Good evening all of you. This meeting is being held in accordance with the public laws of 1975 chapter 231. In adequate notice of this meeting has been provided by a notice sent to the Asbury Park Press, the two river times and the Star Ledger and posted in the main lobby of the municipal building and on the
municipal website. OPMA authorizes municipalities to conduct public meetings through the use of streaming services and other online meeting platforms. The Redbank Council is meeting in person as well as providing an option for the public to participate via Zoom video meetings. Please note that the option to
attend is being provided as a courtesy. Therefore, if Zoom becomes unavailable during the meeting and it cannot quickly be fixed, council will continue with the remainder of the meeting. For those joining us via Zoom, please raise your hand during designated times to be recognized for a comment. Whether you're appearing in person or via Zoom, you
must provide your name to be recognized. Please rise for the Pledge of Allegiance. Roll call please. Mary Mos attackis. Council member FC Blackwood >> present. >> Council member Forest >> present. >> Council member Janon >> present.
>> Council member Euro. >> Deputy Mayor Triiano >> here. >> And Mayor Portman >> here. >> Hey, um before we move on, I have a question for you, Mary. Is there any way that we can reduce this second paragraph to like two sentences?
>> All right. Thank you. It kills me. It just kills me. It's like a tongue twister. That would be wonderful. Thank you. Um, all right. Now that we've got that important business out of the way, um, we do have an appointment. Uh, Caitlyn Galgano is being appointed to the animal welfare committee to an
unexpired alternate to number two two-year term expiring on 1231 2027. I don't think we have to vote on it, do we? No. Just an appointment, right? Okay. Public hearing notice. We have uh Mike Riser here, our burrow engineer,
and um he's going to give us a presentation. The purpose is the Burough Red Bank seeking funding through the state of New Jersey Greenacres Park Development Program for the rehabilitation of Johnny Jazz Park located at the intersection of Shrewsbury Avenue and Doctor's James Parker Boulevard in the burrow of
Redbank. I guess that you can go over the scope, Mike, and uh take it from there. You got Mike. You got a handhold there that you can use that microphone. check. >> There you go. >> Well, thank you, Mayor, Council, and
members of the public for having me. Uh, as mayor mentioned, I'm Michael Riser with CM Associates, Burough Engineers Office, and I'm here to give a uh presentation on the Johnny Jazz Park Improvements. Uh, it's public hearing for the submission of the Green Acres Park Development Application on behalf
of the bureau. The Green Acres program mission is to achieve a system of interconnected open spaces whose protection will preserve and enhance New Jerseys natural environment and its historic scenic and recreational resources for public use and enjoyment. Uh, the burrow is specifically seeking
funding to make improvements to Johnny Jazz Park located in the northeast corner of Shrewsbury Avenue and Doctor's James Barker Boulevard and is specifically identified as block 79, lot 23. The site is roughly 7,800 square
feet in size and contains a concrete walkway, benches, an electronic message board, flag pole, a water refill station, two northern red oak trees, and one blue spruce tree, miscellaneous landscaping, and an art mural that is
painted on the facade of the building to the north. Uh, the park is dedicated to the memory of Ralph Johnny Jazz Gata Jr., a local butcher and lover of uh jazz music and is utilized for several burrow events such as the Junth celebration, Westside Jazz concert
series and the Redbank tree lighting. Uh the burough is seeking funding to improve the park for future events and further honor Jney Jazz by expanding on the musical theme of the park. Um so with that uh project improvements would include a permanent stage platform which
can be seen here on the concept plan. It's uh 18 ft by 32 feet wide. Uh would provide plenty of space for shows. I know currently uh the burrow sets up a temporary stage for these events. So, this will be a more permanent um and can
then the park can host more events. Um also included are continuous decorative benches which are shown here on both the east and west sides uh for seating and viewing. Uh there's a stone dust patio and decorative table games shown here on
the west of the site with access off of Dr. Jane Parker Boulevard. Uh these would be like decorative game tables. Um think like um chess like you would see like on the streets of New York uh Bryant Park specifically. Um also
included uh to go with the musical theme are outdoor musical instruments that are shown here through this winding stone dust pathway. Uh, also included would be a Portland L restroom. Uh, it's a small smart bathroom um and would replace the need
for portaotties for these events. Uh, also included are some lighting improvements, electrical upgrades for future events and concerts. Uh, new landscape plantings. Um, as you can see around the existing um, message board, we have some low-level plants here and
just increasing the uh, the landscaping here around the park and really bring it together. Um, we're also proposing a new art mural to be painted by a local artist along that that north facade there behind the uh, behind the stage.
Um, we haven't finalized the design on that yet, but we'll uh work with the burrow and um and a local artist to to get that done. Uh, the park would have improved ADA accessibility. And we plan on keeping the existing electronic
message board, the water refill station, and the uh three trees that I mentioned, the two northern red oaks, as well as the blue spruce that's known for the Christmas tree lightings. Uh the project is eligible for 25% matching grant and our estimated total
project cost is $686,000. And with that, I'm happy to answer any questions that council or the the public may have. >> Did you say there was a restroom there? Uh yes, we're proposing a restroom um in
place of the um porta potty. It would be a small like oneperson bathroom. Uh it's kind of like a modern look. Um it's the one that we're looking at is called a Portland Lou, >> right? >> Um and it's like a self-cleaning singular use bathroom similar to a
portaotti but much more looks better than a portaotti and would smell better as well. Okay. >> And we have that um shown here. >> And also too, some of the elements of the Portland Lou is like an anti- vandal um type setup. It it actually allows for
some uh baffles in there so that you know nobody can hide in there. It's um it allows for better cleaning with the the fixtures inside can really be hosed down and clean very easily. >> Yep. That that's correct. Uh, I believe it has like an open bottom similar to
how like bathroom stalls are so that again nobody can hide in there and do graffiti, anything like that. Uh, currently we have that located next to the existing water refill station, but we have several plantings um proposed around it to kind of shield it and um,
you know, make sure it's not unsightly during events. >> Um, the uh, the stage is going to be made of what? Uh this would be a a concrete stage just raised. Uh we have it 18 in high um and with like steps
going up to the front as well as an ADA access from Shrewsbury uh Avenue. >> And there's a mural there, isn't there? >> Yes. >> So that would remain correct. >> We would be actually redoing that mural. Um, we haven't just fully came up with a
theme, but um, we were thinking of keeping the musical theme as well as tying it into the stage um, to complement the the site. >> Thank you for saving those trees, of course. Um,
I think I like the idea very much of the of the restroom because it there's a lot of action and things that go on, all kinds of events. Um, it's really a core park. It's not very big. Sometimes it's really packed at times. >> Um, >> also, you might want to share that with
the parks and recck committee, I would say, because I don't recall us seeing that or maybe Jim did send it to us and I didn't see it. >> We had, uh, just >> some of our members would love to, you know, see and make comments on it, maybe have some suggestions. >> Yeah, I'll discuss it with uh, with Oscar and and see if they've they've
looked at it and have any further comments. >> Thank you. Just one of the the things about that, I know we were up against a timeline with the grant submission and the uh public hearing requirement. Um but because this is a conceptual plan, there's still um opportunity for
tweak, you know, making any tweaks to the plan or uh taking other input as well, right? >> Yes, that's correct. Uh the application is due in two weeks so we can make updates to the concept plan and then if awarded we could always uh consult with Green Acres about a minor scope change.
