I call to order the meeting of the mayor and Council the bur of River Edge February 27th 2025 regular meeting at the River Edge Library 685 Elm Avenue and on Zoom 6:30 p.m. I ask for a moment of Silent reflection for all uh the
unvaccinated children uh from measles as the U disease spreads Mr Daman if you'd lead us in the pledge I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the repic for it stands one nation under
God indivisible with liy and justice for all okay statement of compliance with the open public meeting act this meeting complies with the public meeting act by notification via the February 24th 2025 Sunshine notice of this location date
and time to the town news in the record by posting of the same on the municipal bulletin board and the burough website um and following notice of the same with municipal clerk uh Madam clerk roll call please council president Montano Cohen here
councilwoman canella here councilwoman mon Larry here councilman Benson here here councilman glass here Council daral here mayor Papo here okay could in a
moment could I have a motion in a second from the council president and from councilwoman um canella to resolution 25- 84 resolution to go into close session attorney client privilege njsa
10 colon 4-12 B5 solicitation process move second all in favor please say I okay uh could I have a motion second to temporarily adjourn until uh after we come back and close session second all in favor please say I
I I we are temporarily adjourned call back in sucession the count mayor and Council B Riveredge um Regular meeting February 27 2025 Riveredge library and zoom Madam clerk roll call council president Montano
Cohen here councilwoman canella here councilwoman Mal Larry here councilman Benson here councilman glass here counc woman daral here mayor Papo here could I
have a motion in second to approve the minutes of the mayor and Council regular meeting February 13 2025 so move second all in favor please say I I need to abstain from that okay one absten well yeah I need to abstain from that meeting uh from because I was
not in the February 13 meeting yeah no problem I mayor I have to abstain as well and you have those okay we good all right uh so next up is Police Department accreditation process uh chief
LT here we go if you uh Mr Delgato yes Mr Delgado too you might want to chair put one chair there at the end that way or you can just stay standing stand M jelg just come over a little bit
you are now on welcome thank you for coming thank you Chief thank you LT here we go thank you I'm here to recognize your Police Department for joining a very elite group of low enforcement agencies in the state of New Jersey that I've achieved accreditation I mean even
though there's potentially nearly 600 agencies that could make it about 54% have successfully made it through which maintains you know the um um you know the the the classification of elite uh so if you indulge me for a couple of
minutes yes could you first for the public introduce yourself okay I apologize so I am Harry do I am the director of credit agent for the state Association of chiefs of police good and for the public sake we all know Chief Walker and Lieutenant zines but just in
case anyone is watching now or in the future uh two of our finest officers thank you for being here please proceed and I apologize May for getting ahead of myself no worries right so uh you indulging for just a minutes I'd like to share with you the significance of the
achievement because it is a big deal so the River Edge police department has made um has made a commitment to adhering to best practices at the state in National level and a highly regarded Statewide law enforcement accreditation program the program is administered to New Jersey State Association of chiefs
of police and the New Jersey Law Enforcement and creation Commission Now the uh excuse me uh during this uniquely challenging times and the threat to health and safety encouraging police departments to follow standardized practices and policies is potentially life-saving and costeffective investment
of time and resources accred accreditation gives an agency a plan uh a preparedness plan and a verific of Excellence ACC creation status represents a significant professional achievement and I know that uh uh in case you you haven't heard about the accreditation process in the state of
New Jersey they have to actually uh show proof of compliance to 112 standards uh proof of compliance are many so there's an exit of 400 400 proofs of compliance so it's a very rigorous process now accreditation is a progressive in time proven way of helping law enforcement
agencies calculate and improve their overall performance it is a certification of independent review and Authority that the accredited agency was carefully measured against against an established set of state and National standards and I like to say that in the case of the River Edge Police Department in many instances and I mean this and I
bring proof exceeded some of those practices in the field of law enforcement one of the issues that we found out immediately was that when we come here typically there are issues that we need to resolve since there's over pointed Pro of compli they have to show in the case of the River Edge Police Department for a department that's making it for the first time it
was not a single issue that we had to result to winding side visit so that's fully remarkable now research shows that ACC cred agencies have 11% fewer police professional liability claims 18% fewer working compensation claims and 31 fewer old liability claims these stxs come
