinion as to what the least impactful locations were to accommodate
our affordable housing obligation and the unmet need. >> And we've voted on this. We've talked about this. You were part of this is second reading on this. >> He's right across the street from where I live. And we were against and my neighbors were against him building any
kind of apartments there. >> Now if he wants to build >> but that doesn't stop him from just because the neighbors were against it unfortunately doesn't stop him from if he meets all the requ criteria of the boards and the boards approve it then they approve it. That doesn't just because neighbors are upset doesn't
doesn't stop. >> Are are you within 200 ft of this property? >> Right across the street. >> If >> he's 450 I'm 443. Okay. Well, if if you are within 200 feet of that property, >> definitely
>> then you have a conflict on this. I didn't realize that you live there. >> So, you he can't vote or can't vote. What's that? >> No, he shouldn't he shouldn't have vote. He shouldn't have even voted on the introduction, but uh that's not the binding, but this is binding. Um so, uh
if you're within 200 feet, you have a conflict. >> Abstain. Okay. Okay. Motion. Any other questions? >> None. >> Okay. Motion to approve ordinance 2605 for final adoption.
>> Motion. Councilman Bennett. >> Second. >> Councilman Sanchez. Roll call, please. >> Councilman Bennett. >> Yes. >> Councilman B. >> Yes. >> Councilman Cruz. >> Yes. >> Councilman Hint. >> So, I'm going to
>> No. No. He's he he can't vote. He's out. >> But he's going to abstain. >> Abstain. Yes. Is that what we're calling that? Abstain. or can vote >> recuse. Recuse >> recuse. Okay. >> Recuse same same effect. >> He doesn't get a vote in >> correct. >> Okay. >> Councilman Sanders.
>> Yes. >> Okay. Thank you. So that that was the second reading on that one. Next next meeting. The other two will be the final reading. And we're get you know these dates are very important. You miss these dates you you can't go back. They don't give you extra time. Once you go past the date, that's it. And I can tell you
and I'm sure our attorney works in other towns. Every town is pushing very hard at this this last two weeks to get this done. I was talking to our attorney from the board. We had a special meeting last night for our planning board just to make this happen and our attorney there said there are some towns who are not in this process and they're going to have
screw themselves by not getting it done. So this is I thank everyone this is hard stuff, crazy stuff, statemandated, so we have to follow it. We have to do it. Um I I just want to state something for the record because uh the votes over. Uh the
councilman properly recused himself. Uh but he he he expressed a concern about five. This doesn't permit five stories. It's only three stories. Just so that you know what the zoning was. >> Thank you. Thank you. Okay. Under my report. Let's start with our second
snowstorm. You know, a lot of snow. We're all thick of the snow, I'm sure. Right. At the end of the day, I got to give thanks to everyone that was involved. Our police, fire, cert. Uh, our roads were in good shape. Our roads were in good shape. When I say our roads, I meaning our town roads. Enough
that. News12 came here, their story from downtown basically stating, "We're driving around town looking at roads and Pompton's Lakes roads look good." Okay. Now, that being said, we always have issues. We did ticket some cars and I think the chief will probably address that. Um, it was even I think a car
towed and but for the most part the residents did what they were supposed to do and they got their cars off the street and we were able to get the job done. It makes our job of cleaning the streets so much easier. I have to thank uh OEM for putting together our our conversation throughout the day. Our DPW
of course they're working long hours to make this happen. Okay. They're working 12, 14, 16 hours and then coming in the next day to do garbage. It's not like we have second crews that that that section same crews picking up the garbage instead of doing the snow that are doing recycling. Our office staff, everybody's involved in this. This is not a oneman
show when we have these big snowstorms. Uh I can tell you that one of the situations I ran into, we we have a uh a text group that when things are going on and I reached out to the text group, I wanted to make sure that Wanu Avenue was open all the way to the curbs because it's the parking that becomes the issue.
If the parking lot spices are not open, it makes the street too narrow and that's where we have issues. We our OEM director reached out to the county that day exactly because we had no cars parked on the street. You know, we had no parking there. Um the county said they can't get to open it up right now.
I sent our crews down. Our DPW went and they opened it up court curb to curb which was great. But then the county on their own t decision decided to come in late at night, 2 o'clock in the morning with their big trucks come flying down the street and they picked up all that ice and brick and threw it onto the
sidewalks in front of the businesses. So I got calls from the businesses saying, "We're not here to argue. We're not here to make your lives miserable. You did a great job, but how do I remove these blocks of ice now that are sitting in front of my doors to get into my uh businesses?" So again, after some conversation with the DPW or with our
administrator, we kind of went out and helped them do that. And we're going to speak to the county to see if they can help us a little bit when they're be aware of those chunks of ice that they're throwing out in front of the the buildings. So, you know, it it's a cooperative effort in making this happen. You know, I I drove the whole
town and by 3:00, 4:00, 5:00, most of our roads were blacked up. The weather helped, too. It wasn't 0 degrees, but um you know, so I I we didn't we didn't do we did what we were supposed to do as a community. We got the cars off the street. We let the DPW do what they have
to do. All I'm going to say is the only thing I I will ask residents and I know and I am part of that. If we're outside plowing and you see the truck coming down the street for the second time and they're going curb to curb, don't give them the finger or yell at them because they're going to plow you back in a little bit. They've got to put the snow
somewhere, right? The snow has to go somewhere. I'm not happy about it either. I mean, I was out there shoveling when they came back and pushed the snow back into my driveway. It's just what has to be done. Uh, but thank you everyone who was involved in that. Um, I mentioned about the the the streets. Uh, we have a lot of county
roads. A member from the audience did the right thing and I know another member in the back there did it also. When we have an issue with county road, they listen to the residents. They do. When you send an email, when you make a phone call to the county, they will respond because that, you know, we can hear I'll do it. But when they start
hearing residents complain, that's when you get action. Same thing when you call Jersey Central or PSEG, we can call till we're blue in the face. When they start getting 20 or 30 calls from the residents, that's when they make a move. So, I always welcome calls from the residents when, especially county roads,
that first snowstorm, Hamburg turnpike was not done properly. You could only drive on one lane. like the gentleman mentioned that you couldn't get around snowbanks and they have to address that. They have to fix that. So, they did and I'm glad to hear that. The bad news of the storm is this put us behind on our
new fields that we're building down at Joe Grill where we were a month behind. We're probably a little more now. Unfortunately, I think we're going to have to push back uh the baseball season on the new fields till next year depending on how this snow moves off and
melts. Uh but uh we were right on time, right on schedule. Everything was going great. Unfortunately, the snow hit, so we'll see where we go with that. Uh I know there's been some discussion and people have come to me and said they've stopped putting in the new walk bridge at Hersfield Park after talking to the administrator. They haven't stopped the
work. They might have stopped for a couple days when we had that heavy snow, but they are still moving forward to put that cross bridge in. It's supposed to be in before summer camp starts, which is July 4th. So that bridge should be in place by beginning of July and they're on schedule to do that. Uh I have a uh
appointment mayor to accept resignation of Michael Michael Barbaria as commissioner to the recreation committee and to appoint Lorie Tagert as a commissioner to the recreation committee to fill an unexpired term until December 31st, 2030 with the advice and consent of council. Can I have a motion? That's
a motion. Have a second. >> Second. >> Councilman Bennett. All in favor? >> I against I. >> Okay. Zoning board. There was some movement that we have to vote on the mayor to appoint with the advice and consent of burough counsel Gary Close to become alternate one terms expired 20
123127 Lynn Hazelman as alternate number two to fill in a term till 123126 Richard Dvonte as a member to fill an unexpired term till 123126 and then we do have now because of some
movement of people off that board uh two openings uh for the zoning board. If anybody's interested, please reach out. That's the motion. Can I have a second? >> Second. >> Councilman Beg. All in favor? >> I against. >> Okay. Uh Councilman Ben. Thank you,
Mayor. Um relatively short uh committee report tonight. Library board last night or Monday night was canceled due to this uh snow. Um RDA was also cancelled uh last week. Uh the finance committee did meet. Uh we discussed line by line certain
items that uh certain departments asked for, some got what they needed. Uh most did not get or some didn't get what they wanted. And that's in order to keep uh our property taxes uh any increases in check.
