Yeah. Okay. Uh, this meeting is being held in accordance with the New Jersey Open Public Meetings Act. Annual notice of this meeting was published in the Union County Local Source and the Star Ledger said notice that was posted in the municipal building and a copy is on file with the office of the burough clerk. Fires are located in the directions I'm
indicating. If you're lur for a fire, please move in a calm, orderly manner to the nearest smoke-free exit. Proper notice having been given. The burough clerk is directed to include this statement in the minutes of the meeting. Please call the role. Councilman Petroski here. Councilman Johnson here. Councilman Signarella here. Councilman Robin
here. Councilman Lions is not here yet. And Councilman Patel will not be here due to a death in the family. And Mayor Signarella here. Uh please please lead us in the opening prayer uh followed by pledge of allegiance.
Eternal God, grant us thy help and all our duties and perplexities. We ask for thy guidance. Give us thy protection in our dangers and sorrows. Grant us thy peace. Amen. To the flag of the United States of America, to the republic to which it stands, one nation under God,
indivisible, liberty and justice for all. Okay. Uh there are no communications for review this evening. Unfortunately, the uh tile guys could not make it tonight. Uh so no, we'll do the proclamation another night. Um
meeting minutes will be carried to the regular meeting. Make a note. Sure, please. Yeah. So, I we haven't approved meeting minutes in a little while. Uh we're going through obviously a transition in the clerk's office with some staff since July. Um the first meeting for the new staff and myself candidly um was the
last meeting in June which was very voluminous. Um all of uh the last four meetings will be on the next agenda for your approval. So I just wanted to note that for the governing body. So I apologize for the delay. Uh meeting minutes will be carried to the regular meeting of October 2nd. Uh
may I have a motion that bills and payrolls be not read and passed for payment? So moved. Second. All in favor? I I we have a motion to the open the public portion on agenda items only. So moved. Second. All in favor? I I like to come up and speak on agenda items. Not interested.
Beautiful. May I have a motion to close the public portion on agenda items only? So moved. Second. All in favor? I. Uh I guess Ken and Andrew, do you guys have anything? Okay. Cool. May I have a motion to accept the reports of departments as submitted? Uh so moved.
Second. All in favor? I. There are no ordinances for second reading this evening. Uh, please read ordinance number 2829 by title. Yes, mayor. Ordinance 2829 is an ordinance amending chapter 19, section 10 of the code of the bur rose park
entitled public utility polls. May I have a motion to approve ordinance number 2829 for introduction and fix the date for second reading and public hearing as or uh October 2nd, 2025. So moved. Second. There any discussion? Yes. Yep. Please turn your mic.
Just briefly, um I I I mentioned this to Andrew, but I didn't tell him where. I just wanted to uh make a couple of amendments on just the the numbers component on D1 and D2.
I wanted to uh where it said hazardous conditions. Could you just uh for me just the page number? I'm sorry. The page number six. Six. Okay. D1 and D2. Yeah. Yeah, I just wanted to change that to the the hours within 2 hours and and the response to 12 and then for number
two where it says 24 hours to 48 hours. And I just want Do do you want it two hours and then you said within 12 12 and then 48 and then if you go over to seven it would just be two and 12.
That's it. Everything else is good. Uh E under E. Yep. Got it. Just the numbers. That's it. That's all I have. 12 hours. Okay. I I have that.
Okay. Do I have a motion to amend? Yes. I'll second. Okay. Um, is there any discussion? No, I don't have anything. Okay. Uh, please call the RO. This is a motion on the amendment. Councilman Petroski? Yes. Councilman Johnson? Yes. Councilman Sigurella? Yes. Councilman Robbina?
Yes. Counciloman Lions? Yes. Five votes in the affirmative, none in the negative. The motion to amend is agreed. Cool. Any further discussion as amended? Just need to motion to introduce as amended. Oh, do I have a motion to introduce as amended? So moved. Second.
Um uh please call the RO. Uh motion to introduce as amended. Councilman Petroski? Yes. Councilman Johnson? Yes. Councilman Sigurella? Yes. Councilman Robin? Yes. Councilwoman Lions? Yes. Five. The affirmative mayor. The ordinance is introduced. Okay. Any discussion?
No. You're good. Okay. To the next. Okay. Uh oh, that's good. Oh, it's introduced. Oh, whoops. Okay, that's why I didn't really want to do my my bad. Accomplished. Uh, please read ordinance 28:30 by title. Yes, mayor. Ordinance 28:30 is an ordinance for introduction. An ordinance
amending chapter 2, section 9, subsection 8 of the code of the bur rot deputy chief administrative officer. Uh, may I have a motion to approve ordinance number 2830 for introduction and fix the date for second reading and public hearing as October 2nd, 2025. So move second. Uh, is there any discussion?