Um >> how about how long ago did we put out the public survey on this >> probably like couple weeks ago? Correct. Yeah. So the public survey went out as well too. >> Yes. Yes. that's on the uh the burough website on the Johnny Jazz Park page um
and has some questions there. I know general feedback that we have gotten from that was that they wanted a lot more green space for these events. So that's why we kind of focus the seating areas in the corner but facing the stage that way and then you know between
people can set up chairs um just active recreation but really just have open space in the middle instead of that one concrete walkway that just cut across the park. And of course important to note when we were uh coming up with the concept of
this and taking into consideration some of those survey results uh we had uh the committee that that met on this included Oscar and Adriana as well from the department. So >> yes. Yep. It's correct. >> Um I'd like to say that I really like
the look of this concept plan. I think you know you guys put a lot of effort into understanding the use that is at Johnny Jazz Park. you know, just for people passing by as well as for events. I have a question about the cement stage
and if we have inclement weather such as snow and stuff, is there a way to make sure that people don't slip on it or >> uh Yeah, we would work with public utilities to ensure that everything's salted um to to ensure anything Yeah. not slippery. I did just want to note
the so the the walkway in front of the stage as well as the steps and the stage itself would be concrete but the pathways around here would be uh stone dust pathway that's um >> more pvious than uh concrete but is um
considered an ADA accessible surface because it's compacted well. >> Sounds great. Thank you. >> Yeah, of course. Any other questions, comments? >> Anyone else have anything for Mike? No. Anyone from the public? Anyone online?
Jim, >> Joe, you there? >> Yeah. Hi there. I'm sorry I'm new to this. Just sort of just realizing that this plan is going into effect, so I don't know how far along it is. >> Joe, do me a favor. Just state your name
and address. >> Oh, I'm sorry. My name is Joe Muchi. Um I'm in in Redbank at 77 BNY Road. >> All right. >> Um I also represent the Jazz Arts Project, a nonprofit organization. We do concerts in this park.
>> Yes, you do. Yes, you do. Um, so what I I've had a dream about this for many years now, uh, about this u this park and a specific thing which is
it's something called a cadenza outdoor piano and there happens to be one in Belmar uh, currently. Um, >> didn't Bruce's piano player donate that in Belmar? Uh well, there was a big fundraising uh
push for it, I think. Yeah, there was somebody there was some celebrity um musician that helped with that, >> but he wasn't a jazz musician, so that's fine. >> No, he wasn't jazz, so I wouldn't know that. >> Of course.
>> Um no, but it was it's a great thing for the community. And it seems to me this would be the ideal park to have something like this in. Maybe it's too late. I don't know. But I'd be willing to, you know, u spearhead and push for it.
>> It's not too late. This is the exact time to bring something like that up. That's what this is for. This is the right time. >> I I actually have information on it. And there's even a website. >> I'm on the website right now. I'm checking it out. >> Cadenza, right? >> Yeah.
>> Yeah. It's very cool. I don't know if you can see, but right away the mayor and the manager both pulled out their phones really fast and started looking it up right away. >> No, I can't see it. >> Right now, >> it's amazing how they can, you know, how it can actually go through all weather.
I mean, it it it takes snow and rain and sleet and hell and, you know, the mail must get through, I guess. >> Pretty cool. Yes. Um, this is definitely the time to be talking about it. So, um I guess who should who should Yeah.
>> I mean, the town of, you know, Count Basy, it's got to have a piano, right? So, >> you make a strong argument, Joe. I >> I would I would, you know, um volunteer to help with this effort and raise funds or do whatever we need to do and and you
know, maybe we can do something cool. Oh, do you do you if you shoot me an email or or even to you know anybody on the council or or burrow manager, we'll we'll get you in touch with uh with Mike who's the engineer doing this presentation and uh >> Great. Great.
>> Yeah. >> Thank you. >> Yeah. Awesome. Thank you, Joe. Just wanted to add, yeah, this is uh this is just a presentation for the application for the Greenacres grant and then if awarded, this would go to a final design and but we have two weeks before the
application. So, I'll certainly look into that piano and um see what the price is. We could add it up to our cost estimate or if it's very expensive, consider uh donors and um yeah, if we can find a spot for it for sure. I mean, we already have some outdoor musical
elements that we haven't discussed the exact um pieces of equipment that would be out there, but I think the the piano is a great idea and can definitely be added. >> Three grand. >> Yeah, it's a great idea
>> with like three grand. >> Terrible poker face, Greg. Um, did anyone else have a >> meeting? A lot of >> Anyone else have a lot of a lot of Anyone else have any questions about the uh the park presentation? No. All right.
Well, thank you, Mike, for being here. Always a pleasure. We appreciate you. >> Yeah. Thank you very much. Have a great night, everybody. >> Um, I need to go back. Um, as Mary Moss pointed out to me, we do need to have a vote for Caitlyn Galano. It's a council appointment and not a mayoral
appointment. So, can I have a motion to >> make such a motion, Mr. Mayor, >> to approve Kayn Galano? Can I have a second? >> Just make a few comments about her before. So, um she's been at a couple animal welfare committee meetings before um she put filled out the application. She is really great. She loves animals
and real worker. Um so, we're excited to have her on there. >> All right. You make a strong argument, Laura. Uh can I have a second for that motion? >> All in favor? There we go. Taking care of business.
Um, next up, can I have a motion to open the floor for public comment on agenda items only? Can I have a second? All in favor? Anyone have any questions or comments for agenda items? Anyone on the line, Jim?
Is everyone going to see you do that every time you Yeah. >> Right. Nobody on Uh, all right. Can I have a motion to close the floor for public comment on agenda items only? I have a second. All in favor?
Can I have a motion to approve the regular meeting minutes from January 22nd, 2026? I have a second. >> All in favor? And can I have a motion to approve the executive session meeting minutes from January 22nd, 2026? So moved. I
>> have a second. All in favor? Next up, we have a final reading in a public hearing for ordinance 2026-3 entitled an ordinance to exceed the calendar year 2026 municipal budget appropriation limits and to establish a
cap bank under NJSA4A 4-45.14. This ordinance was introduced on January 22nd, 2026. Can I have a motion to open the public hearing on this ordinance only? And I have a second.
