Let's rock and roll on. >> Okay. Thank you. Good evening and welcome to the Burough of Ramsey regular session of the mayor and council meeting for Monday, November 24th, 2025. This meeting is also being conducted telephonically. The dial
number is 4254366365, access code 213563. And of course, the meeting may also be viewed on the Ramsey YouTube channel. May I please have a roll call? >> Mayor Dylan >> here. >> Councilwoman Cusk >> here. >> Councilman Gutwer >> here.
>> Councilman Kilman >> here. >> Councilman Pablo is delayed at this point. Councilwoman Poppy >> here. >> Councilwoman Woods >> here. >> Thank you for flag salute. I will ask Council to
Ice to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. The New Jersey Open Public Meetings Law
was enacted to ensure the right of all citizens to have advanced notice of and to attend all meetings of public bodies at which any business affecting the public is discussed or acted upon in accordance with the provisions of this act. Notice of this meeting of the mayor and council was published in the Bergen
record and the Spurban News on Wednesday, January 15, 2025. Do we have approval of minutes? >> Yes, madame maker. Madame Mayor, I make a motion to approve the minutes from the work session of November 12th, 2025. >> I second, Madam Mayor. >> Thank you. Do we have any comments or
changes to the minutes? >> Not hearing any. Roll call, please. >> Councilwoman Cusk, >> yes. >> Councilman Gutweather, >> yes. >> Councilman Kilman, >> yes. >> Councilwoman Poppy, >> yes. >> Councilwoman Woods, >> yes. >> Thank you. Okay, we don't have any communications. I'll open her up to
public comment. Anyone wishing to address the governing body, please give your names following the last name and address. Please speak in an audible tone and address your comments to the chair. There will be a fiveminute time limit for speaker unless reduced because of the volume of business on the agenda.
Please note public comment is your time. Out of respect and fairness to all, there will be no interruptions or questions answered during your time. No time shall be seated to anyone else and no time shall be saved for later use. Any responses may be given during the governing body's comments later in the
meeting or is directed by the chair. The burough clerk is the official time. Okay, there's not seeing anyone in the chambers who wants to step up. Is there anyone on the line? Second call for public comments. Third and final call for public comment.
I will now close public comment. Let's move on to advertise public hearings for final consideration of ordinances. Ordinance 252025. >> Thank you, Madam Mayor. Uh this is the final reading of ordinance 252025 ordinance to authorize the undertaking
of various water system treatment improvements at the Arrow Road treatment facility in by and for the water sewer utility of the Burough of Ramsey in the county of Bergen State of New Jersey to appropriate the sum of $3,250,000 to pay the cost thereof to authorize the
issuance of bonds and finance such appropriation and to provide for the issuance of bond anticipation notes in anticipation of the issuance of such bonds. responds have been brought up for public hearing and all persons interested having been given opportunity to be heard pass final reading by title
and that said ordinance be adopted as an ordinance of the bur of Ramsey and be further resolved that the burough clerk be and she hereby is directed to cause a copy of the title of said ordinance be published in an official newspaper of the burough in the manner provided by law together with a notice of the date of introduction and adoption of said
ordinance. >> I'll second. >> Thank you. Do we have any comments on the ordinance? All right. Um, this ordinance uh authorized the issuance of bonds as stated in the amount of 3,250,000 for water treatment improvements in
accordance with recently enacted EPA mandates and new regulations regarding treatment for and elimination of PAS com compounds in the water supply. The board of public works had proactively addressed PAS and some of its water supply wells in accordance with the New
Jersey D PAOS limits a few years back when they were announced. The federal EPA limits recently enacted or lower than New Jersey D. And the BPW had been working with its professionals on plans for treatment on additional supply wells that were compliant under the NJ D
levels but now will not meet the lower federal EPA limits. The BPW's professionals have complete completed the design plans and public bid package for the Arrow Road facility treatment project. This ordinance authorizes funding for this project. The
BPW is also working with the state through its I bank for this bond funding. It's very competitive process with limited funding but allows for lower interest rate financing for these water treatment projects and the potential for principal forgiveness on the project debt. We will continue to
pursue this I bank funding to help mitigate the cost to our residents as a water system customers. >> Thank you. Any other comments? Okay. Not hearing anything. I'll open this up to the public hearing for the final consideration of ordinance 25 2025.