Kokei. Uh, please call the role. Councilman Petroski. Yes. Councilman Johnson. Yes. Councilman Sigarella. Yes. Councilman Roina. Yes. Councilwoman Lions. Yes. Five votes in front of Mayor. The resolution is stop. I mean, sorry, the ordinance is introduced. Uh, please read ordinance 2831 by title. Yes. Mayor, ordinance 2831 is an ordinance
for introduction, an ordinance amending ordinance number 2824 fixing the salary ranges of non-UN employees and officials of the Bur Rosal Park in the county of Union State of New Jersey. Okay. Uh, was there any discussion? Need a motion to introduce.
Do I have a motion to introduce? Uh, so moved. Second. Uh, why am I can't do this? Can I do all in favor? No, you got to call. Oh, can I call the role? Do I not have them on? You don't have the prompts. I'm like I'm like a news guy without the teleprompter
right now. I Bergen Councilman Johnson. Council. Yes. Councilman Robin. Yes. Councilwoman Lions. Yes. Five the affirmative the res of the ordinance is introduced. What am I on? 2832. Yes. Yes. Okay. You're missing some prompt, dude.
I Please read ordinance number 2832 by title. Um ordinance uh ordinance 2820 2832 is an ordinance for introduction. An ordinance amending chapter 2 section 31 of the code of the bur ro park to be entitled community center. May I have a
motion to approve ordinance number 28 as 2832 for introduction and fix a date for second reading of public hearing as October 2nd 2025. So moved. Second. Is there any discussion? Please call the role. Councilman Petroski. Yes.
Councilman Johnson. Yes. Councilman Signarella. Yes. Councilman Robina. Yes. Counciloman Lions. Yes. Five votes in the affirmative. Mayor, the ordinance is introduced. Uh okay. Okay, please read ordinance number 2833 by title and report the findings and recommendations on the municipal land use board with respect thereto.
Yes, mayor. Ordinance 2833 is an ordinance for introduction, an ordinance adopting the 510 Chestnut Street redevelopment plan pursuant to the local redevelopment and housing law NJSA4A 12A-1. The municipal land use board reviewed the 510 Chestnut Street redevelopment
plan at its regular meeting held this month and found it to be consistent with the burough's master plan and provided no recommendations and support of its adoption. Okay. Motion to approve ordinance number 2833 for introduction and fix the date for second reading and public hearing is
October 2nd, 2025. So moved. Second. Is there any discussion? Um I uh don't want to co-mingle too many things but there is a lot of misinformation out there about what's going on with this and I think as things progress um we'll
continue to provide uh information u with regards to this project. Um but just as a refresher for everybody take a really like macrolevel stance on this. So state gives us affordable housing
requirements. We got to live with it. It is what it is. So we have to do development, right? If we're going to do development, we want to make sure that it's done in a smart way in places that make sense. All these cool things, right? Um again,
some people don't like development, some people love development. Um me personally, I understand that we have an obligation to adhere to, right? This is even named in our affordable housing plan because we have to meet that number. Um
this concept here sets the parameters for what can be done on that lot, 510 Chestnut Street. I'm probably using the incorrect legal terms, but just bear with me. Um and then there's other levels to this, right? So this is just the redevelopment
plan. there's a redevelopment agreement later. Um I know the council has introduced some bits and pieces to redevelopment agreements where developers have to do something for the town. Um but beyond that, um what council has advocated for and what I
think makes sense on this, um as we go through this process, if a project is awarded, we've talked about giving pilot monies to the board of ed, right? Absolutely. um they are not a part of the existing pilots and I've talked about on council. Councilman Johnson's advocated for this and I'm a man of my
word. As we go forward with projects, I didn't want to change the ones that existed, but as we go forward on projects, they would be cut in on future deals. And there's no better place to cut them in on a future deal than a piece of property that they actually own should they decide to move off of it. And that is the big thing that I want to
stress here. We are setting the parameters for what could be made there should the board of ed decide to of their own free will and valition find fair market value for their piece of land and move their office buildings. And I really just want to like cool down
the temperature on some of the rhetoric around this because I could understand some of the hard feelings if we were turning I don't know Robert Gordon school into a bunch of apartment buildings. This is displacing zero
children. 0.0 children. This is office and not Tina. You like the There you go. Good. Zero children. Um, this will display staff and potentially some of the the themes they've talked about is moving them into a newer building, right, where new amenities could happen.