All in favor? >> I. >> Anyone have any questions or comments on this ordinance from the public? Anyone online? Jim. All right. Oh, yes. Now you got to go through the whole But it's all right. All the mics work now,
John. Yeah. It might be on. Oh, it's on the microphone itself. There should be There we go. Yeah. >> Night. Joan Weatherell, 106 Manor Drive in Redbank. Uh, I'm not sure if this is
really an answerable question, but I have no idea what this is talking about. That's all. >> Well, for this for this ordinance. >> Yeah. I may have missed discussions. >> No, no, no, no. It's a I mean last week we pro I mean two weeks ago we probably went over it but Jim you want to give a quick
>> Yeah. I'll give the the quick on this. >> Yeah. Uh no problem. Uh this is um exceeding the 2% cap of um in municipalities. It allows by ordinance and it's a standard financial mechanism
in many New Jersey municipalities uh to basically bank anything above the 2% cap ordinance. So this up to three and a half. So what we're doing tonight is going up to three and a half% instead of the 2% cap um that's allowable under New
Jersey statute. So it has to be done by an ordinance. It's something we do every year. Um it's so that we can reserve appropriations that are unspent um for any sort of issues or things that
we come up financially in the future. Please. >> Also, I just wanted to add to it, too. It's uh not the 2% levy cap. So, the more famous cap is the 2% levy cap that came into effect in 2011. This is actually I believe it's 75 or 1977. This
is an appropriations cap. So, there's a levy cap that's more famous and more been more recently discussed in recent history that has to do with the amount of to be raised by taxation. That's a 2% relatively hard cap that has some exceptions for employment costs and capital costs. But this is the
appropriations cap. This is actually a very old law dates back almost 50 years. And um the municipality if you pass an ordinance at the beginning of the year then the appropriations cap can be lifted to 3 and a half% during budget time. And any part of that you don't use
then you can bank for future years if you need a little bit of an extra cushion. If you don't pass this ordinance at the beginning of the year, then you're limited to 2% and you can't bank any of the difference. So, um, this will come up again at budget time when the budget uh the budget caps are
presented. There's two worksheets in the user-friendly budget that go through this cap and the levy cap, which is the more which frankly has better is a better control on property taxes to be honest with you um than than this appropriations cap that's a bit older. But this is still a mechanism that every municip most almost every municipality
does at the beginning of the year to reserve the right to be able to save the extra one and a half percent if it's not used or use it if it's needed as they total the budget up in the in the coming months. U but I wanted to make the point that it's appropriation cap. It's not the levy cap that everyone typically
talks about at budget time. Anyone else have any questions or comments on this ordinance? Okay. Can I have a motion to close the public hearing on um ordinance 2026-03? Can I have a second?
All in favor? Then I have a motion to approve on final reading ordinance 2026-03. >> I'll make a motion. >> All right. Roll call, please. Mary.
>> Council member Bonitakis. >> Yes. Council member Facy Blackwood, >> yes. >> Council member Forest, Council Member Jon, >> yes. >> Council member Euro, >> yes. >> Deputy Mayor Trigado, >> yes. >> Mayor Portman, >> yes.
Um, next up is on introduction ordinance 2026-04 entitled an ordinance of the Burough Redbank to repeal and replace chapter 205 affordable housing of the burough code to be consistent with state requirements of the amended fair housing act and the uniform housing
affordability controls. You know, why don't you Jim, why don't you give a quick summation on this one too? Or Greg or So, this yes, this ordinance has to do with our um affordable housing uh controls in town. At present, um, most
municipalities in the state are going through, uh, the fourth round, um, affordable housing obligations, which is a court administered process again like it was in 2015. Um, thank you. >> Thanks. U, that's good because I know what it
generally does, but I didn't know the specific um, the specific changes. So, that's actually perfect. So, uh, in general, the rubric here is that the, uh, bureau has the obligation to provide affordable housing. We do that through overlay zoning um where developers um can typically build increased density if
they build affordable housing. That's essentially the way it's handled throughout the state um and various mechanisms. There's also residential development fees as I'm sure some of you have heard in the past that we've passed here or changed or updated over the years. Um and those funds go into a special affordable housing trust fund
which the bureau must also pass a spending plan must announce to the state and tell um the public how that money is going to be spent. um that is done as part of the compliance process every 10 years. We're currently in the middle of that process. We have until March 15th to get all of
the overlay zones, the spending plan, and all of the rubric for the next 10 years in place. Um and that is being done in an adversarial process with fair share housing. um and the the special master at the court who um has put together uh together with our planner
put together this package that essentially um sets the affordable housing mandates for the next 10 years in town. As many of you are aware from come to the meetings um a number of projects have helped the bureau out like bringing locust lending out of a regional contribution agreement and bringing those housing credits back uh
into Redbank. That was one of the most major initiatives that we've done in the last couple years to assist in our affordable housing obligations. Um they're going through the list the planner provided us of the specific changes to the ordinance um to comply with the um up-to-date affordable
housing regulations for the next the fourth round as it's called. Um there are some minor definitional changes. They're clarifi their clarifications. Um the references to the now dissolved council on affordable housing have all been removed from the bureau's ordinance um to update to the current court
administered process. um references to the specific uniform housing affordability controls which are the qualifications and uh the different levels and how the affordable housing and the actual parameters have to be built that has obviously been changed and updated by the state in accordance
with the new law and provided um out by the department of community affairs. Um the length of time that deed restrictions in this round u meaning that the length of time that a unit designated in this round must remain made affordable unit has increased from 30 years um to 40 years for certain
rental units um for rental units but 30 years remains at 30 years for for sale units meaning that rental units must maintain be maintained as affordable housing longer in this round. um the requirements for affirmative marking. This is where we go out and recruit. Um I know that the burrow here has a heavy
uh emphasis on finding current residents in town to bring to affordable housing still within the town to keep the community together. Um those requirements from affordable marketing have been updated to reflect um that marketing can now include digital outreach. Remember, we only do this every 10 years. So some of the um you
know, this is really updating to to modernize it as well in addition to just the the regulations. Um and also includes uh uh you know online ads instead of just television, newspaper and the traditional uh media. Um the requirements for the income and bedroom
distribution um permit now a rounding of obligations. Um meaning that the the former uh decimal places of units that were were left hanging are now have now been removed. So that that was a relatively minor change. Um the targeted income levels for inclusion and area
housing have been revised to reflect current modern value of money. Um as well as the new state standards that provide for a greater mix of incomes within developments rather um than the prior classifications that um kind of grouped really lower lower and low