from the mail insurance um and um a moreover municipalities are participa in a male Affiliated joint Insurance funds tend to receive substantial insurance premiums discounts when a police fund attains accreditation like yours have there's a piece of accreditation I think
I should mention this because I I was pretty impressed by it um that actually um there are standards that uh address the uh engagement in community policing uh in a municipality in the case of the River Edge Police Department we have
what we call an a calling session calling session typically people in they do a press release and a public notice I get emails typically the people that don't like you email you first in this case I must say that the number the number in the diversity of those that
actually either wrote me emails called in or called the uh uh the assessors on site was incredible so they were representative from the clergy they were representative from the school district they were um own um owners U business
owners one actually said that the River Edge police department and we seem to agree was the golden uh example of police department so that was incredible so I'll close by by by sharing with you some of what was said by the assessors in the report under the
leadership of Chief Clark high level of competence leadership and professionalism is evident within the agency they said we are confident meaning the police department that a key component to the effective delivery of Professional Services is achieving njs accredited status it was clear upon
embarking on this Quest that becoming anit agency the participation in the acation program with through the implementation of sound management practices provide us with the framework to continually monitor evaluate and improve existing practices and conditions within the River Edge Police
Department we have no doubt that to our participation we will continue to grow as a professional police agency committed to providing the best possible public service for our community the support from the community during this process was impressive phone calls letters emails were received from
members of the clergy the school district the fire department business owners and members of the public again I say one stated that the river Police Department is the gold standard of law enforcement having found no issues at the end of the own site was remarkable and so therefore this the opinion of the
assessment team and certainly I concur that the river urge Police Department is a highly professional and committed agency which exemplifies all the tenants of law enforcement accreditation as the state and National level therefore the New Jersey State Association of chiefs of police and the New Jersey Law Enforcement commission gratulation
Michael Walker manager Joseph smes y thank you the members of the river Police Department the mayor the council and those citizens that they so proudly serve for having achieved accreditation joining a very exclusive group of law enforcement agencies that make this commitment to excellen in policing those to all indeed
congratulations this is where you get the clap for your Police Department manag in the council like to present you with the actual certificate of accreditation this means that uh you know it's one of the symbols of the achievement that that they've attained and it means that I'll be back here in
three years process so mayor Chief congratulations thank you hold on Chief stay right there both three of you if you would kind and then I'm gonna ask the council
to join in a minute very good very good now okay smile okay Council would you please join that if you could or you guys in the well indir in the front in the
front a little known fact how mayor's become very good at setting picture h no school teacher school teacher oh that's right here we need to move you forward yeah okay come on over [Music] here say accreditation
accreditation than you for coming really appreciate it great great I don't want you guys to I a chance to say a few words to the public especially those officers that were crucial in a lot of the man
hours all right okay go ahead a chief few words so um many of you were on the council when I became chief for four years got me there um and one of the things I presented during my interview
was what I believe the need to become accredited um having I have worked for three Chiefs and interestingly enough there were three Chief sets worth of um policies and procedures generally Chief comes in and they start you know how do
I want to tweet things how do I want to change things they start writing their own policies and procedures and I looked at it and I we never got rid of all of them they never became one solid set and that's trouble because you know we live by policies and
procedures in the police department um it dictates on how we operate and have the police department runs at all different hours of the uh the day night and year without like the chief and the administration everybody being there and keeps US Uniform so I came to you guys
if you remember once I became Chief and I said hey we we need to do this process you guys are gracious enough to support me with it um both um just supporting the program itself and financially because it is it's it is a bit of a
costy um Endeavor but it also as we know and you heard Mr Delgado say it is cost savings and um and when you look at that I I was just saying it to Mr Delgado if an insurance company is giving you money back for something it's got to be good
because when are your rates ever go down and that's exactly uh what occurs with this um we we will continue to stay accredited it is a very um trying process and to stay on top of it and that being said without Lieutenant Z's
