Meredith, are we ready? Whenever you want. Okay. Thank you so much. Okay, we're on. Okay. Thank you. Good evening everybody. Welcome to the Burough Ramsey Mayor and Council regular
session, Wednesday, September 24th, 2025. This meeting is being conducted like also being conducted telephonically with the dialing number 4254366365 with access code 213563. The meeting may also be viewed on the
Ramsey YouTube channel which can be accessed via the burough website. We have a roll call please. Mayor Dylan here. Councilwoman Cusk here. Councilman Gutwer here. Councilman Kilman here. Councilman Papo
here. Councilwoman Poppy here. Councilwoman Woods here. Thank you. Salute. President. I pledge allegiance 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 council published in the Burban Record and the Suburban News on Wednesday, January 15, 2025.
We please have approval of minutes. I'd like to make a motion to approve the minutes from the work session held on September 10th, 2025. Do we have a second? I second it, Madame Mayor. Thank you. Does anybody have any comments or changes to the minutes?
Not hearing any. Roll call, please. Councilwoman Cusk, yes. Councilman Gutwer, yes. Councilman Kellman, yes. Councilman Papo, yes. Councilwoman Poppy, yes. Councilwoman Woods, yes. Thank you. Communications. Madame Mayor, this is Councilwoman and I
would like to accept the communications as listed on our agenda and I second. Thank you. Thank you. Any comments on the communications? Madame Mayor, I I do on the second one.
Um I'm Chief Lyman. Um I extend my gratitude and best wishes to him and his family. Um, and I thank him for his service. Thank you. Okay. Anyone else?
All right. Uh, roll call, please. Councilwoman Cusk, yes. Councilman Gutwer, yes. Council Helman, yes. Counciloman Pablo, yes. Councilwoman Poppy, yes. Councilwoman Wood, yes. Thank you. We're now open it up for 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 approximate 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. Your time shall be seated to anyone else and no time shall be saved for later. Any responses may be given during the governor body's comments later in the meeting or as directed by the chair. The burough clerk is the official
timekeeper. Is there anyone in chambers who would like to speak? Hi, I'm Desmond Lim, 273 Elizabeth Avenue. And can you spell your last name, please? Lim L. Okay, thank you. Okay. Um, last time when we came, there
was talk about fixing the tennis courts. So I just wondering what's the status of that. Okay. Um Councilwoman Cusk has been working on that with rec director Mr. Terszie. So she will give an update during her comments. Okay.
During council, uh the other thing is that tennis and uh pickle ball like they're like separate sports and tennis apparently doesn't make as much noise as pickle ball. Mhm. So I'm wondering whether the time can be
separated for tennis and pickle ball. Uh that's something they'll look into. Okay. Okay. Thank you, sir. Anyone else? Okay. Is there anyone on the line who would like to comment?
Second call for comments. Third and final call. Right. Not hearing anyone. And no one else coming up to the podium, I will close public comment. Let's move on to the advertised public hearing for final consideration of ordinance. Ordinance 22, it 2025.
Thank you, Madam Mayor. Final ordinance uh number 22 20225 an ordinance to authorize capital improvements for the purpose of removing and replacing two culverts in Alita place with the associated repair for replacements to abutments guide rails
curbs and road repaving and to appropriate the sum of $350,000 to pay to the cost thereof 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 the ordinance of the Burl Ramsey. And be it further resolved that the burough clerk be and she hereby is directed to cause a copy of the title of the ordinance to be published in an official newspaper of
the burrow in a manner of by law together with the notice of the date of the introduction and adoption of said ordinance. Thank you. Do we have a second? Yes, madam may council and I second. Do we have any comment on this
ordinance? Yes, madame mayor. Uh the ordinance provides funding for the replacement of uh two coverts in Alita Place. These culverts have been failing and impacting the roadway. This project will replace those and all the repair of their place needed by the abutments, guide rails,
wing wing walls, curbs, and road repair. Land Associates has done an engineering and design work for the burrow and we have received the necessary New Jersey D permits to proceed with the project. The project is currently out to bid. Uh the bid is due later this month. The
estimated cost of the project is $350,000. The funding of the budgeted amounts for the burough improvement capital improvement fund account and therefore will be no new debt issued to the project. And my understanding is that we're actually rejecting the bid,
the winning bid because it was non-compliant and the other closest bid was over the amount. So, we're actually going to go out to rebid on this project. Yeah. So, we have the second. We have a roll call, please. Councilwoman Q6. Yes.
Oh, that's right. Sorry. I had to open the second public hear about. All right. So, is there anybody in council chambers or on the line that would like to comment regarding ordinance 20 22 2025? Anyone on the line?