moderate together. Um and um at this point in this round certain market radiance units are also allowed to defer from affordable units. um generally are still required to be substantially similar but high-end units have been excluded. So for example um you you know
developers allowed to keep the penthouse to make the extra premium on that um particular uh area in the building. The idea being that it that can also help subsidize uh the affordable housing that's in the in the building. Previously everything so if you had one
uh market rate penthouse you typically had to match that with affordable rate penthouse. the the regulations have kind of um realized that that's that's not really the best way to develop multiple units of affordable housing. Um no one's looking typically when they come to us for affordable housing for uh a
penthouse is not part of their typically requirements and things that they find to be important. So the state has recognized that as well. Um overall um you know as you guys know and you sit here um you know the bureau has accomplished a number of affordable housing including from the VNA to locus
landing and things that have helped um to um you know off to meet your obligations for this round. So that's the total um if I missed anything Shauna please uh jump up and I did good. Thank you. All right. I got the seal of approval from the planning and community development department. So I must have
done a good job today. Um and so that's everything. If anybody has any questions, obviously this is the public um >> I'm sorry, this is not the public hearing. This is the introduction. There'll be a public hearing in a couple weeks, but we can also talk about it whenever you want. >> Yes. The standards under which this is
developed are mandated by the state. Correct. Under the new affordable housing uh reform law that was passed at late 2024. I mean, there's a lot in that. I mean, I was trying to pour through it today and yesterday. Um, I mean, is there stuff for families? I think I heard you
mention something like that, like multiple bedroom places for kids and >> Yes. >> Yes. So, the the mixture of and look, I'm not the planner, so I'm not an expert in the specific breakdowns, but affordable units are functionally broken down by the qualifications to occupy
them, which is essentially your income level. um and the number of persons in your family um and the size of the units. So they're they're um more or less classified by uh income levels, moderate, low, moderate, low low income. Uh and the size of the units and the the
mixture of bedrooms in the affordable units requires multiple bedrooms up to three bedrooms. >> Okay. >> So there are there are units that are um family usable for lack of a better term. family of four for sure. That's specifically included in the
>> Okay. >> in the reg. >> And Mr. Mayor, I would like to make a comment on this when we vote on it. >> Well, make right now we're just uh we're going to have public comment two weeks, but right now we're just uh voting to make a motion on introduction. Everyone
introduction. >> Well, I'd like to make comment on the motion on introduction then. >> Oh, sure. >> Can I just do that now? >> Sure. >> All right. So, I've said this a couple of times here, but a very high priority to me, maybe in some ways my highest priority really as a councilman is to
try to keep Redbank a diverse community in terms of housing. Um, I like that we have housing for the poor and we have some of the nicest and most incredible residences on the river as well. Um, I
know that it's a lot to ask, you know, for um, highdensity development and a lot of people don't like it. I hear about it frequently, but I also have had the honor and awakening really of people coming to office hours who um are
homeless or can't find a place to live. family members and my own family people and all over Redbank of all ages and situations, elderly, young, who can't find a place to live in our town, many of whom have
families that have been here for generations. And so I I think we're really in a national housing emergency. And in Redbank, we're a small part of that. And we're not going to fix everything here, but I'm very proud that this municipality is taking this issue
seriously because it, you know, we our children need to live somewhere. We need to live somewhere. $2,200 a month for a one-bedroom apartment. Not everybody's going to be able to afford that. We need to find places for
people to live. and and I think it also affects the world the politics you know and we're desperately desperately trying to stay in a house and not be able to afford a lot of other things. Um, I am uh proud that my family provides
affordable housing to uh someone and um I just wanted to, you know, comment that this is an ongoing priority this bureau and this council and the mayor and and our staff and I am grateful and I know
it's difficult. I've had um I've been yelled at by residents who want us have this idea that we can just build single family homes and everything the way it was 40 years ago. Literally say that to me. And if you look at how much it cost to build a single family house in
Redbank, I mean, I think you'd sell it for what? $1.2 million. I think that's what they're going for on the west side. Something like that. I mean, that's absurd. That's not affordable, you know. And I know some of my colleagues don't like it when I say this
term, but I really don't want to become a ghetto of the rich. I I love my rich friends and I wish I was a rich friend, but we need to be a diverse community and we need to fight for it. It's not just going to happen based on market forces. We just rely on market forces.
This is going to be a very expensive town with no affordable housing in it. So that's my comment. >> Thank you, Ben. Can I have a motion to appro Does anyone else have any comments? No. Can I have a
motion to approve um ordinance 2026-04 on introduction? >> So moved. >> Can I have a second? Roll call, please. >> Bonakis. >> Yes. >> Council member Facy Blackwood. >> Yes. >> Council member Forest.
>> Yes. >> Council member Janome. >> Yes. >> Council member Euro. Yes. >> Deputy Mayor Trigiano. >> Yes. >> And Mayor Portman. >> Yes. >> Um, anyone need to pull out one of these reszos and and vote on it separately or can we just do it all on the consent
agenda? Give you another minute to glance at them. >> Mayor, I'm okay with consent agenda. >> Okay. >> I'm okay, too. Okay. >> Then can I have a motion to approve resolution 26-38 through 26-47 under the
consent agenda? >> So moved. >> Can I have a second? Roll call, please. >> Council member Bonitakis, >> yes. >> Council member Fy Blackwood, >> yes. >> Council member Forest, >> yes. >> Council member Jon, >> yes.
>> Council member Euro, >> yes. >> Deputy Mayor Trianiano, >> yes. >> And Mayor Portman, >> yes. Um, couple things for discussion in action for mayor and council. Um, coming up we have the Red Bank Pizza
Fest on Saturday, April 25th, 2026 from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. That's amazing. Redbank Food and Wine Walk on August 15th, 2026 from 1 to 5. The Redbank Mac and Cheese Festival, Saturday, September
26th, 1 to 5. Wait, there's more. The JBJ Soul Foundation Day of Hope Walk on Tuesday, May 13th from 11 to 1. Dog Days at Riverside Gardens Park is Saturday, September 19th from 12 to 4 with a rain
date of tenatively of September 26th. And from under parks and wreck, we we can approve the spring egg hunt at Camp Basey Park on March 22nd with a rain date of the 29th. That's from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Also, Pride in the Park,
Saturday, June 6th, with a rain date of June 7th, Sunday. And Hispanic Heritage, Sunday, September 13th, 2026 with a rain date of September 20th. Um, >> Mayor, could I make a comment about dog days?
>> Sure. So, we had a meeting Tuesday night and I think Paul met with Jim, right? And we might be having it in Marine Park. >> Yeah. Special event. >> Okay. Yeah. So, um that would be exciting to have our first have it back there again because we didn't have it during construction time and on the
green space down by the river. So, that might be tentative that we're going to move back to Marine Park. >> All right. Love it. >> Can I have a motion to open the floor for public questions and comments? >> Make the motion, Mr. Mayor. >> Can I have a second? I'll second. >> All in favor?