Um, so I just like think some of the hand ringing around like this is harmful for the kids is just nonsense. If anything, it's putting money into our school district's pockets that they did not have before. Absolutely. And giving potentially the school district a nice new building to have
their facilities in. So when you go yell at the superintendent, you're in a nice new office building potentially. But once again, they're under no obligation to do anything. They could sit on this and this could sit there forever, right? Totally up to the board of ed. Um, but I just think the idea that like anybody's
doing something to harm the kids, like no. As a matter of fact, if this were to go through, we'd be putting money in kids' pockets and helping fund whatever else they need to do, like making new space for prek, as an example, like they want to do. Um, so I I think I'm just
going a little bit off the rails, but I feel like it's important to start checking some of this. And uh, if council wants to add anything, the floor is yours. No, I think I think you touched bases. It's creating a revenue stream for them that never been had. So, I'm in agreement with you, our mayor.
Cool. Um, may uh do I have a motion? Uh, so no further discussion, please call the role. Councilman Petroski, yes. Councilman Johnson, yes. Councilman Signarella, yes. Councilman Roina, yes. Counciloman Lions, yes. By voting the affirmative mayor, the ordinance is introduced.
Okay. All matters listed with an asterisk are considered to be routine and non-controversial by the council and will be approved by one motion. There will be no separate discussion of these items unless member of the government body set requests in which case the item will be removed. Where's my pen um from Thank you. from
the consent agenda and considered as normal sequence on the agenda as part of the general orders. Please read all resolutions by title. Yes, mayor. Resolution 28925 is accepting the resignation of Andrew Jacas as chief administrative officer. Resolution 29025 is terminating the professional services contract with clear Jakobi Alfieri and Jacobs LLC as
2025 Burough Attorney. Resolution 29125 is authorizing the award of a non-fair and open professional services contract to Skinsky and Hollandbeck LLC as burrow attorney for the balance of calendar year 2025. Resolution 29225 is appointing Rupen Shaw to the position of deputy chief administrative officer.
Resolution 29325 is accepting the resignation of Zia Angel Monteo from the Rosal Park Fire Department. Resolution 29425 is accepting the resignation of Deborah Saraphinus from the position of alternate crossing guard. Resolution 29525 is appointing Robert A. McDermott
to the position of alternate crossing guard. Resolution 29625 is acknowledging Eric T. Kennedy's reinstatement to employment with the Bur Rosal Park through August 8th, 2025 pursuant to the arbitrators award in New Jersey State Board of Mediation case number 25-57. Resolution 29725 is approving the time
due calculation in terms of final payment for Eric T. Kennedy. Resolution 29825 is revising the schedule of 2025 regular meeting dates of the mayor and council. Resolution 29925 is accepting the resignation of Ava Mcool from the position of high school counselor. Resolution 325 is accepting the
resignation of Gianna Galo from the position of high school counselor. Resolution 30125 is promoting college counselor Daniel Adams to the position of adult counselor without a teaching certificate. Resolution 30225 is promoting college counselor Gianna
Peter to the position of adult counselor without a teaching certificate. Resolution 30325 is promoting college counselor Olivia Reeri to the position of adult counselor without a teaching certificate. Resolution 30425 is authorizing an efficiency public parking markings pilot program. Resolution 30525
is designating a conditional redeveloper for the property identified as block 606, lots 31 and 32 of the municipal tax map commonly known as 129 Westfield Avenue and 133 Westfield Avenue along with all pertinent streets and rights of way and authorizing the execution of an interim cost agreement with respect
there too. Resolution 30625 is amending the shared services agreement between the Burros Park and the Burough Kennorth for public works services. And resolution 30725 is authorizing a $15,000 increase to the professional services contract with Matrix New World Engineering Land Surveying and Landscape Architecture PC as license site
remediation professional for the 20 for the year 2025 reflecting a revised contract amount not to exceed $40,000. Cool. I am pulling 20 28925 and 30625. We pulling anything else? Yeah. 304. 304. Yeah, I was about to pull that, too.
Thank you. Okay. And 305. Okay. Uh 305. 305. Yeah. Uh may I have a motion to approve the resolutions remaining on the consent agenda? So moved. Second. All in favor? I. Uh may I have a motion to adopt 289-25? So moved. Second.