being my right hand man on this and and taking this and running with it um we wouldn't be we wouldn't be here with this um his dedication to this uh is is next to I couldn't measure it up to to anything um he's a very smart guy which
definitely helps and um he wanted to get this done and um he was on me time you know he' take care of things I got look at that and he's like Chief got to look at that we wanted to get it on of timeline it does take time and um again
I got to uh thank him tremendously for it and uh thanks and will keep up as we have been keeping up because this is uh last may now we got the certification March
but since March it's not like you get it it's like all right we got to break no they say it's right on top of it you know um and that's where Mr Elgato explained it's um it's not easy to keep it going but you're in a much more comfortable place as a police chief to
have best practices in place and as a as a Town Council and as a town we're in a much better place to have it so um I'm very excited that we're here and we'll continue to do what we're doing and thank you again you're welcome chief
chief with your permission I'd like to give Lieutenant zines a chance to uh shout out if he'd like to anybody who assisted him or anything he wants to talk about this um because uh of his leadership role in this process I would
just say it was it was a team effort right it was a team effort amongst the Command Staff against the rank and file um Everybody in the department has a responsibility certain responsibilities are very reflective in the uh Sops that we had to address and they were very uh
active in the process of you know getting to the end line um whatever their specialty was whether it was evidence it was property it was traffic it was a variety of things um and everybody's help on it and everybody's
help in moving the process along kept us on on track to get there so it was definitely an eye opening experience a lot of learning a lot of getting all the ins and outs on um what the rul are right what the rules should be that
maybe weren't in place before and I've had officers that have come up to me since that who have said that you know the policies are really awesome because I was able to reference it for this this and this and and it's very accessible um through the computer system that we have
and it's very searchable and it outlines things that the officers have to do for particular types of calls so it's been uh it's definitely been a positive experience and I look forward to being back here in three years with Mr dogado for round two so I I want to offer uh uh thanks to the
council they've already offered their Applause but I also uh River edges Community ping model has been exemplary for 13 14 years I've been in public service um your work as individuals and
the Departments has been exemplary I can't tell you how many times uh River Edge volunteer ambulance service has said that the police department's presence during times of Crisis uh like blizzard snow helping them move um
injured or ill people is greatly appreciated cannot tell you how many times the fire department has uh sung your Praises for uh for a multitude of reasons um and the integration between uh all the different departments uh
cooperation and yours is is um is a Hallmark of your um of your success and now we have an piece of evidence uh artifact that demonstrates that so again thank you very very much thank you
thank thanks all right okay um can I have a motion second to open the public on any item on the agenda second all and favor please say I I okay uh do we have anybody
would you please click on participants no there's nobody there and nobody here no oh yeah no that's okay that's my way so yes
no well she can raise her hand she wants all right so could I have motion second to close to the public on any on the agenda some second all in favor please say I could I have a motion in second to approve the resignation of Frederick ad
yes did I say right yes oh wow good for me school crossing guard fact February 13th 2025 don't mov second all in favor please say I I okay uh we have a second reading so we're going to move all the
second readings for opening to the public and closing together but then we will adopt them separately so could I have an motion a motion and a second to uh open to the public on and I'll read all three of them um ordinance
25-4 an ordinance to amend chapter 206 the revised General ordinances of the burrow biver Edge titled fees ordinance 25-5 an ordinance amending the code of the B rivered to establish chapter 309 entitled public buildings and ordinance
25-06 an ordinance amend amending the revised General ordinance of the burough of rivered chapter 79 entitled Department of recreation and cultural Affairs move second uh all in favor
please say I okay uh Miss uh appella if you could please uh explain to the public what we hope to achieve through 25456 absolutely orance 25- 04 increases the legal escrow for soning applications
this was recommended by our land use Clerk and it had been reviewed and recommended by the land use board ordinance 25-5 establishes restricted areas in municipal buildings throughout the buau to protect records and this is highly
recommended by the municipal joint Insurance funds and orance 25-06 it reorganizes the department of recreation and cultural Affairs as solely the department of recreation it abolishes the cultural Affairs committee um and it renames the commission the Recreation
Commission as a recreation committee to be consistent with the authorized duty of this volunteer group good um so just a comment on the last one ordinance 25-06 is basically taking the cultural Affairs and and um placing it under the umbrella of w correct yes it's not a