>> I. >> Anyone have any questions on anything on your mind? Anyone online? Jim. Oh, you got questions, Scott. Comment. That works too. push
ice voting's here. So, >> uh just uh name it. >> Oh, sorry. Scott Windgarter, Riverside Avenue, Red Bank. Um and it's just frustrating in that first there is no wind, then there's too much wind, but they got out there Monday, had the big
races, sure you read about, but looks like the weather, who knows what. But if you mayor, you were there I think two years ago for our open house. Um, if you haven't seen the club, come on in. You know, take it's it's something, right? >> It is amazing. >> It's amazing. Yeah. Oldest ice boat club
in the world. Uh, first man-made vehicle to go 100 miles an hour. >> So, come on out. Hopefully, we'll get wind. Hopefully, you know, it'll stay cold. Um, I've got a B-class boat, big red B1 on the sail. Go come out and get a ride. Done. Thank you.
>> Thank you, Scott. Scott, I have a quick question. How much longer with the temperatures just above 32. Do you think that this is feasible, possible? >> Hard to say. >> Asking for a friend. >> What's going to
um I mean the ice is 8 to maybe 12. So you get and you get during the day if there's sun out it it it melts the ice on top. So you get slushy. Um but night it freezes. Who knows? I mean the smaller boats can
go 4 in. No, the the the big ones eight boats plus you need 8 to 12. You know, who knows? But there there's something to see. And I say people there are nice. Come in would be a guy at the gate. Mention your art council this and that.
Mention my name and uh and come on in, you know, and say get a, you know, take a look. Downstairs is the workshop. Upstairs is kind of museum pictures, trophies and all that. And can members members of the public welcome as well or you just extending that invitation to the council
>> to you because then trouble. >> All right. Just being clear. >> It's special. >> All right. >> Thank you. >> Thank you, Scott. Anyone else have any questions or comments? Yes. >> There we go. Uh Joan Weather L 106 Manor Drive. I have a a question. I was
looking for shredding events around the county. Can you hear me? Oh, okay. Can you hear me now? >> Okay. Uh, and so I found the shredding events for the county for 2026 and there's a whole list laundry list here,
but Redbank is not on there. And I wondered, it says the participating mun municipalities were listed. I won't read them, but there's, you know, about a a dozen, 12, 14, 15. And I wondered why Redbank wasn't having one.
>> And I have a copy of this here and I can give it to Madam Clerk if you would like. >> Sure, that'd be great. >> Yeah, we we we uh participated last year. I believe they try and rotate around the county. >> They do. Yeah, they do. >> So, we were we did have an event last
year. um >> elected not to do it this year because >> they have to switch resources because there's 54 municipalities. >> Oh, okay. That explains it then. Okay, thank you. Okay, then you probably >> Thank you, Joe. Anyone else have any
questions or comments? You already said no one online. All right. Can I have a motion to close the public comment? I have a second. All in favor? >> I. >> Christina, what do you got for me? For
us, for all of us, >> I'm just going to take my moment this evening to uh say what I'm I'm thankful for. Number one, to Jim and anyone who is involved in remotely any way for these,
thank you from the bottom of my heart. I enjoyed this last night at the planning board meeting and again tonight. I'm sure our uh our public and future public will also enjoy it as much as we all are. So, thank you. This is long overdue. Not only the mics, but also
these beautiful screens. I'm hoping you're seeing uh everything in uh high definition at home. Um and second thing I'm thankful for actually Scott you just mentioned is our iceboers. Um this has been such a beautiful silver lining for
the the terrible cold that we have had. Uh it's really nice. It's made me smile. It's warmed my heart. And thank you for the beautiful coverage uh in Red Bank Green. Another small outfit the New York Times. Uh it's been really happy. Uh, I'm really happy thinking about folks out
there on the river. So, thank you. >> Don't temp me. I'll be there. >> Ben, >> nothing really uh specific tonight. I will say ice boats are very exciting, but it's been offensively cold, so I'm
ready for spring. Uh, a lot of good businesses in town that have recently come in. Um, looking forward to the nice weather, and I think it's going to be the best season of Broadwalk yet. So, I'm really excited for uh some sun. And then I also want to shout out the um
additional traffic we've seen at the Westside businesses the past couple weeks. Um everything going on in the world obviously, but Westside Bestide. So, take it. Keep coming. >> All right, N. >> I have quite a bit, but I'll be quick.
Uh first and foremost, I do want to thank uh long live no local news for Ben Green for their coverage about the ice boating in addition to their regular coverage as well. But that was fantastic. I was particularly moved by the finding of the gentleman on the
bicycle and him towing his dad. That was very heartwarming and thank you for that, Brian. Um moving on to borrow business. Um the EC green team hosted the sustainable Jersey Mammoth Hub
meeting on Monday at the Redbank Senior Center. Thank you Shauna for providing the space for the event. Uh it involves uh clean water actions Marty Young presenting um the state law regarding skip the stuff which goes even beyond more what
we have in our Redbank ordinance. EC member Dave Johnson presented vape disposal hazards and best practices and we learned at the meeting that dogs do pick up these vape containers because they smell good and they try to chew them. So that's you know that is
potentially a problem. There's a lot of interest in uh from Tobacco Bree New Jersey Sustainable Jersey and other organizations and they're working with legislatores to help to put together a bill. EC chair Denell Johnson preset
presented sustainable lawn care best practices and uh the presentation will run again on the 24th of March at the Redbank public library. Uh there was discussion about the health impacts of artificial turf and the benefits of
natural turf. Um, I don't know at this time if the farmers have created a turf that will um be just as resilient as the artificial turf, but I know that people are talking to the farmers and saying,
"Hey, what can you do?" Uh, there was um the EC also spearheaded an initiative to apply for a grant to help pay for storm drain retrofits. And not little, last but least, but the annual green fair is
going to be on the 22nd of April at the Redbank Middle School. Shade Tree has been busy, too. They're launching the Redbank big tree project. They're not just looking for big trees, but also trees that have a story behind it. And if you have any, if you have a big tree,
know of a big tree, and know a big tree with a story, reach out to the Sha Tree Committee at STC redbankj.org. Um the completing green streets committee, they have um launched the Redbank bicycle safety and
infrastructure survey. It's out. We're very interested in your thoughts on how to improve safe bicycle transit throughout the town. Um we have to remember that bicycling is good for the environment, helps fight climate change by reducing emissions, and boosts the economy by lowering transportation costs
and supporting local businesses. When you're on a bike, you see a lot more than if you're driving by. and mayor. That's all I have. Thank you, >> Ben. >> Couple of things for Parkinson and Wreck. We have adult evening classes
center have been postponed to March. To sign up, call the office 732-5302782 or email the recreation department. Um, let's see. the father and daughter dance Friday, February 20th at 6 p.m. at Redbank Senior Center. A few spots are
left. Contact the recreation department for that. Uh three, we have a spring break family field trip to Liberty Science Center and the Bronx Zoo. Details will be posted on our website soon. Um on my capacity as liaison to
the schools, I appreciated the phone call from the um Redbank Regional Board President. Uh actually was a text the other day and apparently they're having um freezing pipe problems over at the campus in Little Solver even though it's Redback Regional. So I know that's a
handful over there and um I'm sure you'll let the bureau know if there's anything we can do to help. Um and that concludes except that I noticed you know our our our logo is the iceboat and I think when we interviewed our manager Mr. Gan, we forgot to tell him
that he was moving to he was going to run the town as the capital of iceboating of the world. Uh I don't remember discussing that with you, Mr. Gan. I hope you don't mind the surprise. >> Like everything else, I learned trial by fire. Ben,
>> that's it. Mr. Mayor Laura, >> um I'll start with Mayor's Wellness because I sometimes forget to talk about that and we have a lot of lot of things coming up. Um, we actually had a great talk this um this Wednesday at our leadership meeting with the Katie Bash.