Uh with that, I will go into my breakdown of the dollar uh of of everybody's property tax. of the dollar that we collect about 55 cents typically goes to the board of ed 20 cents goes to the county and 25 cents is spent by the burrow. So this 25 cents is used to fund
the DPW clearing of the snow, the police who we very much uh uh appreciate their work and as well as uh how we fund the fire department and their apparatus as well as for our state squad. Um,
lastly, I want to congratulate the robotics team that I am a co-ach of along with uh, Riverdale Councilman um, Dave Desai, the Steel Magnolia's uh, advanced to state uh, states which is going to occur on March 15th. Uh, I'm
very appreciative of the work that the these young ladies do uh, and the robot they built this year. And that's my report. It's great news. Uh, thank you. Uh, Councilman Big. Um, first I'd like to make a motion to approve a carnival license application by the Pmpton Lakes
Elks, um, number 1895 to be held at 15 Paranav Ponttolakes, New Jersey on the following dates and times. Thursday, August 27th, 2026 from 6 through 10 p.m. Friday, August 28th, 2026, uh 6 through
10 p.m. Saturday, August 29th, 2026, 4 through 10 p.m. And Sunday, August 30th, 2026, 4 through 10 p.m. Uh, no alcoholic beverages to be served at the carnival or on the premises of the license e
during the conduct of carnival. No license granted under this article may be assigned or transferred by the LE violations and penalties subject to fines. The application is to be reviewed and inspected by the police, fire prevention, first aid, construction official, and the health department.
>> Can I have a second? >> Second. Councilman Bennett. All in favor? >> I. >> Yes. Okay. >> All right. Try to be brief. >> Yeah. Go ahead. >> Um I attended the EPC meeting. Uh they're well underway for planning this year's townwide river cleanup which will be held on Sunday, May 3rd. Um after the
EPC meeting, I attended the open space meeting. Um the Broad Street property is not going to come into fruition as he wants to redevelop the land himself. I think we've discussed that previously. Um the Hersville Park Boat House is almost complete. The bridge replacement is still on schedule. Once the bridge is
completed, they can begin work on the walking pass. Um the Hersville Park basketball courts project has been completed. Um, last Thursday I attended the BIN meeting where they presented and approved their budget. Um, as of now there are three spring and summer strolls that have been added to the event calendar that will take place on
Thursday nights from 4:00 to 8 along Waniku Aav. Um, part of Wanqav will be shut down, not the whole street but part of it so that you can dine outside. Um, there will be music and other activities also provided for those dates and they are looking for to put a fourth date in there as well. Um the bid business
directory is now live on the website and has be been refined. Um please please visit the site at pmpton lakesbid.org. Residents again you can sign up for the monthly newsletter on that site. Um on Monday night I attended the prevention coalition meeting. Um they are in the works of planning their sticker shock
event and the walk for hope this spring. Um last night I attended the historic prevention meeting. Um or I'm sorry historic uh preservation meeting. Uh they are looking into adding a historical sign at the ice house located on Wanuku Aav um which is like behind
Wanuku a and to put signage on the front fence and then behind it. Um they found kids hanging out down there and not really realizing it's a historical site. So we discussed that last night to properly sign it. So >> yeah, I think it's a great idea on the street you're talking about on the sidewalk. >> Yeah, like on the sidewalk on the fence there and then when you look down or if
you cut in the other way, there will be another sign there to say like this is a historical place. So, um, where was I? Uh, and then unfortunately last night's recreation meeting was cancelled. However, they still want me to announce a number of events. So, here
we go. All right. The Public Lakes Recreation is holding a field hockey clinic from March 23rd to the 27th from 7:00 to 8:30 at night on the turf or in Lakeside Gym depending on weather conditions. The clinic is for 1 through 8th graders. Um, Pontto Lakes Recreation is also holding a softball clinic from
March 19 uh 16th to the 19th from 8 7 to 8:30 on the turf and in Lakeside Gym. The clinic is for again 1st through 8th graders. On March 3rd, there will be an inclusive resource fair in the high school gymnasium from 5:30 to 7:00. Um, again, a reminder that the walking club
is moved indoors at Lakeside Middle School on Tuesday and Thursday nights from 7:00 to 8:00. It is free of charge. Um, women's get fit is every Monday and Wednesday night from 7:00 to 8:00 at Lincoln School. Pickle ball is every Saturday morning from 9:00 to 11:00 at Lincoln School. Um, the Pmpton Lakes
local PBA 161 is hosting a 5K run walk on June 6th. Registration begins at 8. The run starts at 9:00. The Easter egg hunt is March 28th. Again, a little different from the calendar at Hersville Tennis Courts. The hunt begins at 2:00 and please bring your own basket.
Breakfast with the Easter Bunny is Saturday, March 21st from 9:00 to 11:00 at Lakeside Middle School. Seating is limited. No tickets will be sold at the door. And this Friday night, uh, the Elks is hosting a taco night from 5:00 to 7:30 or until food runs out. And that is my report.
>> Well, that's a big F right there. >> Okay, thank you. Uh, one thing I forgot to mention in my report, I met with the fire department today. They will be having a festival on August 22nd recognizing their 125th year of operation here in Pmpton Lakes. It all
also corresponds with the 250 year anniversary of our country. So there will be a uh kind of what like a wet down without the water part with uh food and and uh fire trucks and things and more to follow on that. They are selling tickets for a fireman's dinner uh uh
beef steak to offset the costs on that. So, if anybody's interested in that, just reach out to any firemen you know or give a call out to the fire department. Leave a message and they'll get back to you. Uh, okay. Uh, Councilman Cruz. >> Yeah. Thank you, Mayor. Fortunately, I was up fairly well yesterday and did not
attend the board of adjustments, so I do not have a report to that. >> Yeah, I have. Uh, but I just want to recognize brother. I believe his name was Joe Roberts from the Pun Fire Department who was riding around in a quad with a pilot test and a snowblower on the back and uh he was driving around
just checking on where did it see if they needed any help and you know given the weather you know he was just going around just checking on everybody. So kudos to those guys as well. >> Good. That's it. >> Yes, that's okay. Uh just a update cuz I
was at the zoning board meeting last night. Uh it was a long meeting and they decided that there's a a house across from the fire department that it's it's in a business zone. They came to the zoning board to have it adjusted to a residential zone which the zoning board did agree to and they'll be putting in a
couple uh of apartments that are not changing the house. It's a historic house. The house is 115 years old and they're having a problem selling that property as a business. So they want to make it residential. the outside of the house will stay the same and they're going to add two or three or maybe I think it was five apartments, I don't remember the number uh inside without
changing the outside. So that's what happened at the zoning board meeting. Uh Councilman hit. >> Thank you, mayor. Um I also attended the finance meeting. Oh, I forgot. >> Councilman Bennett and um listen, it's the first time I've been on finances
since I've been a councilman. And uh it's not Christmas. We have to we have to cut back for a lot of the departments on a lot of their requests. Um we're trying to keep the taxes as low as we can. Um the mayor has stated previously
that yes, when vehicles need to be replaced, we need to replace them and I agree with them 100%. But we just can't get multiple vehicles. We have to really watch the budget. We have to watch the taxes on the taxpayer.