Uh is there any discussion? Uh I was probably going to do this later in the year. Um and I won't get super mushy. Um, but it does feel inappropriate to just let this go without saying anything. Um, you know, Andrew, I don't know how much longer I'm
gonna be mayor for. Um, we'll see based on November. Um, but there's a decent chance that I'm I'm not mayor, uh, going into 2026. Um, we've done a ton in the last seven years and we've done a ton as mayor and council. Um, and I'm I'm very
proud of what we've done. And, uh, I just have to say, um, you know, we haven't had a burrow administration, nor we didn't have a burrow administrator when I became mayor, and I always thought that was silly, right? Like, a professional town needs a professional day-to-day overseer. There was no other option besides you. And I don't mean
that because we were bereft of options. Like, you were just the clear choice. Uh, even though you're a Republican councilman, we'll forgive you for that. I'm just kidding. Um, see how bipartisan I am. Um, so but what I want to say is in all seriousness, um,
I couldn't have done half the without you, man. Um, and very sincerely, like, um, I I think the Rosal Park burrow is better for, um, everything that you've done. Um, I know there's a lot of change over the last seven years, but a lot of change has that has been for the good. Um, and
candidly, I look downtown and I see the budding of what can be a thriving downtown once again. Um whereas when I first got elected and you first were made administrator, we had a rundown um you know painted purple broken down you know thing and other
than you not planting trees on time I have very little complaints. So um I just want to thank you for your service and you will be sorely missed. Thank you. Mayor, I'm going to um so I was thinking do I have to vote no or yes on this tonight?
Am I right? So, uh, and you know, Mayor Mayor Son, you you said it all. Uh, and, um, I I just want to thank him from the bottom of my heart. And, um, when he told me the other day, I'm not going to I I was I was weeping. I was pretty
upset. Anyway, um, um, everybody's replaceable, but you have done a great job, right? Whatever. We're all replaceable. Whatever. We're all in number here, but I got to say the mayor said it all. You've done a great job. And I somehow or another, I just hope you could change
your mind. But other than that, thank you from the bottom of my heart. From my family have uh you know, my son, my my wife and my family have think thought a lot of what you've done for the burough. I'll point you again, bud. But thank you, Andrew. I just want to also say um you
were just um from day one I was just so appreciative of you and I just appreciate you and everything that you've done um just to help me personally and just everyone here. Um sorry I get emotional but I told my mom
she got upset too. So um but you know uh just you know don't be a stranger and just um we really just appreciate you. I'm sorry to see this happen. Um, and you know, but I'm always happy for you, for your family. Um, and just wish you
the the best. Thank you. Again, I'd like to, uh, like you said, the mayor did the best, but I want to thank you personally. You've been a big help. Um, I've been on this for a long time, and you've been
always there. Any questions I have, you're, you know, always give me the answer. And I know I used to call you before every meeting to go over every uh all the stuff on the agenda, but I do appreciate all you did. So, you will definitely be missed. Thank you.
Um Andrew, I just wanted to say thank you for everything you've done. I don't know who else is going to provide guidance or or who else is I'm going to be able to respond to that will adequately is the best word resolve issues that come up. And I know I could
be a handful, but a lot of the work we done still is magical. I don't care what nobody said. And uh quite personally, I think you're not going to be replaceable. Um I just uh uh I just wish that uh it's a way that we could
persuade you, pay you more, do something else. Uh and I just wanted to say thank you. That's all. Thank you, Jay. You good? You just want to No, no, no. Andrew, Andrew, I'm not going to say goodbye until it's time to say goodbye. Okay. You're still here with us, and I'm glad
you are. Yes. All right. All right. Uh, call the roll. Probably supposed to say no. Yeah. What happens, lawyer, if we just if we vote no stuck,
choice is yours, council. Councilman Petroski? Yes. Councilman Johnson? Yes. Yes. Council Cigarella with regret. Yes. Councilman Robbina. Yes. Counciloman Lions. Yes. Five. Affirmative. Thank you. You all stabbed me in the back. You could have voted no. Um
my eagle flag. Can I have twice? If you love something, let it go. Let it go. And if it loves you back, it'll come back. Don't Don't be don't put me back. Uh can I have a motion to adopt resolution 304-24?