I'll probably mis pronounce her name. Bashah. She's the program officer at the New Jersey Health Care Quality Institute. Um, Fed is not here, but I'm going to give a shout out to her. She did this great thing about everything the mayor's Wellness did last year. You probably saw it like a timeline of all
the things that we had. and um she's really reaching out because Red Bank does include um people from Latino um populations and a lot of things that we do and they're trying to look at ways to get more people to come out. We've had several events where I think people are
afraid to come out. So um she was kind of picking our brain and um hopefully we'll get that $1,000 grant from her. She also talked about um was that enough money that for the grants and just just little things like snacks and water like when the Mexican consulates in town and
things like that. It is important that we get these small grants. So it was a really good discussion that we had about that. Um we are going to have um a few activities coming up. We have something planned every month. Um we have a doctor
coming in February um March talking about women's health at the senior center um heart health. Then we have um Patty White is coming in May to talk about women's health. You might know her from the community. She's a nurse midwife. Also speaks Spanish and
English. So we would like to have her talk about women's health. We have quite a few things coming up. Um the and the consulate will be at the uh senior center on the 21st. I'll be there taking blood pressures with the Parker Clinic. So, um, so that was some of the things
we talked about there. So, that I'll get off Mayor's Wellness now and I'm going to animal welfare. So, we're going to have a vaccine clinic again on May 2nd. We had one in the winter at the primary school and that worked out really well, but we want to have one on the east side in this when it gets warmer, May 2nd.
Um, at the first date and rescue squad in Frankwood's got back to us that that's been approved. So, we're going to have um free vaccines for dogs and cats there for the rabies. And we talked about I think we talked about dog days. Um also the opening of
the river uh broadwalk. We're going to have um like we had last year animals u from Louis legacy. The chickens will be back. Um so that was kind of a big thing last year. Brought a lot of people to the opening of Broadwalk. So that'll be
fun. We're also just today we were on a a group email. You might have heard there was a big fire at the SPCA up in Andover, New Jersey. Um so all those dogs were displaced. So we're going to be trying to help them out a little bit too. So we tried to reach out to some of
the SPCAs like in Newark and stuff that are really struggling just our community. Uh library, we had our first I think it was our first library capital committee meeting, right Jim? That was on um February 3rd. Huh? Yeah. So, I'll let
Jim go into all the details of that, but we're going to follow up in May with some of the things that um we talked about at that meeting. And I think that was really great having the engineers there, having Jim there, having the members of the library board there just
to go over some of the things that are going on at the with the building and all different things at the library. We got to watch some ice boats while we were there, too, when the meeting was over. So, that was good. Um, tonight they have the same time as now they have
that librarian uh PBS movie um which you can find on PBS too. It's about um having books that talk about LGBTQ and other things that are being taken off shelves and how librarians are working to fight for that. So that's really
important stuff. Plus the regular activities that go on the library all the time. I was in there the other day. They were having children make forts out of boxes in the basement. I just did some great stuff over there. Um, and so I did library, I did animal, and I did Mayor's Wellness. I think I'm done. Thank you,
>> Laura. You are amazing. I have to say, and thank you for the shots, by the way, >> Deputy Mayor. >> Thank you, Mayor. I agree. Everybody up here is This is an anomaly to have public servants like this all on one council. It's wonderful. Um, I want to
echo what Councilman Euro said about residents supporting our westside businesses more. It has been felt. Um, I have received messages um, from multiple business owners. Um, I spoke with Arlette from Moner's Grocery just today and she expresses her gratitude for the
increase in foot traffic um, which is really helping at a time when there's decreased foot traffic at those businesses because of a fear of ICE activity. Um, in addition to that, I just wanted to state that um, Laner's
Grocery, um, Militas and La Orcadia all now have um, donation boxes, which is something that other people on the council also work on often um, for Vin Gopal's Civic Association Food Pantry, which is located on Shrewsbury Avenue.