And um so we're working as hard as we can to keep it as low as we can, but there's a lot of expenses that are coming up and we have to uh address them. Um I had a seniors meeting. Um everybody's happy at the seniors and um
we talked about it. I announced to them that uh our new chief uh Chief Rodriguez said he would like to attend the next meeting of the seniors to introduce himself and to ask any questions. And I would like to invite you also, mayor, if you would like to come with the
>> I don't have to be a senior. Do I have to go to to be a senior? >> You don't have to be a senior to be there. You just have to be the mayor. >> All right. All right. I'll go as the mayor, not as a senior. >> That is March 5th at 5 at 12:00. >> So, I mean, you're invited if you want to come with >> We'd love to have you.
>> Um, let's see. We uh we had a meeting with uh down at DPW with Senator Pacio today and um hopefully he can bring some funds into the town to replace the DPW garage.
It's in uh sorry shape and it needs it's been needing for a long time but really needs it to be replaced now and we're really trying to address it. So, we uh welcome the senator and whatever help he can bring to our town to do that, we'd
really appreciate it. We thank him for being there today. Dim and his liier, his assistant with >> chief of staff. Yeah. >> Okay. So, um also I noticed during the storm um I think it was the fire department, maybe OEM could say, but um
they were out cleaning fire hydrants. And uh I had brought it up at the last storm and um I talked to the MUA. It was recommended I call the MUA and they came right out and cleared a couple of fire hydrants that I had pointed out and uh I
think in this storm the fire department was out and uh they did a good job also >> and I can tell you our clerk reached out to the Boy Scouts and they did respond and they would be jumping on they were going to jump on the fact of helping them. What we need to work out with the departments is to identify the um the
the hydrants so they know where to go because they they would but they've been more than will willing to help us with that. >> All right. And then I brought it up at the last meeting for Councilman Sanders if he can bring it up at the MUA about putting flags on the rest of the the fire hydrants that don't have them.
Maybe that's in his report. So we'll see. And uh that's all I have. Thank you. >> And and thank you Mr. Hint for reminding me. We met with Senator Pacio today who is you know our representative here. He came down to take a look at our DPW building. I give him a great kudos for
coming down taking the trip to look at our building. Look at the way this works with politically is you have to get the money from the top. It comes from the governor's office. It comes from the assembly. It comes from the senate. So we have to ask for this money. This is not a cheap proposition to replace this building. This is a millions and
millions of dollars of of uh replacement costs here. The building is very old. Uh it needs to be replaced. Um any assistance we can get from anywhere, federally, county, or state, we're going to take advantage of it. We've been working very hard with with Michael and the administration and myself making
calls to get anybody who will listen to come down and take a look. Senator Ponacho is the first to come down and look and he has said he's going to push as hard as he can from his position at the state level to try to get us some funding. We will be inviting hopefully the governor or the governor's aid to come down maybe take a look at the
building uh to see because um at the end of the day the building's in rough shape and uh it has nothing to do with the fact except that it's a very old building. I mean uh our engineers have looked at it and it's just an old building. So Councilman Hinton and myself met with them today and and I
thank them for coming. So thank you for reminding me. Uh Councilman Santers. >> Uh thank you mayor. I did attend the uh special meeting for the um planning board last night and uh as uh
attorney Samara said uh he said everything uh what happened in the meeting last night. So um basically we uh adopted what we needed to do to get up to uh our obligation for the state um
state code. Um, I attended the MUA meeting today and, um, on April 20th, uh, 2026, the Pmpton Lakes Burough Municipal Utilities Authority will conduct its, uh, spring hydrogen
flushing program. The hydrants will flush will be, uh, flush between 12:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. to cause least inconvenience to their customers. Please note that any discoloration of the water or drop in the water pressure
uh can happen during this uh time. If uh if you do have discoloration, just run your cold water until the uh discoloration disappears. If uh if you have any questions, uh reach out to the MUA 551-4277375.
Also, I did mention to them about the hydrants with the uh markers, and they do have markers. Um, they were they had a certain amount set aside a year that they're putting out, but they will they will uh put more markers out when the
weather gets better. Also, uh I mentioned to them about the smell over the weekend. And here again they said uh if you have any problems with the smell please reach out to them and not to barrel hall reach out to MUA and they'll
come out and they'll assess the smell. So they really didn't have any any uh answers for why the smell was so bad. And um Steve and I attended this weekend um
orientation for newly elected uh officials. Um it was a full day seminar. It went over uh how to deal with uh the uh uh business administrator, your t
your clerks. Um it went over uh uh per understand public purchasing. So it was a full day uh event. I think Steve and I took a lot out of it and uh was well well attended.
Um I say there was probably uh 200 people there. >> Yeah, probably about 200. >> Yeah. And uh that is my report. No. >> Yeah. That that's a good class. You learn a lot there. Especially for someone coming in new. It's it's a good educational class on how things work there. Uh unfortunately and and the
administrator knows this. I know it's not in his report, but I'm going to bring it up again. I do get calls on on the smell from from the MUA. This is not this has been an ongoing problem. It's not all the time. It seems to be when we have a cold snap and then the warm weather hits, temporary version, I don't
know if you want to call it. I've been asked by residents to come down and smell it. I have. I did smell it. We have reached out numerous times to the MUA. They gave the same answer they gave to Councilman Santers. We'll address it if there's if we see something, but they don't see an issue with it. There is
something there. I'm just telling you there is something there. And we've got to get to the bottom of it because it's not fair to the residents. And it's not just around the plant there. It it it permeates into the south side. You know, sometimes I can even smell it up by me on the north side. So, it's something going on. I we need to get to the bottom
of it. It's a relatively new thing. It has for years we never had an issue with it. In the last three years we've had an issue with it. So I think we're going to set up another meeting right Mike and start try to talk to them again and see if we can get a little bit more information on what it is. But we we're listening it. Understand though the MUA
is independent of us. We don't control the MUA. Um but we do want to get to the bottom of why it is what it is. Okay. Uh attorney's report. >> Nothing uh public. >> Okay. >> For publicans
administrator. Thank you, mayor. Uh, following up on tonight's agenda, I would like to recognize our building inspector, Walter D. Christina, who has retired from the burrow effective March 1st. Uh, so on tonight's agenda, we did hire a gentleman, Michael Rossi, uh, of
the township of Wayne as the replacement building inspector. Uh, Mr. Rossi is going to begin early next week for training with Mr. D. Christina and, uh, begin his role next week. So, we welcome him and thank Walter for his service to the burrow. Um, as a reminder, it wasn't
mentioned before, we do have a budget workshop meeting on Wednesday, March 4th at 5:30 p.m. here at the burrow hall. So, we look forward to that. And, uh, the budget spreadsheet and meeting materials will be sent to the council early next week. Uh, echoing the mayor's
remarks, uh, again wanted to thank Senator Pacio, the mayor, Councilman Hinton, and all of our staff members for attending a site visit at the DPW garage earlier this morning. Uh, for the governing body that might not be aware, we are working with our state and
federal uh, legislators uh, for replacement costs of the facility. Uh, to date, the cost of the project stands at $9 million. Uh so we are working on federal and state budget appropriations. Again on tonight's
agenda, we did have a resolution uh authorizing a grant submitt to Congresswoman Poe and her office through the congressionally directed earmark spending program uh through our federal legislators. Uh so we are working towards uh getting funding for the
project and uh you know if anyone happens to run into any of your state or federal legislators please mention it to them and you know I thank the mayor and everyone for their work on that. Uh lastly, just wanted to recap. Uh we
did hear from the Burrow of Oakland. Uh they did formally adopt the shared services agreement for solid waste recycling and vegetative waste collection services at their February 24th council meeting. Again, the agreement will be in effect from July
1st, 2026 through December 31st, 2030. Uh as a result, the bureau issued a press release earlier this morning uh on our social media channels and we will have a frequently asked questions document coming in the next few weeks uh on social media. So we are working on