Not seeing anybody in council chambers wishing to comment. I'll open it up to anyone on the phone. First call for public comments. Second call for public comments. >> Third and final call for public comments. I'll now close the public hearing. May we please have a roll call.
>> Counciloman, >> yes. >> Council, >> yes. >> Councilman, >> yes. >> Councilwoman, >> yes. >> Yes. >> Thank you. We'll now move on to ordinance 26, 2025. >> Thank you, Madame Mayor. This is the
final ordinance number 26-2025. An ordinance amending chapter 2 of the code of the burough of Ramsey, county of Bergen, state of New Jersey, and more specifically article 3 subsection 2-32.2 to there of entitled appointments having
been brought up for public hearing and all persons interested having been given an opportunity to be heard pass final reading by title and that said ordinance be adopted as an ordinance of the Burough of Ramsey and be further resolved that the clerk be and she hereby is directed to cause a copy of
the title of said ordinance to be published in an official newspaper of the burrow in the manner provided by law together with a notice of the date of introduction and adoption of Z ordinance. >> I'll second. Thank you. Any comments on ordinance 26, 2025?
>> Um, Mr. Jose or or I can >> uh either way, >> please. >> Okay. >> Thank you. >> All right. This ordinance amends chapter two of the Burough Code regarding the organizational structure of the Ramsey Police Department. The ordinance adds a third lieutenant to the command
structure authorized in the Burough Code for the department. The third lieutenant would be designated by the chief of police as an administrative lieutenant. Some of the responsibilities of this p position would be to supervise all civilian staff, the dispatch
communication center, the officer in charge of the traffic bureau, as well as assist the captain with opra and discovery requests. Over the last number of years, there has been a significant increase in the administrative time demands on police departments on a number of fronts. This amending of the ordinance will help the bureau to
address this need and maintain the high quality department we have. >> Thank you. Okay. Roll call, please. >> Oh, I'm sorry. Let me um let me open this up to the public. Is there anyone from the public wanting to comment on
ordinance 26 2025? Okay. Not seeing anyone in chambers willing to wishing to comment. Is there anyone on the line that would would like to comment on this ordinance? First call for public comment. Second call for public comment.
>> Third and final call for public comment. Okay, we'll now close the public hearing. Can we please have a roll call? >> Councilwoman, >> yes. >> Councilman Gutter, >> yes. >> Councilman Kilman, >> yes. >> Councilwoman Poppy, >> yes. >> Councilwoman Woods, >> yes. >> Okay. Thank you. There are no appointmentments this evening. Let's
move on to consent resolutions. Thank you, Madam Mayor. Uh, be it resolved that resolutions 20225 through and including 210 2025 having been considered by the governing body of the B of Ramsey B and are hereby passed and approved. There are no special
permits or block party requests this evening. >> I'll second. >> Thank you. Any comments on any of the consent resolutions? >> Hearing any. Roll call, please. >> Counciloman. >> Yes. >> Council Gut. Yes.
>> Yes. >> Yes. >> Yes. >> Thank you. We'll move on to committee and leaison reports. Finance administration. Councilman Gutler. >> Okay. last time. Can I uh first off, I would like to thank
Councilwoman Poppy and those involved in putting out a very successful and interesting Ramsey Journal that just hit the news stands over the weekend. It really exemplifies the outstanding organization and emergency services that are so prevalent in our burrow. Thank you, Councilwoman Poppy. I would like to
congratulate the Ramsay High School girls soccer team, completed an undefeated 25-0 season, accomplished a triple crown, winning the league, county, and state group two championships, and are one of the top teams in high school girls soccer in the country. I also like to acknowledge and
congratulate the terrific fall seasons of the high school football, boys soccer, and volleyball teams who all made it to the sectional finals in their sports. Go Ram. Uh for the library board, there was a comedy night fundraiser held on Friday, November 7th.