separate section of the department cool cool and may yes um I approved the 254 and 05 and I accuse myself we're not there yet we're almost there yet we're still in open to the public so under law we have to allow people to comment before we move for
adoption so just hold on uh let's see attendees again it's probably just I don't think there's anyone has does any member of the public wish to ask a question make a comment or offer an opinion about ordinance
255-4056 please raise your hand now through uh Electronic media there uh is there anyone here present who' like to come forward seeing none uh could I have an
motion and a second to close to the public okay could I have a motion okay which one you gonna 26 okay so we'll get to that could I have uh from um hold on Council woman claudiana and
uh malari and councilman Bens to uh move for adoption ordinance 25-4 previously read into the record it is now open for dat debate commentary or
inquiry hearing none uh Madam clerk I call the question council president monano Cohen yes councilwoman canella yes councilwoman Mal Larry yes councilman Benson yes councilman glass
yes Council Darwell yes okay um councilman glass and councilwoman um Darwell could I ask you to move and second ordinance
25-5 for adoption so move second okay um is there it is open for debate is there debate inquiry comment hearing none Madam clerk I call the question council president Montano
Cohen yes councilwoman canella yes councilwoman M Larry yes councilman Benson yes councilman glass yes councilwoman darell yes very good um
councilwoman uh canella and councilwoman uh council president um monsan Cohen could I have you move in second ordinance 20 5-06 for adoption so moved second it is open for
debate is there debate inquiry comment hearing none Madame clerk I call the question council president Montano Cohen yes councilwoman canella yes councilwoman Mal Larry yes councilwoman
Benson yes councilman glass yes councilwoman darwall I'm going recuse yes you abstain correct recuse you recuse no you can say that you're
good okay could um I have a uh could is there any objection to moving 25-28 to 25- 90 as uh as a as a as unit me
2585 um do I have it updated oh what did I say 2585 uh if I misspoke I apologize is your objection to moving as a group 2585 through 2590 uh no mayor but I do have a
question on 2585 um please ask okay um so does this particular contract assist with um the uh D DPW um Le um collection because it helps for the compost and um no this is the
site where the leaves are taken to so as the leaves are broken down we're able to sell the the residents get the compo for free but um we're able to sell to um DTS and it's a landscaper that uses it I see okay all right so they're paying us for
whatever compost is created out of this and it helps clear the site for the New Year's leaves okay thank you any other questions I have a question 2587 where's Section 8 oh I think it goes from Boger all the
way up to Monroe I believe so and we um have in this year's budget section n so if even if Section 8 doesn't go that far section N9 will extend or to Continental it
won't get to Continental just yet that might be 10 or 11 but we're getting there part of the reason it's vague is and correct me if I'm wrong uh is that we don't know what the um price will be for asphalt asphalt no this is concrete this sidewalks oh this
is sidewalk yeah and for the sidewalks and stuff like that so are we good any other questions okay could I have a motion in second from any member of council to adopt 25- 85 through 25-9 so Mo second
on uh is there is there debate hearing none all in favor any opposed any exstension all right um councilwoman consel would you please move 25- 91 and would another member of
the finance committee please second after she finishes moving it yes um at a regular meeting of the mayor and Council of the burough of River County of Bergen state of New Jersey held on February 27th 2025 be it resolved that the mayor and Council of the burough of river
approved the following expenditures current fund 2,325 6444 General Capital fund $99,250 Recreation trust
$1,176 some another member fin oh um this is not debatable all in favor please say I I any opposed any abstentions I need to abstain good or recuse from which one stain from check
number 65775 check number 658 23 check number 658 38 658 check number 658 39 check number 6002 and check number 63 do you vote Yes
uh or no on all the others yes okay excellent well done all right um next we have new business uh Riverdale High School early field early field approval Recreation Department 50
2590 just miss yes um the our rec director Reed the request from Riverdale High School to start using their baseball field um starting on March 10th however burrow fields are not um available until April for permitting but
um the high school did provide a written request a hold harmless agreement indemnifying the Burl and a certificate of liability insurance they will be responsible for field maintenance from March 10th to the 31st and apply and Supply portable toilets um
so that way they get their baseball team can prepare for the season and um use the field but since it's an exception to policy the exception has to be done by resolution okay questions comments um KGB oh okay go ahead k kbg
kbg um since it's until March 31st shouldn't the resolution reflect that I was not sure what it meant by starting March 10th but there's no ending date um we could add that to to the resolution before you adopt it so it'd