that. Uh just to answer some questions that have come up through the public. Um again the Burrow of Pumped Lakes consistent with all shared service agreements will charge the Burrow of Oakland a service fee. This fee is structured to fully cover all direct
costs with built-in escalations to account for operational expenses and capital equipment needs. There will be no reduction or loss of services for Pompton Lakes residents. Additionally, because Oakland residents currently receive a seasonal curbside grass
collection, we are working towards ultimately implementing a similar service for Pompton Lakes residents as soon as practable. Uh should anyone have any questions or concerns, uh please don't hesitate to call my office and I'd be happy to talk with any resident that has any questions or concerns. And
again, we're looking forward to the agreement and we are working on implementation with the burrow of Oakland and we will report back. Thank you. So just thank you for bringing that up. Uh for Pmpton Lakes residents, nothing is going to change with the way your garbage is picked up. Same day,
same time, same people, everything stays the same. No loss of services, no loss of anything. If anything, once we get it moving, you're going to get your, which I've actually fought for for 17 years, is to have the grass picked up again. We will now be picking up grass from your
home. Won't happen right away once we figure that out, but you'll be able to we'll figure out it's going to go in a bag or it's going to go in a barrel, but we will come to your house and pick up the grass because that is an offer that we're offering Oakland. So, if we offer it to Oakland, then we have to offer it to our residents. Uh, so there will be
no change of service to any Pmpton Lakes residents. >> I have one additional comment. Sorry. Uh, so I see Mr. Papa here in the audience. I wanted to give an update. I've been working with our risk manager, Michael Murphy of Kai Insurance Partners. Uh, we did contact the GIF
earlier this week and made contact with the director uh today. Uh, so we did escalate the claim and we are working with the director. We have a call scheduled for tomorrow morning with our risk manager and with the GIF to review the claim further and answer any
questions that that the uh insurer may have. So we've been in contact with Mr. Papov and are really working on his behalf and hoping we have a practical resolution for everyone. So I thank Mr. Papov for his patience and for his work
and we assure him we'll have an answer for him tomorrow uh with f further updates. Thank you. Okay. Any questions for the administration? >> No. >> No. Okay. Uh chief, your report. >> Yeah. Um so I'd like to say, you know, during the storm,
uh great communication between all departments uh worked together uh really well. Um made uh made things easier when uh issues or concerns uh came about. um you know to to the to the men of the
police department, you know, all these guys were placed on on recall, which means uh you know, they have to be ready to come in at a moment's notice if they were off if we needed the manpower. Uh luckily, we didn't we didn't have to call anybody in. Um but you know, all time off and things like that were
cancelled. So, we had full shifts, dispatchers, everybody did a a great job um throughout that storm uh and handled all the uh public safety issues that we had. Um just to touch on some of the issues, um there were some issues that
arose on um Midland Avenue. Obviously, that's a it's a very tight street, a lot of cars. We were able to uh I think we received some complaints that were reported. So, we went out there, but we were able to clear uh clear it out with uh the extra
cars. DPW was able to get in there and go curb to curb on that street. So, it alleviated a lot of the issues. Obviously, it's a two big two family section, uh two family home section, so you have a lot of cars that that parked on the street. So with that snow out
there, it would have been difficult to get a fire truck or any, you know, emergency vehicle through there. We ended up having to tow one vehicle out of there because it just it just couldn't stay with the snow. It had to come out. Um I know there's uh some other issues around town with parked
vehicles. Um we are addressing them. Uh at the moment, um the ones that I have come across have been brought to my attention. Uh I don't feel it is a uh it's a hazard as the vehicle is there. Um, we are trying to get in touch with the homeowner to maybe dig it out. They
have been issued summones. Um, so we'll be following up on them in in the in the coming days. Um as for uh oh on February 27th this Friday um we will be the police department will be hosting a uh
breakfast to honor all our crossing guards um you know for their continued uh dedication uh you know to the town protecting you know all our kids. They definitely play critical role in uh school safety. So uh invite you all to attend if you want to
if you want to come out Friday morning. Also in the in the coming weeks I will be uh meeting with uh all our religious leaders. Uh and then as uh Councilman Hinton said I'll be meeting with uh members of the senior community. Um once
I narrow down uh some of the dates for the village leaders, I I'll send that out mayor to you if any of you also want to attend. Uh happy to come out and attend that meeting. And again, um, that's all I got.
>> All right. So, I think, um, the only question I I'll ask you is now that we're 2 or 3 days past the storm, I guess someone should take a look at the sidewalks in downtown, someone hasn't plowed the sidewalks, then they have to be uh, summoned on that. I think what I
what I can see is there's some vacant stores, so maybe those weren't done. So, you know, the landlords would have to be contacted on those to to do that. Um, but uh look, this last storm, not this last storm, the storm before that, we
cleaned down the downtown and we got rid of the snow and we did all those things with the help of Michael doing that. That was a costly proposition. It cost us, you know, 30,000 or more just to do that one storm. We can't do that all the time. So, I have to put some of the pressure on the store owners to make sure they're cleaning their sidewalks in
front of their businesses. So, if we can address that. >> Any questions for the chief? >> Um, one of those stores was Roth Cleaners. Now, that's >> that we take care of. That will be ours. >> That wasn't cleaned. I saw that that wasn't >> I know I know Dan is aware of that because that one is something we have we
have to take care of that. >> All right. Questions for the chief. >> Can you hi chief? >> Um, Broad Street. We know that Broad Street is a county road. Um but I live on Montlair so I go up broad a lot of
times. What's happening is those two apartment buildings, one on Ringwood Avenue and Broad, then the next smaller one up from that, those guys are plowing their parking lots and plowing the snow right across Broad Street and piling it
up in the street. Now Broad Street, if you go there now or tonight after the meeting, half of the road is blocked. Now, we understand that we're requested not to take our cars out of our driveways in a snowstorm
and put them in the street and clean all the snow off our cars. To do that is nothing in comparison as to what these people are doing. Plowing the entire parking lots out and leaving them in the street. Now, I brought it up
to DPW. They said they can't issue a violation from that. That would have to be you, correct? >> I mean, if they're creating if they're if they're creating a hazard, >> the street is half block. >> I saw what you're talking about where
the um where the big mound of snow as a resident actually brought it to my to my uh uh to my attention as well. For us, the issue with summons, we would have to be there when they're pushing it out. We'd have to witness it. Um we'd have to see it. So, I mean, I I get what
you're saying, but it's pretty much I would say unless we're in the right we're in the right place at the right time, there's really nowhere to enforce it as as being a statute. >> Uh, but I'm going to say either our administrator or you should at least make a call to the management company to
let them know we're aware of this and if we catch you doing it, you will be fine. >> Yes, that's that's absolutely. I think what what is definitely make that call just the reality of it when we do they're going to you know just so you're
aware they're going to give the excuse of oh we hired we don't know who it is not saying that the bottom line is we have to get the road cleared >> the road is blocked now >> exactly so I don't know I don't is the DPW taking care of clearing that now
>> it's a county road I don't know that's up to theoretically a county road but I'm going to Michael reach out to Dan tomorrow to see what he can do to help us in that situation. Uh the county I'm sure will not come back at running right out to do it. Uh our guys if our equipment could move it probably have the best availability to
do it so we can move it. >> I think it's more important though that we make the management company and I I agree they're going to blame the the flowers. We don't care about what who they're blaming. We're going to blame you if they're doing it. So they have to be made aware they got to find a place on their property for their snow. And
and granted this is a crazy snowstorm. This is not a normal snowstorm, but they got to figure it out. That's, you know, every other person does it. They got to figure it out. >> The aspect of Broad Street, as you know, and we all know it's a county road, but it also goes to the quarry. So now, now that the road is half blocked, and then
the auto body parks, one he can after the storm, parks his cars on the street. Now it's And then the dump trucks coming out of the quarry. It's a it's a major problem. That snow should not be there. Whatever we can work out with Dan. So, I'll have Michael He'll get back to us.