This event showcased several New York City comedians who have been featured on places like Comedy Central, Sirius XM, and have their own specials. The event was sponsored by the Friends of the Ramsey Library, and the library raised over $1,000 and attracted many new faces to the library. Uh, with the success of
this fundraiser, the library is planning on holding semi-regular small-cale events to raise some funds, but also attract new individuals to the library. And the next fundraiser is being planned for Friday, January 30th with a theme of a night out at the library. Friends of
the L Ramsey Library will hold their annual jewelry clearance sale on December 6th from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p. p.m. And residents can check the library's website for full winter programming. for the rec commission. Uh the winter basketball registration is open through December 15th and wrestling
registration also through December 15th available through team staff. The season is going to run from January to March. Uh the reccomation commission is also in process of setting up a K through 2 grade basketball clinic starting in January with three 45 minute sessions by
grade on Saturday mornings in January and February. And the current edition of the Ramsey Journal lists all the activities from the Ramsey Rec Commission on their page in the edition. Ramsey Farest Market is open 9:00 am to 2 PM through November. Starting December, the hours Irish change from
10:00 a.m. to 1 p.m. On December 14th, there's St. Nick's Day at the Old Stonehouse. And while we're in the holiday season, you can get your knives and other cutlery sharpened by the Hudson Sharpening Knife Service at the farmers market. Check out the great vendors that are in attendance at the
market each and every Sunday as well as crafts for children and music and a nonprofit organization is usually in attendance. >> Our report for this evening. >> Well, thank you. Public safety Councilman Kilman. >> Thank you, Madam Mayor. I echo
Councilman Gweter's introductory comments, but I specifically want to single out Councilwoman Sarah Poppy for working for her work on producing the Ramsey Journal. It is no small task and I appreciate um that journal when it
comes out. Um it has a lot of great information in it and just getting everyone to contribute on time in itself is is a herculean effort. Um the design team continues to work on the Ramsey Emergency Services Complex project.
They're working on a revised concept that remains within set budget parame that remains within set budget parameters despite um ongoing inflation and rising construction costs. Once the design phase is completed, it will be presented to the full mayor and council
as well as to the public following an internal review of the proposed plan and bid package. The burl will then submit the materials to the state office of controller for approval before proceeding to the bidding phase. At this time, there is still no estimated
timeline for when these steps will occur. And that is my report today. Madam Mayor, >> thank you. Building planning and zoning. Councilwoman Woods. >> Thank you, Madame Mayor. Um, I would like to also thank Councilwoman Poppy for the Ramsay Journal. Uh, it arrived.
I was thrilled we got two this year. Last year we didn't get any. Um, it was very, very well done and it's a wealth of information. I encourage everyone to read it. Um, the League of Municipalities did not disappoint this year. I came home with a few inspirations and I'll be sharing those
soon. Uh, and I'd also like to wish you and your family a very happy Thanksgiving and safe travels over the holiday for all of my people and all of our constituents. Uh, design review board, the next meeting will be tomorrow, Tuesday, November 25th, and there are two applications. The December
meeting will be on the 16th. The senior trustees board, the holiday party will be Tuesday, December 2nd. That's been their main focus and that will be at the Ramsey Golf and Country Club. The next trustees meeting will be Thursday, December 11th. And the zoning board of adjustment meeting will be Wednesday,
December 17th. The meeting scheduled for the 19th of November was cancelled. And that concludes my report this evening. Madame Mayor, >> thank you. Utilities, Buildings, and Grounds. Councilwoman Cusk. >> Thank you, Madame Mayor. I attended our Ramsay stigmafree senior celebration on
November 15th. It was a wonderful gathering filled with community and gratitude. I want to thank Jake Englishman, Ramsey OEM and 13th in mid November for their food drive. It was cold but smiles and hearts were warm. The donations were shared between the
center for food action Ramsay responds and St. Paul's Church. Of course, congratulations to the state champion Ramsay girls soccer team and Councilwoman Poppy. I look forward to getting the journal, but it hasn't arrived at Darlington AB just yet. But
I'm going to find a copy here tonight, I hope. Um, my report is an update regarding our planning board, Shade Tree Commission, and Board of Public Works. The next planning board meeting is December 2nd. The Shade Tree Commission met on the 20th of November, and the December meeting is canled. Ramsey is a
tree city for 30 years now. The board of public works last met on the 17th November. The next meeting is the 16th of December. Perr and poly florinated substances POS are a large group of humanmade chemicals and their persistence in the environment is a
concern. The EPA has set forth POS water quality limits impacting our wellwater supply. H2M, our architectural and engineering firm, is collaborating with the Ramsey Water Department on treatment solutions for our well facilities.