So moved. Second. Is there any discussion? Um Jay, if you had some. Oh, okay. Um no, I I just wanted to say that um I've been hearing a lot of concerns around the community and not just only in my ward either where uh people um you know the
parking is is tough and I and my hopes were with this is a pilot so it's not a permanent law. uh this will be like a test just to see and the plan and my intentions with putting this uh type of pilot up. It's just for one, I'm not even I shouldn't even be saying this,
but I was driving down the street and I see some residents already kind of illegally creating their own parking stalls. And so my thing was I kind of understood how why they did it. And um and and and this is one of the reasons
why I wanted to create like something like this uh where we can uh just put it in spot spotted areas. I know I also left uh two two or three more openings available. So if anybody from council has uh any other area, but these are
also surrounding by uh places that have apartments as well. Um, and I basically I just wanted to put some stalls there and then get feedback from the community after uh to see what they suggest if they like it, they don't like it. Uh,
but oftent times uh I even see it sometimes people just like are taking up two or three parking spaces at a time. Uh maybe not intentional. Sometimes you're in a rush. Uh maybe, you know, maybe not paying attention. Maybe it's company. So I don't I don't want to put
the whole town full of stalls. I only wanted to to like pinpoint a couple of hot spots. And the the purpose why you may see like one side of the street done versus another side may not be done is so residents could see the difference. So they could say, "Oh yeah, you see how these cars are parked over here. There
could have been more room if we just did the like the other side of the street." Uh so um I just hope that I could get people support on this. I just I just wanted to do this like as a test run just to see. And if not, if it gets voted down, that's fine, too. I'll continue to keep thinking outside the
box. Uh I'm all right with uh creating new policies, new laws. We don't always have to follow another town. We could be the innovators rather than uh the copers. So this is just one ideal that I'm just coming up with and um whatever I'm all right with it. So
Councilman, I just have one comment and I I totally understand the the thought around it. Um and honestly, I don't really have one I see the value of it. I see some of the potential hangups of it, but it is a pilot program. My only feedback just from a logistical perspective is
my gut feel is it actually feels like given the resources we have to adequately monitor how it's going. I'd rather my just two cents. No, no, that that's good. Do do like, you know, two locations versus as many as are listed. But that's
just my two cents, right? You guys vote however you want to. We can always table it and then uh reintroduce it next week. I'm not I'm fine with that as well. I mean the next meeting I just think I think personally we'll be able to and me just observer right we'll be able to observe it better if it's focused on
call it two to three locations versus five to six just because you can more adequately kind of see the nuances of what's going on. Well one of them I would like it to be the location that already got illegal stars. I mean look you guys pick the two or three. I I just don't want to bite off more than we can chew. Okay. No that's fair. I think that's
fair. And council, what I wanted to add, and I appreciate the concept. Um, I wanted to find out from you specifically, how were the proposed locations chosen? But you answered it. You had gone around because there were a couple. There was uh uh number three and number five. One was West Webster Avenue and then another one was on West Rosell
Avenue. Those are both in the I talked to a couple of residents in those locations as well because I've spoken to a number of residents in in my ward as well. And one of the concerns we had approached us, I had approached this with Andrew and with the engineers about two years ago. We're looking specifically Kfax Manor.
Jay, you might want to go into the mic a little bit and Beachwood. We're looking at and based on their analysis and following AASHTO and and Federal Highway Administration NJOT requirements for stole dimensions being uh 22 feet in length by 8 ft wide.
Implementation implementation at KFax for example would have resulted at a loss of about 6 to eight spots. Actually, I got 18 to 20. I don't know. Oh, you went to by federal. I went by I went by look it up. I didn't go by federal. I went by state. I believe
22 by 8 is for the standard stall is probably what you were looking at. 9 by 18. I think it was eight. It was 18 by 20 and what I was looking at is 22 by 8 and that's asht FHWA. Well, the mayor made a good suggestion. I'm open for us to table it and then we
could talk. I don't really think federal is applicable here personally. Okay. Okay. But I'd like to have a little bit more discussion on what I was going to Let's table it. All right. Let's table it and then uh we'll have discussion and then we'll put it on uh next next meeting. Probably with less spots as well.
Just to be clear, I think it's a good idea. I think it's it's a pilot program. It's a it's a test. It's not uh it can fail and No, no, but when the constituents reach out, they're going to contact me and my So, let's let's table it and then uh we'll we'll put it on for the next one. All right. We'll discuss it. Thank you.
So, I have a motion table next meeting. That's the is the motion to table to next meeting. Yeah. I don't think just you guys could just Yeah. I don't think it's a hard to 10 to and then the motion was Sorry, who moved it? I did. Who second it?
Second. Okay. The roll. Yeah. Call the RO. Council Petroski. This is the table. The table. Yes. Motion to table. Councilman Johnson. Yes. Councilman Sigurella. Yes. Councilman Robina. Yes. Counciloman Lions. Yes. Five affirmative. None in the negative.
The motion to table is agreed to. The resolution will be considered on 102. 102. Cool. Uh may I have a motion to adopt uh resolution 305-25? So moved. Second. Uh is there any discussion? Yes. Uh while I'm not opposed to naming
a conditional redeveloper at this time, I just want to be very clear and place on the record that my support comes with serious caution. While previous governing bodies approved or got the ball rolling with the Meridia developments, we've experienced issues with prior Capadagly projects and I don't want mistakes repeated.