He'll figure that out. >> Um, also, um, you talked about Midland Avenue. There was a car that you did tow. >> Yes. >> That, um, the term I was brought to my attention is persistent violators.
There's still the Cadillac on Grant Avenue that was there when the last storm and now it's still there. It's plowed in. There's one on Albany that you might be aware of that's plowed in. Um,
persistent violators. We need to tow these vehicles. >> Yeah. So, did I don't I don't know. They might be persistent violators. Um, I'm not inclined to have my guys tow a vehicle unless it causes an obstruction
in the roadway or a public safety hazard. Um I just I I just uh they they did we issued a ticket. The reason why we made the decision I went on site on Midland A for that car is like I said the the street was so tight and there was a number of cars there. If we left
the car there and the DPW wasn't able to plow it just constricted the it constricts the street even more. Um on Grant A the street might I don't think it's as narrow as Midland A and plus you don't in in in my opinion you don't have the
number of cars for the two family >> Midland A that section between Willard and Broad Street there's a lot of two family houses >> correct >> there's so many more people on that street I agree with you on that >> but still what happens is when people leave their
cars there neighbors see that they left them there don't know that they got a ticket And then they just start violating the law. >> Yeah. >> And the reason >> DPW shouldn't have to have his guys for all the work that they did
almost around the clock that they were plowing, they had to stay later for the police to clear the road so that they could plow the road. Now, initially those cars should have been gone whereas DPW didn't have to stay longer
to do their job. Well, I think if I was if we were if the police department was notified about the situation when they first plowed the roadway, we would have went early in the morning and dealt with the situation. It was only brought to my attention uh I think because a resident
uh stopped the OEM and then they put it over the radio. >> Right. So, the chain of command is going to be the DPW would reach out uh to the police department or the administration. Um you know, we're not going to reach out, the resident isn't going to reach out directly to the police. It's going to come from somewhere and then the
chief is going to make a determination from his side on what has to happen at that point. You know, is it ticketed? Has it been ticketed numerous times? Is it in the way? It's not in the way. That's going to be a chief call. Um, you know, we're not going to be telling him how that how that's going to happen. Uh, so if he determines it should be moved,
then they're going to move it. If he determines people can get around, that's his determination on that. >> And then just to take in account, just to explain a little bit further on that, there's a number. So it's not just you tow the car and it goes to our tow company. when you tow the car, uh you know, the person's already getting a ticket. Then when it gets to the to the
uh to the yard, uh Malangus is also going to start charging a storage fee and it could be hundreds upon hundreds upon hundreds upon hundreds of dollars. And if and then you know you know the way I look at it is that if there's no obstruction to the roadway
and it's not uh I understand it's a nuisance but they are getting they are getting a summon and they are receiving a summon for that infraction. So by taking the car uh you know I feel like there just needs to be uh an an there's got to be a further reason for it. Like
you know there's got to be some type of explanation why I'm towing it. I just don't want to tow the car because there's snow on the ground because theoretically if you re if the way the ordinance is the ordinance does allow to ticket it and tow. But then where where's the gauge? Are we are we are we towing are we just going to ticket it
and tow all the vehicles that are in town? Um so I feel like there's there's got to be a public safety hazard obstruction to the roadway where it's giving me cause to take that extra step of taking someone's vehicle. Traffic-wise, it's not it's an obstruction to the roadway and you made that judgment.
>> Midland A, it's a narrower street. Grant A, it may not. But the aspect of the vehicle being there and getting plowed in all the roads have a crown to them. >> And in that crown, that's for drainage. >> So now that car is there on Grinth
Avenue from the first storm, it was there from the second storm. Now, if we get a heat wave and you're getting melt and you're getting drainage, that car and that snow there is blocking the drainage for Grant Avenue. >> Well, it's going to get around. It's not blocking the drain.
>> Well, it's a big pile of snow around both sides, right? >> This is why we try to plow curb to curb >> so that when you do have a melt now, the roads will drain properly, too. >> So, and then so you know, my officers did go there during the first time. >> I was going to ask about that. Did they
>> We went there, we knocked on the door. That's I'm I'm almost 100% positive that's the issue where the person is is uh >> elderly, right? >> No, they're they're just not available to to they're not around. >> Uh there's some specific stuff that I
still want to put out in the public with the person. They're just not available and they don't have the keys. So, we asked him to we asked him to clear the car. Um he said he he said he was going to um if the car is not clear to the snow at least dug out. I'll be more than happy to send someone over there to take care of that. There's also another
trailer that I've been dealing with on B Chav East. I think some of you also sent um some emails in regard to it or resident sent some emails regarded to S. So that is that is a trailer but it's not a commercial trailer. It's private trailer. >> It's big trailer. I actually personally stopped at the residence yesterday
knocked on the door. No answer because the trailer is completely there's snow all around it. Um so he's it's got to be dug out and he's got to you know this is probably like the three or four times. Yeah. >> Okay. So it's been ticketed as long so
just so the council's aware and and correct me if I'm wrong. They get a ticket. They get a summon to take care of it. If it still happens they get another summon on the same property. That ticket goes higher, right? The cost depending on the >> Yeah. Yeah. I mean, theoretically, if uh one of my officers see it in the morning and give it a ticket and then it's still
there at night and they're still plowing, they're going to give it another ticket, >> right, next day. >> And I think we need to do that. I think we should definitely do that. >> Yes. >> Um, you know, I understand, you know, the and I it's I don't want to say that we care about the cost that they're paying, but at the end of the day, we should give every opportunity to get the
car out of the way, pay the summons, and not and make them understand more importantly, you can't do this. So, you got to leave your car off the streets during snowstorms. Now, if there's circumstances that for one person, maybe there's some way we can help them and uh get the car on the property. I'm okay
with that until they figure out what their issue is. Um but if we have outright people saying, "I'm just not going to do it." I say we take it to the end, keep going. >> Yes. Absolutely. And then you don't know if this vehicle is uh you know, that could be somebody's lifeline, their livelihood so that they can feed their
family, get to their work, get to their job. It's almost like when DWI's when somebody gets a DWI now, depending on what happens with that, they're not always taking that car for that 6 months anymore like they used to because they see that that vehicle could be someone's
lifeline to feed their family so they can get to work. >> So, I really, you know, I really want to it's a tool, but it should really be used in a situation that that warrants it. >> All right. And like I said from the beginning, we were talking about some certain instances. For the most part, most of the residents did what they were supposed to do.
>> Yeah. The streets were the streets were good. I was out numerous times. I know uh you know Al was out checking. Uh so the streets everybody seemed to do their their part really well this time. >> Okay. Any other questions, Richard? >> Well, I just want to make a statement. We're not here to punish residents,
>> but I mean persistent violators who constantly leave their vehicle out. >> Yeah, >> that has to be addressed. >> Absolutely. >> Um I had another question on um 19 Cannonball Road. Cannibal Road is no parking on either side. and all the way down. Now, some of the signs we can I'll
talk to Dan about it. You can too, mayor administrator. A lot of those no parking signs are so old and so faded that uh you can barely read them. But, um 19 Canar Road, >> the auto body shop, >> the the auto body shop,
>> he's constantly parking vehicles. >> It's been Yeah. >> up on the sidewalk blocking the roadway. >> Yeah. So, we've been >> I'm sorry, ma'am. So, we've been uh we've been addressing this body shop now
for I would say the last four different owners. Um the most recent one, he's been better than the rest, at least since my time here. Um but he h does have a habit of having cars out on the sidewalk, out on the roadway, or he
parks it into the adjacent property that's labeled B property. We do go there address it uh quite often. Um he always tells us that he's shuffling cars out. Um we have issued uh numerous summones to him uh for either parking on
the burrow property when we've told him not to. Um this was escalated up to uh buildings. Um I know I received a report from John uh Lindberg who's in the buildings. Uh he said that he went there
to also address some of the concerns that I had that this is probably part of the problem is because there's so many cars on there. He's almost using it as like a junkyard >> violating the ordinance with too many vehicles. >> Yeah. So that would be that would be the police department and they have written them up on that. >> Yes. So they they went there and I know
my >> Yeah. A summon was issued earlier this week. >> Yeah. And look again if it's it's a repeat and I am agreeing with Mr. Hitten here. If it's a repeat offender and someone parking on the sidewalk every time we drive by just draw a ticket on it. He'll learn his lesson when it's he's paying thousands of dollars to get his call back. >> Absolutely.