Second call for public comment. Okay, third and final call for public comment. All right, I will close the public hearing on this ordinance. May we have the vote, please? Councilwoman Cusk, yes. Councilman Gutwer, yes. Councilman Coleman, yes. Councilman Pablo, yes. Councilwoman Poppy,
yes. Councilwoman Woods, yes. Thank you. No appointments this evening. Can we please move on to consent resolutions? Uh, yes. Thank you, Madam Mayor. Be it resolved that resolutions 1612025
through and including 172 2025 having been considered by the governing body of the bar of Ramsey B are hereby passed and approved. Uh there are no special permits or block party requests received. I will second that.
Okay, please. Councilwoman, yes. Councilman Gwet, yes. Councilman Kilman, yes. Councilman Pablo, yes. Councilwoman Copy. Yes. Councilwoman Woods. Yes. Thank you. We'll move on to committee and leaders on reports, finance and
administration. Oops. Councilman Gutler. Thank you once again. Madame Mayor, for my report for this evening for the library board, the library completed the teen room renovation which included new flooring and painting and also updated the space
and furniture to make it more conducive for the teen group. Uh Harvest Fest event is on Saturday, September 27th. That's this Saturday from 12:00 noon to 3 pm featuring tons of trucks for families with the Ramsey Police Department, Ramsey Fire Department,
Aland Corp, and DPW. The annual Halloween Boo Bash event will take place at the library on Saturday, October 25th from 1 to 3 p.m. The library recently launched a new native plant seed species bank at the library. This is a Girl
Scout project from scout and library volunteer Payton Ashworth. We thank Payton for her efforts in collaboration with the library, the Ramsey Environmental Commission, and the Native Plan Society of New Jersey. Friends of the Ramsey Library will hold their fall used book and jewelry sale from October
16th, October 19th. All the proceeds of this sale will go to support the various library services and residents can check the library website for fall programming for the recreation commission. Fall rec soccer is underway. Winter basketball registration is open and available for
team snap. Season will run from January to early March. The Halloween parade will again be coordinated with the fire department and held on October 25th in the morning. And the 47th Jack McKe and Ram Memorial Ramsey run was this past Saturday and was very
successful and thanks to all the volunteers from the emergency services. Uh the Ramsey Farmers Market is open Sundays from 9 to 2:00 p.m. through November. There'll be a home and garden show sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce of Ramsey on October 5th and a
touch truck will be held October 26 sponsored by the Ramsey Juniors. Uh come and check out all the great vendors that are in attendance at the market each and every Sunday. as well as crafts for children and a music and a nonprofit organization is usually in attendance. That concludes my report for this evening.
Thank you so much. Pass it over. Thank you. Public safety council Kilman. Thank you, Madam Mayor. Um I have the report on our new emergency services complex on South Island Avenue. The
design team continues to make strong progress on the Ramsey emergency services complex project. They're developing a revised comprehensive concept that remains within set budget parameters despite ongoing inflation and rising construction costs. Once this
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 bureau will submit the materials to the state office of controller for approval before
proceeding to the bidding phase. At this time, there is no estimated timeline for when these steps will occur. And that is my report this evening. Madame Mayor, thank you. Building planning and zoning council Woods. Thank you, Madame Mayor. Happy fall,
everyone. I want to congratulate Chief Lyman on his retirement and wish him the very best. I remember when Chief Lyman joined us, he explained the importance of not staying in the chief's position too long, emphasizing that it's best for the department and important for retaining talent. He's done an excellent job in a relatively short amount of time
and he will be missed but I know our police department will be in good hands with his successor. Uh the design review board met Tuesday, September 23rd and approved one application. The next meeting will be Tuesday, October 8th. The senior trustees board met Thursday, September 11th. Membership is up to 664
people. Um the senior picnic had 105 people and enjoyed the event without uh music. They enjoyed it even more without music. Um they are coordinating with the Ramsay school superintendent and high school principal to do a project called adopt a senior which will pair senior
students with senior citizens and they will support each other and help each other with various life issues. Um they will be participating in Ramsey responds coach drive which is October 9th, 10th and 11th. Um holiday lunch plans are underway and they're hoping to host it
at Ramsey Golf and Country Club again making it very convenient for the seniors. Um, the senior center will be closed on Columbus Day. Uh, they were the seniors are also invited to the Macy's regrand opening with discounts where they will focus that they'll be focusing on women's wear and makeup. No
more men's stuff, just so you know. Uh, they're looking forward to a special Medicare presentation and another presentation on taxes and legal issues for seniors from On the Road with New Jersey legislators on October 15th. and um Roger and Elaine will be attending a
Canva workshop so they can produce their own flyers and calendars. Uh the next trustee meeting will be Thursday, October 9th. The zoning board met on September 17th and approved uh a minor verbous change to an application and the next meeting will be October 15th. That concludes my report, Madame Mayor.