Specifically at 240 Westfield A, they promised commercial space that still remains vacant after years. Uh dog park has yet to be completed and the parking situation along Hawthorne, Columbus, and Roosevelt has caused disruption for residents. Fire alarm issues, false alarms, these are real quality of life
impacts that we must acknowledge. Moving forward, I expect strict oversight and accountability to ensure commitments are fulfilled and impacts minimized. Our residents deserve high quality development and that deserves uh promises and strengthens our community. Yep. That's all I wanted to say on that.
Well said. I I just want to get we we got MSB here and I want to make sure that they don't fall asleep uh throughout the meeting. Put them to good use. Um I I do think it's it's you know Fran while we have you here and Joe. Yes.
I like Joe. Um, I uh I I I think it's important to highlight and I agree with all the sentiment there, Jay, but Fran, can you maybe talk a little bit about kind of how we approached the first Meridia pilot or the first Meridia project versus the second one and some of the design standards that we we implemented as part of the redevelopment
agreement? I think that's worth highlighting that as we've done development, we've gotten better and more specific with what we're looking for as a burrow. Yes. So Fran McMman, Mcmanaman, Scotland and Bowman, we serve as redevelopment council to the burrow. So as the mayor said, there are two previous projects
that the burrow has undertaken with Meridia. This would be the third project. There has been um consistent improvement and development with the relationship and also the details that have gone into the redevelopment agreement including design standards which are included as an attachment to
the redevelopment agreement and they cover uh things such as windows, doors, the types of materials that are built um that are used for those uh HVAC units. I mean really into the weeds as far as the
specifics for details and the planner um for the burrow works was will be uh involved in in um putting together those standards and negot will be negotiating those with the redeveloper and we will be um the next step this is the uh next step in the redevelopment process. As
you know the burough adopted the redevelopment plan and now this is uh designating the uh Meridia team as a conditional redeveloper for this site. The next step is negotiating a redevelopment agreement. Um that redevelopment agreement will come back
before council. If there's uh any input or concerns or if there are concerns that you guys have at this point that you'd like to share with Andrew, he can share those with us and we can make sure they're included in the agreement, the initial agreement that even starts the negotiations. But it is a negotiating process that's back and forth and we
definitely are able to include and address uh input and concerns from council. Cool. Yeah, I think and um one thing that's a new one that you should be cognizant of, Fran, uh we adopted an ordinance that uh what's the it's a
public benefit. Greg, help me out. What what's the community benefit? Yeah. Um so that'll be one thing that just is is standard, right, as part of it. But they probably that's new for them. Um yeah. Anything else we can probably talk a little bit offline, but but heard and and valid concerns.
Appreciate it. Yeah. Um, I will say, you know, I I I I am appreciative of we have been pushing and candidly before the redevelopment before the affordable housing needs since people do have development fatigue
and I understand that, right? Just to be clear, like I get it, right? You drive down Route 28, like it's a who's who of what developer, how big, and you know, they all kind of look the same at some point. Um but uh I kind of said like
look if you're going to do more development what what we're asking for is senior housing in 55 plus right so I share some of those concerns I am heartened that finally somebody is willing to step up and meet those needs although it's not exactly what we had envisioned right it will certainly count
towards some of that vision and providing some affordable housing for those who are 55 and plus which I think is a positive so cool any further discussion Um, I'm just conf All right, I'm just going to just All right, never mind. Don't worry about it.
Okay, Greg, you got something? No, I'm I'm confused, but Okay. Do you have a question? I'm just confused that the if the caution if it's a caution, are you asking us to say no or Oh, no. I'm just putting out a stern warning for the most part. I want the developer to hear me. If the developers watching right now, I want this to be a better
project than the first one and the second one. This is the third time, the third opportunity they have in our town. I just want to make sure it's a good one because we still have a commercial property, a commercial space that's still empty after a few years. So, I'm a little leerary of developers to be honest.
Okay. Anybody? And I have to Is that a concern? No. When you tell me there's a concern, I'm I'm concerned. That's why I'm addressing it with the team and that's why I'm talking to the I said and I started off with I'll support
it but I want to make sure that they hear me loud and clear. Is there further discussion? I'll I'll call the role. I'll I'll just concur what uh Councilman has spoken. Uh we we need to have a better dialogue. That's all. Right.
We're we're watching. We want you to be part of our team, but also, you know, you scratch my back, I'll scratch. We need We need help. Terrible thing to say. Public meeting. Just do right. Just one scratch. Just do the right thing. That's all.
Okie dokie. Um, please call the role. Andrew. Councilman Petroski. Yes. Councilman Johnson. No. Councilman Cigarella. Yes. Councilman Robbina. Yes. Councilwoman Lions. Yes. Orals the affirmative one in the negative. The resolution is adopted.