>> Uh so, you know, that's just what has to happen. >> 100%. >> You know, we're going to try to work with you best you can, but if they're not working with us, then that's a different >> and our guys have been going over there. I know personally officer Eris has gone over there numerous times issued summones over there. So, you know.
>> Okay. Anything else? >> You have another 20, but >> no call privately. There there is a car carrier parked on Ringwood by Carlile and it was plowed in this past snowstorm. It's been there for
about 3 weeks. >> A carrier with cars on it. >> Yeah, it probably holds about >> But there's actual cars on it. >> No. No. >> Oh, no. It's just an empty car. >> Yeah. >> Where is it? Ringwood and >> right down by Carlo. >> Okay. >> But yeah, it's it's there every night.
Um and during this snowstorm was plowed in. So, um, and it's a it's a big vehicle. >> Well, that's a separate ordinance if it's over our tonnage over is it? >> Yeah. Oh, yeah. It's it's probably 80,000 lb. >> Oh, so then that >> Yeah, you can't park overnight and uh
it's uh >> Yeah, I could check to see if it was issued any summones. >> Okay. Any other questions? >> No. No. >> Okay. Thank you, Workshop. >> Thank you, Mayor. Uh so in tonight's uh meeting packet you have a letter from
the county Payic engineering office. Uh so again it's that time of year where the county reaches out to its prospective uh municipalities uh seeking input and guidance on their uh road resurfacing program. Uh so I do have a letter from Pay County. Uh first
point is that uh as requested 2 years ago uh from the burrow the county is going to be paving in 2026 uh Hamburg turnpike from Wanu a intersection to Tune Drive. So that's good news for Pmpton Lakes. The that
stretch of road is in bad shape and we thank the county for their partnership on that. Um so again part of tonight's discussion uh you have an email from the burough engineer. Uh again, the county is looking for either roads and/or projects that they would consider uh for
the FY2027 road program, which would be for next year. Uh so the burough engineer did write back to us. Uh they suggested uh looking at uh storm water drainage on Ramapo at at Riverview Road. Uh it's been
reported to us that there was a search charge of water from the December 19th rain event. Uh so that that's a suggestion. Uh and then as part of the Pay County program for this year, the burough engineer is suggesting that the
county perhaps take a fresh look at the monument intersection at uh Wanq and Hamburg to see if there's any pedestrian safety improvements that can be made. Um and then the third recommendation in speaking with DPW
is as requested last year is to resurface Cannonball Road. Uh that road's in bad shape. Uh so we are putting in a request for Cannonball Road, but we are seeking additional roads andor input from you uh before we
go ahead and submit our letter to them. So if there's any questions about county roads now, just so everybody understands county roads. Um, uh, the only thing I would suggest at the monument. I think what needs to be done there is, and maybe the county has a better way to do this, an identification to use your blinker. I mean, that's an important
process at that monument, right? Because if people are not using your blinker and they're making a left or they're going straight, it can cause an accident. We've had numerous accidents at that monument because of that. I I don't know if that's a flashing sign. I don't know if it We actually have a sign, I think. Don't we do Do we have a sign there? There's a sign.
>> Yeah, there is a sign. Um, but maybe it make it more identifiable. Um, you know, that that would be the only thing I could think of there. Countywide, I'll leave it up to our engineers to, you know, take a ride around or Dan and and say, "Hey, look, maybe we need to do this, this, or this." If you guys have a drive around and see a county road, you
know, reach out to Mike. >> Okay. >> Okay. So, uh, to clarify, we're going to be submitting for the full stretch of Cannonball Road. >> Yeah. Which is >> to the end. I know there was comments about where do you cut off? >> Well, where is the end? Right. So that that's what we're going to figure out um
in addition to the intersection and to Ramapo at Riverview Road with the storm water. So we will submit a letter copy all of you and if you come across anything else let me know. >> So that's a good point. The Cannonball Road when it runs into the Dupont property there when does it become
DuPont Road? You know part of the Dupont property? >> Do you know that? >> I don't know off the top of my head. >> What did you map on the website? might be up there. >> There is an actual line. The property line is right there. Once you go past that road and come to punch all pothole
and and really bad shape, >> right? That's in bad shape on that side. >> After is it after uh No, no, no. Well, before >> Yeah, it's got to be well up right after mountain side um driveway pretty much. Couple hundred feet. There's a fence.
>> Well, no, the f they own the road in front of the fence, too. I certain of that. >> Yeah. >> If you look on a map, you'll see. >> Yeah. Okay. So, let's take a look. >> Yeah. Thank you. Thank you. >> Any other questions on there? Okay. >> Motion to open the meeting for public comments. >> Councilman's uh
>> Bay and Councilman Sans. Um all in favor >> against >> Okay. Anybody from the public like to address? >> Maybe right there. >> No. >> From Mountain Drive. Again, >> just wanted to let Anthony know that
that uh body shop on Cannonball, it's a daily occurrence. Walking the sidewalks, parking 6A cars all along the stretch of the Broadway. Majority of them have no inspection stickers, no license plates on them. So, who knows what kind of cars
they are. They're all beat up jilapies waiting for a big uh truck like the other gentleman, Mr. Sanders stated one of those big like eight 12 uh size trucks to come and put it on the lift and and haul them away. It's been a
problem day every day. And again, people can't walk on the sidewalks cuz 3/4 of the car is on the sidewalk on most days and it's it's it's a daily occurrence. So, if something can be done, that'd be great. I brought it up to a couple officers if they could go and check it
out. They were parking in that little patch there, but now there's a cone with a sign that says not no permission to park in that area, which is great, but their overflow is just unbelievable. Anything you do, greatly appreciate it. Thank you. >> Thank you. Anyone else from the public
like to address? >> Good evening, George Papov 11:04 Kovac Avenue. I'd like to thank uh Mike Carelli for the communications as far as how things are progressing and I hope I do hear from him tomorrow see how this meeting goes. However, the big thing
that I learned over the holidays through a social meeting with Hower Engineering is that 1102 Kofax Avenue where the pipe is, there's been there have been no plans developed, no engineering drawings, just contractors coming in. I don't believe
that the building office here in the burrow will ever issue a building permit unless the proper studies are done by competent professionals and I I'd like some better coordination because I don't know what's going on.
>> Okay. If the owner of that property does not want to do the repairs, then the burl has to to step back because if we cut into the this the wall that is combined on both properties,
uh the property at 11:02 could fall into the lake. That's really going to be a problem. So that means that regardless of what financial settlements Mr. Carelli is able to do, everything's going to change. I don't want to do anything like that. I
don't want to touch anything unless it's properly documented and we really know what the hell we're doing. It's not a simple project. I'm sure Mike will agree with that. >> Okay. >> All right. Thank you. >> Thank you. Anyone else from the public
like to address? >> Mr. Mayor, council, good evening. Evangelista, emergency management coordinator. Um, I would like to make a few quick remarks because our people in town did an excellent job.