Thank you. Utilities, buildings, and grounds. Councilwoman Cusk. Thank you, Madam Mayor. Uh this report will update regarding our planning board commission and board of public works. At the planning board meeting on the 16th September, there was
a continuation of the Claremont Properties Acquisitions LLC. This project located on Island Avenue. The next planning board meeting is 7th October. The Shade Tree Commission met on 18th September 25. The next meeting
is the 16th October 25. Ramsey is a tree city for 30 years now. Our board of public works last met on the 15th of September. The next meeting is 20th of October. Per and poly florinated substances POS are a large group of
humanmade chemicals used in various industrial and consumer products. Their persistence in the environment is a growing concern and the US EPA has set forth POS water quality limits impacting our wellwater supply. H2M for architectural engineering firm is
collaborating with the Randy Water Department on treatment solutions for well facilities at Arrow Road, Darlington, Brookfield, North Central, and Spring Street. Our burough's PAS projects have been submitted for lowinterest loan considerations from the I Bank. I bank has reviewed and
requested additional information which is being compiled by H2M for lead service line. The Board of Public Works continues planning and implementation measures to comply with NJP's lead service linement mandate requiring all lead service lines in the
water system to be replaced by 2031. And please borrow friends if you are able to do so. Remove and clean debris away from storm water drains because properly maintained storm drains prevent flooding, protect local roads, and mitigate damage to homes and ensure that
runoff flowing into ponds and streams is free of pollutants. I would like to take this time now, madame mayor, to update on the uh pickle ball courts. Oh, please do. Thank you very much, Madam Mayor. Uh the Oak Street Court. So, um new plantings have been added around the work with help to uh help sound
mitigate. These plantings and improvements will become more effective as the trees mature. Recreation director Tyersie and I met with representatives from USA Pickleball to discuss improvements and best practices. We have at the Oak Street
Courts and Finch updated signage reflecting new hours and usage guidelines. We are now actively researching options to secure the courts when they are closed. We are exploring additional sound mitigation measures such as installing
sound barriers and introducing quieter equipment options for the Oak Street courts as they are in proximity to residents. For the Finch Park courts, plans are underway to upgrade the existing pickle ball courts and expand playing capacity
to accommodate more players. Thank you, Madam Mayor. Thank you. Public and governmental relations. Councilwoman Poppy. Thank you, Madame Mayor. First, I would like to thank Chief Lyman for his years
of service as um as an officer in our community. I appreciate all of his time um sacrifice and the sacrifice his family has made for him to be here to serve our community. Um the pool
commission met on September 17th. Um they their most exciting news was their total payments was highest ever um for the pool. And this was with limiting their um guest passes, which they didn't
allow guests on certain days in the summer, hightraic days like holidays um to make the the pool experience more enjoyable for their members, which was very successful and it didn't impact them negatively on uh on their payments.
Um they will not have an October meeting. The Ramsey Municipal Alliance met on Monday. They have a parent forum coming up at the high school on October 27th. Gina Horton will be presenting um on
promoting resilience in children and uh that will be at 700 p.m. Um our volunteer night is coming up for the burrow. the local organizations all nominate um volunteer of the year. It's
very exciting for the mayor and council. They come to the meeting and we um award them with certificates. Um the Ramsey Journal will be coming out. We're looking for a release date of
November 17th with journal um submissions due October 23rd. We will be sending out an email to all of the organizations who normally submit um
their submissions tomorrow. Um they will have a new process for submitting articles which will be an upload instead of using email just to kind of make it a little bit more streamlined um of a
process. And that's all I have for today. Thank you so much. Thank you. Health, Education, Social Services, Councilman Pop. Thank you, Madam Mayor. Uh, I too want to thank Chief Lyman and wishing him well uh with his retirement. Thank you
for his service. I'll start off with Reife. Uh, Challenger soccer season is in full swing at Dator School at 3:00. So far, the weather has been cooperating with with the soccer players. Uh, they will have art night. is scheduled for
10:2 at 6:30 at the community center. Those are the two events uh lined up for Reich for environmental committee. Uh the styrofoam recycling had their session on 9:13. It was well attended. We did receive about 12 bags of
styrofoam that will go to Richville Park. And the next meeting for board of ed is on 9:30. And that's all I have for tonight. Thank you. Thanks so much. Um, I want to start out by saying that I accept with regret the
retirement of Chief Lyman. He's been on the force for over 30 years and during his four years as chief, he's really done some major things. He created um a hybrid detective position which has been extremely effective. He also created a
traffic department because traffic the most complaints that the police and that I would receive and traffic department has been extremely effective and he also created a K9 officer and we now have K which is the handler and now we have K9 Jack who apparently he's the most