Ordinance 2025, as burough administrator Vose discussed, is for our Arrow Road treatment facility. And I do believe at our last BPW meeting, uh, HQM representative, Mr. Matigia
indicated that the I bank told us to proceed with our bids for the Arrow Road. So, um I think that that's wonderful news directionally. Um and I bank, by the way, is the New Jersey Infrastructure Bank providing the low
loans. So, um wonderful news. Um the lead service line replacement, uh BPW continues planning and implementation measures to comply with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection's lead service line replacement mandate, requiring that all lead service lines in
the water system be replaced by 2031. At our September 10th meeting, we approved ordinance 18-2025, which amends chapter 17 to establish a section entitled water or lead water service line replacement. The ordinance
delineates responsibility for the cost of the mandated replacement to the burrow on our water side as well as the portion um that the property owner owns. The ordinance provides for a $750 payment to property owners who replace
their galvanized or lead water service line before the later of 270 days of adoption of the ordinance or 180 days of when the property owner was first notified that they have a line requiring replacement. The ordinance also has
details on what's needed for the payment and I believe that on our website soon there will be full instructions. Now, thank you very much, burrow administrator. So, on our website, there are directions on um what is required as well.
>> And finally, leaf removal. It began October 13th. Please help make this effort safe and efficient. Refer to the annual fall leaf pickup posted in October on the burough website and it's still there. It provides a schedule of leaf collection program. Be aware that
piles of leaf should not be placed in a manner which could impede public safety or clog our storm water drains. And if the leaf pickup does not meet your schedule, leaves may be taken to the Ramsey Recycling Center located in the rear of the Main Street commuter lot. Madame Mayor, that's my report.
>> Thank you. You are welcome. >> Public and governmental relations Councilwoman Poppy. >> Thank you, Madame Mayor. Thank you everyone for your comments on the the journal. Um, just to reiterate, I certainly could not do it without the
help of Kelly, Meredith, and Erica, the burough organizations who spend a lot of time writing these articles for submission, our partnership with CompTime, um, our printers, and, um, the support of the mayor and council. So,
thank you everyone. Um last week I attended the League of Municipalities where um I also attended several workshops relating to local government. It was a great opportunity to connect with representatives from neighboring communities, vendors offering valuable
services to municipalities and other elected officials. There are always new ideas that are inspired by this conference and I look forward to coming back and sharing those. Um, I would like to >> enter your pin followed by the pound or
hash. If you do not know your pin, please enter pound or hash. >> Something about the rhythm, the rhythm of my voice or something. >> Okay. >> Thank you. >> You're welcome. >> Yeah. You're welcome. Um, so I want to
give a shout out to Ramsey Stigma Free for their celebrating seniors event that was held on the 15th of November. They did an amazing job. I uh walked out of there hugging everyone I could see and telling them how proud I was of them.
They they really they really did it beautifully. They left no details um you know outstanding. It was it was fabulous. Um, the Ramsey Municipal Alliance is meeting tonight. They are downstairs in
the conference room starting at 7:30. And I would like to wish everyone in our community and the mayor and council a very happy Thanksgiving. No matter what you are um all doing this year, I hope that it's wonderful and you have friends and family nearby. Thank you.