be from March 10th through March 31st corre okay so you're making a motion to amend please make that motion I make a motion to amend 2592 to refer to an end day of March 31st okay is there a second second it is
open for debate we are amending uh motion 25- 92 is there uh is there debate hearing none we are not approving it we are simply modifying it all in favor please say I I any opposed any extensions mayor I need to recuse myself
from 2592 very good uh now we are at we are back to 2592 as amended are there other questions okay uh could I have uh councilwoman canella because she is our rec liaison move in another member of
council second 25- 92 so second it has been moved and seconded is as amended uh is there debate hearing none all in favor please say I I accuse myself from 259 excellent um
uh so yes any other um new business any old yes yes couple of them I councilwoman uh the 250 committee that was formed last meeting uh we were going
to find if we can have volunteers from different subcommittees yes uh I found found somebody who's been who's willing to join and that's lisbel from Ras good so she if I'm just proposing her name she said yes to join is there any
objection by Council Mr shenan should that be uh put onto um appointments and personal an additional appointment correct yeah very good so at our next meeting she will be
added and if there are any other names that uh you feel need to be added you can send them to um uh our business administrator she can put them on the agenda and then the council can decide at that time if they wish to move those
additional names all right okay all right so without objection we are adding that to the agenda there is one more um uh new business I would like to present Diwali Day on Thursday October 16th to be uh as a mayor and Council event at
the B Hall uh and in that from evening 7 to 8 or 7 to 8:30 with uh a Diwali Proclamation Diwali light ceremony maybe a little cultural performance Diwali story and little right snacks and refreshments okay Miss uh appella is uh
I'm also going to turn to m shanan is there any um is there any reason that we is there any obstacle to this request um no I just need to know what would be the source of light for the event like would they be glow sticks or flashlights
candle it it's usually a lighted candle but we we light it and then we fuse it if not then we can have the tea lights which uh don't require uh oil or wax or anything yeah I think it's just we have to double check with um the fire
department about the the lighting but other than that just a symbol to the beginning of Diwali as a festival of flights will that be inside the B hole or outside the B uh inside the ball pretty it's probably it's well that's I
go next to Mr Shan Mr Shan can you opine on um the um the concept and are there any obstacles well that's the first time I mean in terms of having it in burrow Hall itself um is that is that a policy
of the burrow that that that not come up during my tenure as the burough attorney yet that that you don't have events inside B all in I don't think we've ever had a religious uh related event or a culture related event inside burall have we do you
know yeah prior i s recall I think we disc we had discussions on another request and I thought we decided not to accommodate inal property my understanding was this is not a religious event this is a cultural event
so so I took the religious and my the business administrator contacted me about this today and I when I spoke to her I indicated that if it's not religious uh then I F then my feeling was that it's not something that would be barred by there were no reason to not have it uh as opposed to having other
religious you know uh other cultural ceremonies or whether you were having a you know but in terms of having the physical location that's that's something that's burough policy generated so two questions uh one would this create a precedent that we would
then be obligated to open to other groups that made such a demand or request that would be my concern yes okay so uh why don't we um because of the ethn because the my understanding and I would ask this through the May to ask Council Mand well that that my
understanding is that dwali is a uh um a cultural event that shared by Hindus siks and other religions um so it's not religious based but it is ethnic technically based yeah so in the past when we've had cultural events they have been in the library and the library has
done that uh there was also a request to do it outside and then they pulled a permit and then of course uh that would be so uh would the coun and the council doesn't need to do this but it can would the council wish to consider this um
given what uh what we've heard um tonight or not at all or at sometime in the future it's open for discussion in terms of what though mayor like to the request that councilwoman
Darwell has has placed to do the darell ceremony inside bur Hall and and or at any location in barall I I think we just need to understand what precedent we're setting and what that Mr Shan if you could speak a little bit more to that
I'm sorry mayor I wasn't being clear not so much legally but just like you know what other groups or organizations would we potentially have to allow to do the same Mr sh the answer is anyone
so you open up to one you have to open it up to all and just for added context to those that are are new to the council we already had this discussion in regards to Ramadan yeah and that's why the Ramadan event is actually here in the library tomorrow afternoon um the
other debates about I think uh the tree and all that that was part of that discussion but this is I remember where we landed because of the concern of President Ramadan is religious right but it was a question of whether thew was religious or not is cultural or not is