Okay. Uh uh. Oh. Uh can I have a motion to adopt 306 test 25? So moved. Second. Any discussion. I can say and open what you guys are. Thank you so much. You guys can head out. Um yes. So just
everybody knows and for the transparency of you know how the shared service is progressing. When we originally uh voted on the shared service uh for the shared service with Kennaworth, um there was a kind of open-ended provision as to how we were
going to deal with benefits um after retirement. Um Kennaworth was a little bit skeptical of leaving that out in the open. Um the the way forward that they felt comfortable and I hope council feels comfortable. Um I think council
will realize whether they like the deal or not. It's pretty reasonable. Net net, what the amendment here says is that we will help contribute to the retirement of people that work for the burrow of Rosal Park. So, I believe if you work for 25 years for the department, is it
Andrew? 25 years. It's whatever their Yeah, I think it's uh I think it's 20 20 years. I could I could take a look. Yeah, 20 years, you're a you're eligible for lifetime benefits. I think it was the same It was the same as ours. Yeah, the same as ours. Right. So, we're just basically saying we're honoring that as part of this shared deal. So, if
you work for the Rosal Park Department for 20 years, we're going to pay for your benefits like we would with Ros if you were just a paid Rosal Park employee. If you work for the burrow for 10 years and you work for the Kennorth department for 10 years, we're only going to pay for half of that, right? Just to be clear. But we're going to do
a cost sharing dependent on what the allocation was for if they were department Kenworth or Department Rosal Park. And it's up to Ken for the next 20 years to track that. Congratulations, Ken. You're not going anywhere. Uh, any questions or discussion?
Please call the RO. Councilman Petroski, yes. Councilman Johnson, no. Councilman Signarella, yes. Councilman Robina, yes. Counciloman Lions, yes. Or the Affirmative, one in the negative. The resolution is adopted. No. Oh, and just a note, um, Kennorth
did hire five people last night. Um, and they have the rest trickling down the way. Um I think they've already actually appointed two people that they've transferred over from the Kennaworth department to the ROS or one. Sorry. Yep. Uh okay. Uh let us start with um
Jay. We'll work backwards tonight. Thank you, mayor. Good evening, mayor, colleagues, and good evening Rosel Park. On to uh I'm going to start off with business and community events. On Saturday, I was joined by Councilman Signarelloo and chamber leadership to celebrate two homebased businesses
minding the mess and allowing realities through art owned by fifth and fourth residents. Thanks to the families, friends, and residents who came out. While we've been welcoming many storefronts in town over these last few years, entrepreneurship isn't only about bricks and brick and mortar. It's about
passion, creativity, and finding innovative ways to serve others. These businesses show that success can literally start at home and still make a big impact in our burrow. Yesterday, over 40 business owners from Rosal Park, Tennereorth, Union, and
Hillsideworked at Penn Coffee Roasters. While I couldn't attend due to work, I'd like to thank BA Casaias and Councilman Johnson for representing. Uh mark your calendars. Saturday, October 18th at 2 p.m. will be the ribbon cutting for Sento Coffee House here across from uh Burough Hall.
I was able to join many of my colleagues at the prayer service uh later that evening. Faith, hope, compassion, empathy, and unity are qualities we need more now than ever. With growing hostility and division
across this nation, we must reflect. Differences and ideology should not tear us apart. I'd like to uh thank Council President Lions for coordinating the event. Meant a lot. Community remembrance. On September
11th, we held our annual remembrance service at Kelly Coffer's Memorial Park. Uh for those watching or who may not know, the historic bell that sits there is older than the burrow itself. Cast in 1899 and delivered when Rosal Park was incorporated in 1901. Our history is all
around us, and it's our responsibility to preserve it and to contribute to it. Speaking about the park, bless you. Later this month, new sidewalks will be installed on the east side of the 500 block of Laurel Avenue, connecting Kelly Coffers and London Perry Memorial Parks,
keeping residents and students safe and out of the street. Residents on Laurel may have noticed utility and other markouts. These are all project related. Note milling, paving, sidewalk and driveway apron replacement, drainage work, striping, and tree plantings will be part of this project. Is that
correct, Andrew? Sound that is correct. Thank you. uh redevelopment study. On Monday, I attended the municipal land use board meeting and I've also been following BOE meeting discussions. Uh mayor had addressed a number of items here here,
but I wanted to clarify some concerns regarding the redevelopment plan for 510 Chestnut. First, the building has not been sold. What was approved was a redevelopment study and plan, which simply allows professionals to assess the site and explore possibilities. The board of ed still owns the property and ultimately decides whether it's kept,
sold, or repurposed. Is about planning, transparency, and options. By moving forward, the board of ed positions itself to sell in the future if it chooses. And if they do, that sale would generate significant funds for school upgrades and expansion while also returning the property to the
tax roles, creating a substantial new revenue stream that this governing body agrees would primarily benefit the school district as a whole. It's important to remember and like the mayor said earlier, the state requires us to meet affordable housing obligations. Redevelopment is one way to manage this responsibly, but nothing is final and
residents will continue to have opportunities to weigh in before decisions are made. And lastly, it is Hispanic Heritage Month. On September 5th, I join my colleagues at the Fiesta Hispanic Latina. Turnout was excellent. As of the last census or the latest census, 36% of
Rosel Park families identify as Hispanic or Latino. From opening businesses to serving in public roles, the Hispanic community has been shaping our burough in lasting ways. As we celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, let's honor the rich traditions, strong values, and vibrant culture our Hispanic neighbors
bring to Rosel Park. I'd like to acknowledge specifically Dowlings, Costas, and Frenchies for employing Hispanics and Latinos who not only work in our community, but many live and raise their families here. So, that concludes my report. As always, I can be reached the chamber at rosopark.net 862-22360019.