Um what's great about this is you can visit Laneres. You can visit, you know, one of these um locations. Oh, actually also Lahukila um Delhi and Grocery has a Ving Gopal food pantry box now as well. So you can visit there, you can
patronize the business and then you can put what you purchase directly into a donation box um to help the community. So, it's really a win-win um because that is one of the most frequented and used pantries um by the community on the
west side. Um so, it's really great to have that connectivity um being strengthened um in real time. Uh thank you to everybody who attended the sweet stroll. Um, I know Marin caught myself and Councilman Europe up on that and it's amazing how many people will come
out in the frigid cold uh for, you know, any event in Redbank because they know it's going to be a fun time here. Um, we had the first meeting of a broadwalk programming committee. Um, this is new this year. Uh, it's kind of similar to the first year we had Broadwalk in that
it's more collaborative between the burrow um and river center. Um, myself, uh, Councilman Ben Yuro as the le onto the river center. um and the mayor are elected representatives involved and then there's um business owners who expressed interest in being involved in that as well as representatives of River
Center um with the goal being uh oh and also of course obviously our community engagement coordinator and um Audriana the head of our recreation and human services also being involved um with just the goal of having more holistic
programming and really getting together just a full calendar and making it just be the year where it fully comes to its full potential. So, I'm really excited to have a full programming committee together uh for Broadwalk this year. Um I had the honor to speak at the SEAL
program uh which is the youth program for clean ocean action. Um it's a wonderful program um where each student essentially works on kind of like a thesis project or an Eagle Scout project. Each student focuses on a
project in their town, whether it's installing a rain garden or passing a local ordinance. Um there's usually around 30 students involved and it's actually run by um Kristen who serves on our community engagement and equity
committee here in Redbank. She's a phenomenal um organizer, but it's it's just wonderful to see the impact of young people in each of them in each of their respective municipalities. and it's a program that I love getting involved in. So, if you know any young people in high school that are looking
for an a unique way to volunteer or like a unique way to become an environmentalist or learn how they can make an impact, um I would say that the SEAL program is is a wonderful way to get involved. I also had the opportunity to go and speak with the residents at
the atrium. uh they reached out to myself in my capacity as an advisory board member for American Friends Service Committee. And so myself and Julie Flores Castillo attended the atrium uh as they had concerns about ICE activity in Redbank. Um so we went and
we presented to them about um resources, ways to help. Um it was well attended. There were over 55 residents um in attendance at the atrium. Um, and I just want to thank them for being involved and active community members, uh, and for, you know, caring about the whole of
Redbank. Um, as Councilwoman Laura Janone stated, uh, there will be a power of attorney clinic, a Spanish power of attorney clinic, um, as well as a visit from the Mexican consulate providing resources on February 21st. And then on February 14th, um there's a FASA form,
which if anybody's ever had to do a FASA, you just know what an absolute nightmare filling out a FASA is for college. Uh so there's a FASA and college info session happening in partnership with Brookdale Community College on February 14th. Again, thank you so much to our community engagement
coordinator and our head of recreation and human services, Audriana, um for all of their work on all of that programming. And uh that's my full report. Thank you, mayor. >> Thank you, >> Mayor. Can I just say one thing I forgot? >> Sure. >> So, I went to the ribbon cutting at
Riverview. They have a new oncology unit, um, which is an inpatient oncology unit. So, patients that get out infusion, um, still do outpatient, but they also have an really beautiful inpatient unit that they build. It's
right on the river. Um, so for people that need to stay in for infusion and some cancer treatments, it's a beautiful unit and it decorated like with ice boats and sailboats and um, look overlooking the um, river. So, it's really nicely done. They had moved
behavioral health out of there um to another one of their facilities and then redid this whole area. It's really, if you get a chance, stop in and see it. Ribbon cutting was very nice and they had a lot of uh, people from the community. They're very hooked up with um ML um Sloan Kettering now. So they're
going to be like a spin-off of Sloketering, which was quite impressive. They had all the oncologists and people there talking. >> Thank you for representing it. >> Um I saw they showed it this past weekend. I went to the library for the librarians and it's a powerful film, you
know, it's a pulling not just LGBTQ but books about race and um and it's been going on I mean they they shot it for a few years the uh the movie. So um yeah um anyway so it was great great
event at the library and I just have to add this funny story in. So, my son, who's at college, just uh started doing work study and got his first job at the school library. So, my wife went yesterday to the library to get a book and bumped into Miss Sierra who told her
that my son Easy had texted her to tell her that he was working at the library. And I'm thinking, what kind of kid has his child librarian's cell phone number? But, um the whole story, yeah, that cracked me up. Anyway, it was a nice story. Um just a reminder of how much um
arts and entertainment is happening in town. I mean obviously the Bassy has something almost every night. Um Tour River Theater on February 27th has their premiere of a Doll's House. Their season's kicking off this year. So I'm planning on checking that out. And uh Tomas Fortune's having an open house
February 21st. So I'm looking forward to checking that out also. That's all I got. Jim, >> I'm up. Um, yes. Aside from the the greatness of everything that the ice >> Hold on. Yeah, I just got I got to add
in also the the We finally like this is a big deal. This is a big deal. The microphones work. We have screens. >> Yeah. Thank you. That's excellent. >> The little things. The little things. Um, but I want to say aside from the greatness of the ice boating on the
Navast, I think what's been really cool about the whole thing, but also a challenge for the burrow is the like third community space that it creates. Um, hundreds of people out on the ice, which means that they needed access to the ice. Uh, so with Marine Park being
under construction, that obviously created a new layer of um logistics for us. So, I I was happy that we were able to meet with uh myself, our risk managers of the bureau, our joint insurance fund, the police chief, myself, DPU, uh to come up with a plan
to off the marine park parking lot create a uh at least a walkway access for people to either view or go out onto the unmonitored and unguarded ice. Um those are key words as as well for us.
So, and I actually I really want to say I appreciate uh Brian Donahghue covering that for us because it's important to get that word out that it is a safety concern. Um, and at the same time, we are allowing the access to it, but a lot of people were actually traversing
through the construction site and taking down the orange fencing that was put up. Um, which was creating a whole another layer of safety issues for us. But we we got through it and it got better. It did. We we made some improvements and it got better. Um, of note on today's uh
council agenda meeting was the solid waste u bid that was awarded today to Delissa again for an additional competitive contract. Uh so we will go into contract with Delissa to continue solid waste hauling services throughout
the burrow. U that was a competitive contract that was done through a consultant of ours and all publicly bid. Um, unfortunately nowadays and something that's experienced by municipalities all over New Jersey, these bids generally only get one bidder and um, you know,
it's it's an issue in the industry. Um, however, it's a service that has to be provided as a matter of public health and safety. Um, yes, our AV improvements, you know, we're still working out some of the kinks. We're learning the system. We're but I think
tonight kind of went very easily fairly well and um knock on wood that we get to the adjournment of this meeting. Um but yeah, we have some additional equipment to help us. We have lapel mics for presenters. We have the handheld mics as well. Um and obviously the the TV
displays. Um I have a couple of notes to go back to the company with for questions and how to make continued improvements. uh you you would have seen public works throughout the town still and they're still clearing areas of snow and ice. It's still a challenge. We're
still trying to open up roadways even more. Um towns across New Jersey are are still doing this and especially our urban center towns are and those that have downtowns are are dealing with this as well. Those guys have been out all day, every day clearing hydrants and
sidewalks and crosswalks and now a new layer of things as we have the melt as we're seeing all the litter, you know, the big puddle, the storm drains, the litter. They were out on Mama Street, Broad Street, and Shrewsbury A today cleaning up litter. Um, so they've they've done a tremendous job and have
been working from the time they get in to the time they leave, which is just fantastic that uh they're in concert there. Uh we had the second meeting of our uh CWA union negotiations uh today. So that's going uh very well and uh we
hope in the next meeting or two to have an agreement with our CWA union to uh solidify a new contract for them. I want to uh thank outgoing fire chief Frank Woods uh for the invite to the Redbank Fire Department awards dinner this past
weekend. I saw a number of of you there as well. Um, and you know, obviously sharing my appreciation for their recognition of me uh at that dinner. Uh, it's definitely been there. >> Yeah. Yeah, it was it was very nice. It was I wasn't expecting it. I didn't know
it was on the docket, but uh it it was nice that they they were able to uh it was nice that they they gave me an award that night. It was great. And we have a ton of grant work in the in the works right now. There's a number of different applications that the burrow is going for. uh of note uh I think is one that
we haven't done uh in the past and something that uh Audriana is is working with Jackie Reynolds at the senior center for a quarter of a million dollars for to increase uh senior um programming over there. So I'm hoping fingers crossed that they are successful
in that grant and uh I'll keep you guys updated. Thank you. >> Then sir the uh the button down below. Yep. >> You know, I usually have questions for you, Mr. Manager. >> Usually, you tell me you like my report and I'm allowed to go. So,
>> um, so going to actually I had some feedback from the neighborhood about ticket fees and not moving cars in the storm. Is that something we need to revisit at the future? Was it $38 for if you don't move your car? What is it? >> Yeah, it's I mean, some guy just said,
well, you know, it's just cheaper for me to keep the car here. >> That's a challenge, right? That's something that uh I actually heard this past storm as well. Um they issued the most amount of tickets as my face, >> right? It's interesting. >> A truck. >> No, he said 38 bucks. It's
>> No, he says, "Why should I move my car? It's only >> right. I have a parking and puzzle. It's going to cost me 100 bucks for the weekend." >> And I've gotten a lot of feedback from people saying that during snowstorms, we should have a different schedule of ticketing to increase the the fine um to encourage people to move their vehicle.