popular police off police officer in the entire force. So and we all love Jack. Um so I want to thank him and I hope that he has wonderful retirement. Um, also want to let everybody know that I'm happy to announce that Captain Pereesy
has been selected as the new chief effective November 1st. So, we will be swearing Captain Perez in as chief on the October 22nd meeting with an effective date of November 1st. Um, I just want to talk a little bit
about what um, Councilwoman Cus mentioned about the Claremont properties. Just so you know, this is going to be a development for 55 and older, 70 units, 59 three-bedroom town houses, 11 affordable units, and this
this property or this project is extremely important to the burrow because those 11 units are part of the burough's fourth round affordable housing obligation, and those are helping us to meet our obligation. When we meet our obligation, we are not subject to builder's lawsuits. If you
have builder's lawsuits, you lose control locally. You could end up with a building that's six stories high in the middle of a residential area. Um, that's unfortunate, but that's the way New Jersey works with affordable housing. So, I'm very happy that Claremont Properties was approved. Um, it's also
going to be a real benefit because we get a lot of feedback from people that they would like to downsize. They love Ramsey, but they want to downsize. They don't want to be taking care of a big house anymore, property, real, you know, the lawn. So, this will give them an opportunity to stay in town, still be close to town, close to the train
station, um, and, you know, close to their friends and family. So, I'm very happy that this project was approved by the planning board. And let's see. Oh, I want to thank all the stigmafree volunteers and ambassadors who covered all the back to school nights. As I've mentioned in the past, we were trying to
revive Stigmafree. It kind of fell by the wayside um, after Dr. Murphy retired. So, we're really trying to revitalize it. We have ambassadors now, a whole new group of volunteers, and I really want to thank them for covering every back to school night so stigmafree had a presence at every back to school
night this year. And that's all I have. Burough administrator. Uh thank you, Madame Mayor. Just uh wanted to comment on a couple resolutions on the agenda tonight. Resolution 164 is confirming the Randy Board of
Public Works awarding a contract to Shaw Property Services for lead replacement line phase three project. As Councilwoman Cusk has mentioned, as the mayor and council meetings in her report, the board of public works continues statemandated multi-year
capital upgrade project to replace any lead service water. In accordance with this state mandate, the BPW went out to public bid on this project with five contractors submitting field bids. Shoger Property Services was the low bidder. Shoger has performed
similar work in the past for the board of public works and successfully completed those contracts. On Monday, September 15th, at its monthly meeting, the board of public works approved awarding the contract to Schuler in the in an amount of $399,000,
$399,777. The funding for this project has been previously put in place by ordinance 1520 and this resolution confirms that board of public works contract award. Similarly, resolution 165 confirms the
Ramsey Board of Public Works award of a contract to Conquest Construction, Inc. for the Snyder Avenue Water Man Replacement Project. Board of Public Works continues its proactive multi-year capital upgrade project to replace any undersized 4-in water manes throughout
the burrow. The Board of Public Works announced public bid on the project with seven contractors submitting sealed bids. Conquest Construction was a low bidder. Conquest has performed similar work in the past for the BCW and successfully completed those contracts.
And on Monday, September 15th, at its monthly meeting, the board approved the awarding contract to Conquest for this project in an amount of 750,230. And again, the funding for this project has been previously put in place by ordinance 152025.
And this resolution confirms that for public works contract award. And that's all I have. Thank you. Thank you for calling in. Burough attorney. No, thank you. Burough clerk. Thank you. And one other thing I just want to mention, um, Lan Associates, who
was an architect engineering firm that the burrow works with. You know, they looked at Finch Park for improvements that are going to be made up there, including to the four existing courts, and they recommended the addition of another court up there. Um, that'll be very close to the four existing courts. There's not enough room to put a sixth
court up there. Um, we tried we really did try to get that six court in there, but there's not enough room. So, I just want to let you know and that should I don't know, Bruce, when will that be going out to bid? Bruce, uh, should be in the next few weeks.
Yeah, I'm back. Should be in the next couple weeks either out to bid or we may utilize a cooperative uh, contract where it wouldn't have to be publicly bid because the cooperative contracts have already bid certain services. So, we're looking at whether it'll be an actual
bid or through a cooperative contract. Okay. Thank you. All right. So, nothing. We have no unfinished business, no introduction of ordinances. I don't think we have any new business. So, do we have a motion to adjurnn? Motion to adjurnn. Do a second. A second.
Thank you. All in favor? Okay. Thank you. Thanks, Bruce, for calling in. Travel. Thank you. Good night.