And when I say people in town, I mean the residents with their compliance with the overnight parking. It was awesome. Uh, I did a windshield survey that night at about 11:30 and I drove around just about every street in this town and I think I counted about 10 cars on the
different streets. Now, there may have been cars that park there after midnight, people coming home from work. I don't know. But I think at at one point in the morning, I asked about some issues. At the point, there were 29 uh that were issued that I knew of. But um
the people were great. This the residents um as a whole uh were terrific. And from our first storm, we picked up on the U Facebook site for OEM 308 followers. And I put that on there. So people, you know, are taking advantage of our our social media
information that we get out. We had the nine reverse uh notification call that went out and uh you know, we put out um over 1,200 calls on that on that system. Uh which is good. So as you know, a state of emergency was declared on u
Sunday at 12. The governor just rescended it today at 6:00 p.m. All right. So we're now out of that state of emergency. Now the work begins with the recovery costs. So um I sent information to our administrator Mr. Carelli. Uh there's going to be a lot of compilation
that's necessary and a part of all the burough entities, police, fire, EMS, uh DPW. Uh it even extends to the public schools. So I notified our superintendent, notified Windsor school because it covers privates as well. Spoke to St. Mary's because as you know
that is our shelter. We have an a me memor memorandum of agreement with them anou uh for that shelter and that parking lot. So we're going to try to submit some of the costs for clearing that parking lot because as you know the
search team was activated on standby. They were ready to establish a shelter there and we did have to clear that lot and make sure that we had places for people to go into park. So all of that stuff was done behind the scenes. People don't see that. you know, that takes
place um as a general rule and um yeah, everybody just fell into line as far as their responsibilities and meeting them. Uh police, you know, the chief's idea of putting cars undercover, that was that was awesome. It got them out of the lot
here, but at the same time, uh they were undercover and prepared. I know that fire was ready. They had the quad spot which was started back in the '9s and that was primarily uh because we had an incident on 287 with a very huge uh
snowstorm and we actually had cars up there stranded and we had to go up and and uh evacuate people from from their cars. So the quads came in handy. We had a side by side that was parked in the firehouse. And these all belong to our members. They're private vehicles. you know, they're they're willing to put
them forward for the good of the community, the safety of uh of the public, and that worked out well. Um, they did go out and shovel some hydrants. What our community has to understand, we have 350 hydrants in the Burough Pumpton Lakes, and they're all approximately 300 ft apart, and they're
usually on the same side of the street. So, if one is on the right as you're going into the street, they're probably all going to be on the right. So if our residents know there's a hydrant there and they can't find it, that could be a u you know reminder to them where that is with the markers. We had started that
in two phases. I think somebody mentioned it uh because of course they went out and they put half the markers on half the 350 and then they were supposed to follow up on it. I guess the weather got nice out. It went by everybody's uh you know memory and and what happened and it never got finished.
But we'll make sure that that does get finished because it obviously comes in handy when it's needed. Uh communication was seamless. I mean, we have a very interoperable communication system between everybody, police, fire, DPW, uh EMS, everybody. We're all on ultra high
band. We're all backed up by um backup repeaters and backup transmitters. You got the generators in all our public buildings, which are serviced quarterly, as you may or may not know. So, we're up to snuff on that. Uh, we know they're going to start when we need them. And
now the school would be online, Lakeside School with their generator. I spoke to Superintendent Emeroso. That's not done yet, but it is a backup for the Carnival Center because we do not have a generator there. We have a generator to bring in to power the building, but that's a manual thing that's got to take
place. Uh hopefully we're getting the civic center outfit when that's done so that we'll be able to use that at least as a warming center because it's not big enough as a shelter. We uh we have undergone training Sharon uh Sunny our secretary uh Dan Catrell our deputy
coordinator myself with a new program the state police have called EMTT stands for the emergency management mapping and information technology program. What that does, it's a one site that we go into and log into and we can declare our disaster on there, which we did, and we
can resend it on there where before we had to type it out on paper, we had to scan it, we had to email it down to the county and so forth. So, this has really streamlined the process. Also, if we need equipment that we don't have that either the county or state may have, we
enter it in there as a need and they will query it and then they will respond and say, "We have it. Here's where it's located. we'll get it to you. And ETAs, we talked about that the other day and that's going to help the whole process. We used it for this storm to declare and
now to resend. And uh we have to do tests uh quarterly on that system. So it's not like it's out there and it's just forgotten about. Uh the county and the state require testing on that. So there there's a lot that goes with this whole pro uh process preparedness. you
know, we have the gas um gasoline um depot which is backed up by emergency generator with diesel and and gas. So, we're good in that situation. And some of our u generators are natural gas like the one at the uh first aid building and that's another that's one less thing to
worry about. All our departments were wellprepared and thank you to this council and the councils before you for giving us the equipment that we need to handle the job. For example, I remember I've been in this seat a long time with emergency management and there was a time that we did not have the equipment
to pile like we do now. And in the 9596 storms, we actually had problems because we couldn't get to our 129 streets in the Burough Pontton Lakes fast enough to help the residents out. And what the residents have to understand, and I'm saying this for the benefit of the
council, is that in an extreme emergency, when you got snow coming down 2 to 3 in an hour, which they they said was going to happen after midnight, and I think at some point it did, we just go around and plow one path on every street, just enough to get emergency vehicles down there. Police, car, firet
truck, or an ambulance, just one. So what happens, a lot of people see that and they see it come by once and the truck never comes back for a number, you know, minutes or hours and then they're like, "Well, they forgot about me." No, they didn't. We're trying to do all of the streets first with one lane so that we have access for emergencies, then
we'll go back and we'll start pushing it back. So the public has to understand that. They wouldn't know that unless we tell them. That's part of my um reason for being up here uh uh tonight. We made contact with all agencies like St. Mary's was on alert. we might have to
use that as the shelter. So, Phil, who lives right in town on Ging Road, he was uh at the ready. So, we had that lined up. Cert had all their hours, you know, uh scripted. Fire department did the same thing. They had standby and they
had an alarm at at the height of the storm there and they were out of the firehouse in three minutes and I think on scene in less than five, which was remarkable. First aid squad as well, they had a couple calls. They had two crews demand the two ambulances should
they be needed. So kudos to all those people, all volunteers that, you know, do what they have to do when the when the situation gets rough. The MUA was contacted, put them on notice, god forbid, a water mane break, which we didn't have, but as you know, if you were watching the news, there were a lot of water mane brakes around in various
towns. And that's because of the freezing weather, right? The pipes become very brittle and just traffic driving over that roadway can break that pipe. So, we're very fortunate. Our MUA MUA does do a good job on our water system. You keep it intact. You flush
the hydrants uh twice a year, which uh you know, relieves the sediment and keeps the valves operating on those hydrants. So, we're in good shape there. And uh they do a good job as well. Plus, I don't know if you know this, some of the newer council people may not, but there were times that we actually called
them to help us plow with their vehicles. They have plows on all their trucks. We had 14 plows out for the first storm and 12 for the second. That's remarkable for a small town like this. We had a lot of vehicles on the road. We had two loaders working and then we had the uh sidewalk crew as I
call them going around doing all the corners and sidewalks. I'm almost finished. JCPNL reached out as the mayor knows we have a government contact and they wanted to make sure that everything was good. We had no power outages. Again, another thing that really heightens the crisis. We were good on
that. And they did come around the past couple weeks trimming trees. I think people might have seen those trucks in the area. So, they have become very proactive after Hurricane Irene. Okay. JCPL really got on the ball after that. I commend them for that. They follow the
incident command proc process. If you haven't been to their uh to their facility out in Morristown, I went there. As a matter of fact, I got stuck in the elevator with Councilman Bay. Not that Councilman Bay, but another Councilman Bay because we had too many people in the elevator. There had to be
15 people in there and we actually got stuck, but we got out. But anyway, uh that aside, the recovery now is a big part. Getting all these facts and figures and we don't want to lose any money. Uh we want to make sure that we get restitution for damaged equipment
and so forth and so on. So, I've urged all the people that I've spoken to to get it to Michael as quickly as possible. there is a website that they can go to to enter all this and what it does is it totalizes as you go where and this is a brand new system as well and
um in previous events in previous years we had to compile all that information on paper and then enter it at the end of the storm so they didn't get their threshold for quite a while our threshold in county is 2 million about $2,400,000
so all the 16 towns now could go into this program and it actually totalized is in and uh you know uh it's it's a running aggregate if you will so that we can find out as soon as we can make the threshold. Once we make the threshold,
FEMA will FEMA will declare it a disaster area and then we will probably get funding from that and that's what they're waiting to see right now. So that's the important part. I don't have anything else unless there's some questions but thank you for your attention. I appreciate it. >> Thank you.