you you see the challenge it creates for us. Um it's >> and then they get frozen in >> and then they get frozen in especially when we have a snow of this significance. People really we really do need them to go out of their way to come up with a plan for themselves. I know
it's difficult. I know it's not, you know, ideal for anybody, but here we are couple weeks later now. We're still trying to clear areas of the roadways. Um, so it is something that >> my number one complaint I guess. >> Yeah, I'm sure. And it's something that we can discuss in the future. I will say
our police department, our parking guys issued the most amount of parking tickets um than any storm that we've had in recent years. So they they hit the ground and they tried to make it known that this is unacceptable. >> Another question for you, Mr. Manager.
All right. So, um, trash. Okay. So, we only had the one bidder. Um, now I was around as a as a resident when we switched to privatization. It used to be that our public works had a couple of trash trucks, the Red Bank clean team or
whatever it was. Um, I mean, is this something we should look at possibly to keep our options open in the future is reintroducing I don't want to do this now, but should we plan for the possibility that uh, I'm uncomfortable really with one better. I mean, maybe that's what they do in a lot of towns,
but I I I don't I mean, um, you know, I mean, is that I'd like to maybe keep that door open, find out what it would really cost, maybe at some point if prices keep going up from these private haulers. Um, that we look at reintroducing uh doing it ourselves if
we need to. I'd rather not. I mean, it'd be nice that somebody else is doing it. And it sounded like it saved us money initially, but I'd like to take a look and see does it still make sense to do it privately. Um because if there's no if there's no competition, you know, how
long is this contract for? You I don't remember you saying how long. Uh this is five years. So the it's really the the number of biders really has to do with the market at the moment. There's a significant amount of risk in taking on these contracts, particularly for the
length of time that the towns want to lock in their prices due to energy costs and a lot of things that have to do with the solid waste and recyclable market that are large. So, there was a moment in history when um energy prices were high and recyclable like the amount of
money you get for recyclables was high when you would it wouldn't be uncommon to get six or seven biders on every contract. the the bid the amount of biders doesn't have to do with really the number of companies or people competing in the area. It's that the same bidder tends to bid in the town that they're in because they know it the
best than anyone else. Um and they have a built-in advantage in the in the system when the market is bad and risky for the for the haulers. So that's what we're seeing at this moment in history. um if the economic conditions change then or regulatory conditions change
back to what they were maybe 10 or 15 years ago then we will probably the market undoubtedly will go back to that at some point there'll be multiple biders but that's the main reason why the incumbent bidder is almost always at this moment in history the last few years particularly postco has been the
the built-in advantage because they know the town better than anyone else and the risks that are inherent in the market at present um lent they just give an advantage to the incumbent um and that's something I've seen not just here. It's really been everywhere. Um, but that hasn't always been the case. It really has to do with that has to do with the market in terms of lining the costs up
what the current market is for private haulers versus public. You know, that's a separate calculation you guys will have to do policy wise here. But, um, as a lawyer does like looks at these in every town, you're not the only one that's gotten only one bidder. Um, it the market really has an advantage for the incumbent hauler at this moment in
history. No, I I I I pretty much had an idea that was a good, but I you know, the whole idea of privatiz one of the ideas anyway, I remember when it was being debated up here by a previous mayor and council, you know, you you know, was having those choices and having competition and lowering CH, you
know, and now we don't have the competition part. And I'm just I just want to go eyes wide open in the future and not necessarily rule anything out. I don't want, you know, some hauler who's the only one, you know, bilking us. Um,
anyway, that's it. I think I made my point, but I'd like our manager maybe when the next cycle of this happens that maybe we plan in advance and not rule anything out and see what it would be like. I think we used to have two garbage trucks that were burun that ran
and I lived here a long time and they provided very satisfactory service. So um and it was a you know fair amount of drama when we decided not to do it. Um you know so anyway that's all >> certainly and you know not knowing the
history of course it's it's kind of the same discussion in in many towns that privatized that service and I think what led those municipalities to privatize were the escalating costs that were associated with hauling um which is what we're seeing even in the bid results. I
I think you know kind of back of the napkin uh analysis of this Redbank did very well in this bid cycle with you know a 27% increase but again that's on a price from 5 years ago. So with the
same things that we're experiencing in our budget as uh health care costs rise um and the insurance costs rise just general liability insurance. The other thing too that we have to consider as a municipality is the inherent risk that
comes with that job because the workers compensation is outrageous when it comes to um >> sure >> garbage pickup. So I mean just comparatively and I provided this to the council as well. Um and I I won't say the towns specifically just for their
sake but uh you know solid waste collection contract which was awarded in a town that we are compared to a lot was 73% uh of an increase. Another mun Mammoth County town quite close to us
experienced a 97% increase in their hauling contracts. Um, and then another town out west that again we align with quite closely experienced a 40% increase. So I think that we did very well in this bid. Um, and we know who
the company is. >> Yeah, we did. We did. We were holding our breath kind of expecting these results. Um, but again I was quite happy with how they came out. >> Thank you. >> Do we have exec session today? No. All
right. Then uh can I have a motion to adjurnn? Can I have a second? >> Second. >> All in favor? >> I We don't have it. We're done. We'll see you in two weeks. Yeah.