>> Thank you. >> Okay. Um, Councilman Popp is in here. Does anybody have any report for him? >> Okay, then I'll move into mine. Um, I know Councilwoman Cusk mentioned the C
food drive. Um, it was more than a food drive. They actually collected a lot of personal hygiene products, cleaning products, um, paper products that are desperately needed. And I did speak to Sharon Vogle about it when we were at the stigma free event and she said the
response was so overwhelming that when they brought everything over to St. Paul's there was too much for St. Paul's to take. So it ended up going to CFA and CFA was still unpacking. Um so it was just overwhelming the response. So thank you to everybody who donated for your
generosity. Um let's see. The police are rolling out the education regarding the new ordinance for ebikes and e scooters at the schools this week and the PowerPoint presentation will be also be put on the website because it's not just kids in school that ride ebikes and e
scooters that need to know about the changes. Um and the sigma free event with the senior gen was spectacular. I was so pleased with the outcome. It was done executed perfectly and I think everybody had a really good time and
once again it made great use of the community center. So well done to Stigmafree. Um great job on the Ramsey journal. Extremely informative I thought this one very much so. So I was happy to see all the articles in it. Excellent. And the second page is all about the DPW
the BPW. Okay. So they got their coverage there. Um yesterday I attended the interfaith Thanksgiving service at St. John's and it truly was interfaith. You had um people from the mosque in Midland Park, the synagogue in s in
sorry ma um let's see presentation St. John's the Presbyterian church redeemer Lutheran St. Paul's. It was very well attended. Um very nice event and I thank St. John's for hosting it this year.
Okay. And I actually ran into Mrs. Fose afterwards at the Bruce versus mom. She was there. So, I got that journal. Okay. Of course, congratulations to the Ramsay High School girls soccer team on an undefeated season and they had a fabulous impromptu parade on Main Street
yesterday to celebrate them when they came back to town after their victory. Um, I do want to talk a little bit about resolution 2010 and Bruce can give a little more, but this resolution is extremely important. What the state is
trying to do is take away our local autonomy as far as land use planning goes. We will, if this passes, we will lose control over density and height requirements which will get really hinder our ability to maintain the
character of Ramsay that we work so hard to do so. And on a side note, I just want to mention we'll talk a little bit more about it next month, but last week the bureau reached an agreement with the fair share housing center approved by the special master. We'll be t um
approving a resolution next month or it could be it's an ordinance or resolution >> resolution >> resolution next month. We'll talk about it a bit more. But now that we've done that, you know, it does give us the ability to protect the bureau from um lawsuits from developers and actually
we're protected for 10 years, which is great. And that gives us control at both the planning board and the zoning board to control the products that projects within the burough. So, I'm very happy that we're able to do that. It was a very long process with a lot of people
involved, but I'm very happy with our outcome. And once again, I'm happy about passing resolution 2010. And I'll have Bruce talk about that a little bit more. Speaking of that, Burough Administr Oh, one last Happy Thanksgiving to everybody and who's ever traveling. I hope you
have very safe travels. >> Thank you, >> Minister. >> Thank you, Madam Mayor. Uh, just some quick comments. I'll speak on resolution two resolutions. 209 uh is just a budget transfer number two. It simply reallocates funding
between line items in the 2025 budget. Does not have any tax impact. It shifts funds from lines that are underspent to lines where actual expenses exceed what was anticipated. Therefore, there have been offsetting adjustments to other discretionary line items which mitigate
the increases and remain with a net neutral budget. As the mayor talked about, resolution 210 urges the state legislature to defeat S4736 and preserve the local autonomy and land use planning. There have been a number
of recent legislative proposals at the state level that would effectively preempt the local planning process and a community's master plan. The proposals permit, if they were to go through, permit such projects as the conversion of underutilized properties into
mixeduse developments, reducing the parking spaces required for new development near transit, and enhancing the ability of religious and nonprofit organizations to convert certain property to inclusionary developments with affordable housing. All of these
undermine the process outlined in the municipal land use law. These proposals also include bypassing local planning as the mayor discussed for increased density and height regarding regardless of a municipality's ability to ensure the safety. The bureau urges the state
legislators to defeat these proposals and preserve the local autonomy and land use planning. Uh, and then my final I would also uh congratulate Councilwoman Poppy and the Burough Hall staff on excellent job they
did with the journal and congratulate the girls high school soccer team. >> Thank you. >> Thank you burough attorney. >> Happy Thanksgiving. >> Thank you burough clerk. >> Happy Thanksgiving. >> Anything else? >> No, that's all. >> Okay. We don't have any introduction of
ordinances this evening. No unfinished business. No new business. So, can I have a motion to adjurnn? >> Motion to adjurnn. >> Second. >> Second. >> All in favor? >> I. >> Thank you. >> Happy Thanksgiving.