ethnic driven or not um and I think that was the context of the discussion keep me honest no absolutely no that's that was the discussion and whether or not it was going to be uh the figure that they were going to have was going to stay up during for the whole um whole term of
Ramadan and we said no because that sets another precedent so we just decided absolutely we can have a ceremony for the actual the beginning but that was it being the library in the library but nothing we've ever done is at borrow
Hall with respect to way I agree in the the way I kind of perceive that is we were allowing the use of this space just you know regardless for that purpose not like endorsing anything
right so my my hearing of the council is the consensus is we want to maintain um uh our our neutrality yes and so this request is denied but may for the borrow
Hall but I and borrow properties without permits without permit yeah if we're keeping the president steady we are we're just saying yes not at B Hall but if you get a permit have it at the library have the something or another
Park Park yeah okay and in that case could it be still a mayor and Council uh event in the sense like keeping it 100% non-religious but um a cultural uh event
like U reading a proclamation for diali um having um having a little Diwali light ceremony just um just the beginning just don't think we do any proclamations for Hanukkah uh or manur though we do have
one on the property we don't do uh something for Christmas we don't do something for Ramadan um so and based on what the council has already said I would assume that the council would not want to move in that direction
but just U if I may um but for every yes for every one of those events mayor and council is invited correct me if I'm wrong yes but they're not required to be there and it's not an official event of the mayor and Council yes but everybody invites the May and I thought councilwoman Darwell was asking for it
to be an official event of the mayor council the answer is it cannot be but that doesn't mean that whenever we're invited we try to as many of us as are available try to be present anyone can invite us to anything yes well see the
problem comes because if it becomes an official event then it has to be published yeah because then we fall uh we could fall Ryan Oprah opma yes sorry Oprah is open public record Act oppra is open public
meeting it's adver oh yeah um Council anything else no okay any other member of council I do I is this uh all business still well
they're pretty much the same so so I I don't know if it's new business old business just for the public benefit we are resuming the Farmers Market on May 22nd so I wanted to start throwing the dates out there um Michelle Koffman who remained the farmers market manager has
been working diligently in getting all the vendors back where in fact I think we'll have surprises this year so um I'll be about the growth of the market um so everybody is stay tuned for May
22nd first opening day cool anybody else well since since um Council mon taco and went so far May I'm going to say that the River Edge run is April 26th Saturday April 26 and registration is open yeah and um again all these events
uh we hope every member of council who's able to make it we make it um and uh sorry one other thing mayor sure um uh Regal and little league opening day is Saturday April 5th it's scheduled for April 5th okay we could uh try to make
that okay um anybody else okay I have something um with Mr and um Jim anino did I say Jim's last name right yes he is our tax assessor um he was here between 6:30 and 7 for any residents who
might have shown up we talk about uh the assessment which is ongoing um we will also he uh he it was his idea um he approached me on Saturday to have a um open or popup uh for the public so
um March 15th Saturday Saturday right Saturday March 15th from 11: to 1 we uh myself Mr envino and a representative from assessment appraisal systems appraisal systems will be here for any member of
the public who has a question and concern um would like to have their property reassessed uh when do we close when does that window closed you know I think he said May 1 sure that's what he said he the books
can closed at the county the 7th but changes can be made up to May 1st yes so um so the public is urged that uh if you have not already had your home assessed and at our last meeting there was 25% of the town did not please do
that because if not uh the assessor must assume the highest possible value for all the concerning rooms according to the formula and statutes of the state um so it behooves the public to um invite
the assess appraisal system in uh anything else okay let's open the public for any uh item uh could I have Motion in second second all in favor please say I okay let's just look at attendees if
any attendee or anyone present would like to speak please raise your hand to come forward seeing none uh could I have motion second to close the public so okay excellent all in favor I are there any further Council
comments very good could I um could I have a motion and second to approve going into close session 25- 93 resolution go to close session attorney client privilege njsa 10 colon 4-12 B5 um construction update and um how we
phrase the security security detail security detail so move can all in favor please say I I okay will not be coming back into public session so we're going to close the public session but I have a motion second to close the public session of the meeting for the evening
so Mo all in favor please say I we are closed