>> Have a good night. Anyone else from the public would like to address? >> Mayor, I just had one thing I forgot. Sure. >> Um, I just wanted to take a quick second to address our police lobby. I don't know if if uh any of you guys have been in there, but just recently uh we had uh
reflective tint installed in the lobby. And I just want to briefly explain that so you guys know the reason for it and then the public knows the reason for it. So, the reason that the reflective tint was put in the lobby is so that members of of the public can't see into the our
communication center. Um, from the lobby, it was possible to view all our computer screens and uh security camera monitors. Uh, these screens contain confidential law enforcement information and they also contain live uh security
feeds. Um that visibility created a security and privacy issue that we needed to address. Uh definitely long overdue. Um from the inside, our dispatchers can
clearly see and communicate with anybody that comes in the lobby. You will be looking at your reflection. So it's definitely a little odd or not what not what you used to, especially in our lobby. Um, this obviously prevents sensitive
information from being visible uh from the outside and um this is actually a common practice that a lot of police departments uh in our area and around have gone to uh for just the very same reason uh that we do that that we have.
Um, so I certainly understand uh that the glass feels, you know, less less uh personal than it did before. Um, but just unfortunately in this day and age and environment, the security considerations required us to make some
adjustments uh like this. and uh you know it's my responsibility to ensure the safety of our personnel and uh protect sensitive information and uh to maintain the security of the building. So that's why the decision was made to go. >> Is is that a standard procedure now in
most police departments to have that? >> So it depends. Uh I don't know if it's standard. It's very common. If you go to Riverdale, uh set up the same way. You go to Wayne set up the same way. uh hailed in. Um
it it it really depends on the setup, but that's really the common theme. Um it also depends on uh when the building was made and and how the screens were. So uh Wanq is pretty up-to-date building, almost brand new in terms of buildings. So when they designed it,
they designed it where these monitors or these security screens were the other way, >> you know, weren't visible so that if you came up to a lobby window, you weren't seeing that. >> I'm going to say this, I I I think and I understand the reasons and I understand what you're talking about, but it does
make it a very impersonal conversation from the outside as a resident looking for help from a a dispatcher or police department to not see who they're talking to. >> Absolutely. And you know, just to clear, >> so I would hope that somebody comes out. >> Yeah. So I was just going to say that. So the the the role of the dispatcher is
to uh talk to that person and immediately get them the services they need and officer will be coming out and addressing any concerns. The dispatcher is not there to address a concerns of a resident who come in with a type of complaint. They're just there to take
their name, information, what their complaint is, enter it into their computer, and notify that supervisor to come out and take the walk-in. So, they will be able to see someone face to face. >> Uh, it's just unfortunate that >> uh this day and age. And >> no, I understand stuff that's there.
>> I'm looking at it as if I was a new resident in town, don't know anybody, and I walk into a police department, I'm trying to get my story across, and I'm looking at a piece of glass and I can't see anything. It makes it hard. I mean, there's a lot of police departments, too, where you walk into the lobby and you're actually you're picking up a phone
>> and then telling them the the issue. You don't even get to see anybody and then somebody comes out as well. >> All right. So, we're aware of it. Thank you. >> Okay. Uh, any nobody else? Okay. Motion to close the public session. >> Councilman, uh, who was that down there? >> Stor and and C second by Councilman
Bennett. All in favor? >> I. >> I. >> Okay. Uh, Ken, thank you for the comments. We are on top of that. We are working with that. That has been an ongoing concern situation over there. I got my building department working on it. I got the police department working on it. They cannot park on the sidewalk. It's that plain and simple. They get
parking there. I'm sure we're tick just keep ticking them. Um Mr. Pop off. So I if I'm understanding I'm going to ask Mike to jump in here, but our engineering is overseeing what we're doing down there. So is that pro property part of the what you're looking at? Uh so to reiterate, we're coming in
and filling the pipe and decommissioning the existing easement pipe at which point uh the property owner at 11:02 will have some restoration claims as well uh after we come in and decommission that pipe. So we are in the
process of working with the homeowner to identify the cost for the restoration as we did with Mr. Papov. um and are in the process of waiting for the snow to settle to come in and
decommission the actual pipe. Um we did reach out to 1102 for some information. We are waiting to hear from him. >> Um but we'll follow up on that and >> and this is all done by the engineers. Not quite done by DPW or anybody else. The engineers. >> Okay. >> So the engineers are aware of it and
they are taking care of it and the property owner is going to have his own claim to put in whatever he has to do. But that should according to what the engineers are telling me that should fix our problem here. >> See some coordination between the two properties because the engineer is not communicating anything. >> Well, the engineer is not going to
communicate to you. He's going to communicate to Michael and then Michael will communicate. >> But we will schedule a field meeting. >> Okay. >> Yes. >> Al, thank you for all that good information. As always, OEM is on top of everything. I know like I said, you know, we we we benefit from the years of experience that you have and other
people. So, you know, over time we see every obstacle that comes our way and we're able to handle it. And just the fact that we have such an active volunteer fire department and certain department, these are all volunteer groups makes a big difference. I talked to some mayors that are saying, "Sir, yeah, we sometimes have three, four
people. If I can make a call, I said we have well over 50 that are sitting ready to go." So, it's it's it's a big kudos to everybody involved, especially the volunteers. So, thank you. Um, and I think that's it. Okay. Okay. Uh, approves the floor. Any pros
of the floor? >> I just want to say something that I forgot to mention before. Um, Friday I received a um a text message that our newest member that you need to swear in for the Shakes Commission, Kayn O'
Conor. um she passed her test and received her ISA certified arborist. So here we have the newest volunteer for the shry commission and she's a certified arborist.
>> Good. >> So we're very proud of her and uh it'll be a benefit to our shry >> commission. No, no doubt about that. >> And if you can attend our next meeting March 9th uh March >> and swear her in. >> I think I'm away that weekend, but let me see. I'll get back.
>> Okay. >> Um, any other person on the floor? >> No. Okay. Motion. We have a close session, correct? >> Yes. >> Motion to adjurnn into close session. Thank you everyone. Oh, I'm sorry. Uh, Councilman Bennett and Councilman Hinton. All in favor? >> Thank you everyone for that time. This
is the average public. >> It is a public meeting, but we don't really get public. >> No, I mean I answer your question though. Let me >> just to be safe. Liz, are we filming uh next Wednesday? >> Okay.
>> In close session, we discuss negotiation and personnel. Motion to adjurnn. >> Motion. >> Councilman Venning. Councilman Hinton. All in favor? >> I. >> Again, thank you. >> All right. Love you. >> All right. Don't forget we have the meeting on Wednesday. Oh, Mike. I want you.