Thank you, mayor. Thank you, Rose Park. Thank you, Councilman. Councilwoman Lines. Good evening, Mayor and Council. Um, just to speak about um, yeah, September's already uh, almost over and, uh, so many things have been happening.
We did start off all the events. The Hispanic Festival was awesome. Uh, the band was amazing. U,, we actually also had, uh, one of our young talents, uh, Tiffany, come out and also sing that night and that was beautiful to see. and
all the just spectacular food and people and just it was a great night. Um I also attended the September 11th uh memorial and um you know again just being coming together and just uh reflecting and and
sadly just being together on that night. Um you know I wish we didn't have to but um I just thank the mayor and everyone that was there. Um, I attended the library meeting last night. Um, just please go on their website. They have so
many things for the kids. Even tonight as I was uh I went walking and they were playing. There was a band playing in the in the front. So, please check them out. They have so many things for kids and adults. Um, I just want to actually at this point
just reflect what's been happening in the world. Um, you know, eight days ago, a man sat under a tent speaking on really opening up conversation, uh, speaking on his beliefs and also just having
conversation of what other people believed and he was shot in front of our eyes. He was murdered and he was assassinated and we all over have been uh definitely affected by that. many many uh people
have. Um and it's been a definitely a heavy week. Um but the whole point of this even me speaking about it is just you know obviously he was a father, he was a husband, um he was a son, but he was
also someone that loved people. Um one of his quotes that he said is, "I want to be remembered for courage for my faith." Um, at the same time we were dealing with the death of that, the heaviness of that, we had to deal with the vile,
heinous celebrations and justifications. There is no justification. And I will challenge you. If anybody has to justify that, you have a problem. Um,
and I'll pray for you. And for me, I was bursting in my heart because I didn't know what to do in this community. So, I did what what I always do is step out and say something. And I just want to thank the mayor because I did reach out
to him and I said, "Listen, I have to be who I am and this is what I want to do." And he was so kind and he was supportive and I really I thank you for that. And I thank the um police chief and we did have uh a couple police officers um come
out. Um but I did also have some opposition online and um that disgusted me. You could scroll by. You don't have to say anything. You challenge people that want to pray. The
only things that I know that if you want to challenge people that want to pray are the enemy of your soul. I'll just say that. Um but on a good note, people did come. People did stand together. People wanted
to be comforted. And I just want to read what I wrote today on on one of my posts. I said, "We didn't take pics because in every little thing that we do, we want to take a picture." It wasn't about that. It was about God. It was about reaching uh
heaven really for his presence. We sat together, we stood together, we held hands, we prayed, we comforted each other. And uh hope began to rise. People left feeling something. People left
connected. A gentleman came up to me that I never met before that he lives in Rosal Park and he said to me, he said, "I would have never known. I walk past these people on the street here and I would have never known that we'd be standing here praying together for the nation, for people's hearts. I prayed
for even the people that did this because obviously they were not in their right mind. And we pray for our enemies. But I the reason I bring it up is I just really pray pray for healing in our town, in our community. And we do need
to come together in more ways than one. But I'll also say this, be on your guard because people wear masks, but masks will fall off. You will not play games because you'll be exposed.
Um, sorry to end on that note, but I love you guys. I thank God for each one of you. And this this was a multicultural thing that came out last night. There weren't it wasn't all one faith. I mean, I did pray in my faith to
Jesus and I don't I'm not ashamed of that, but other people were welcome and um I did get many people reach out to me to to possibly do this in the future. So, we'll see about that. But I just wanted to address that. I condemn
anything that happened um and all the violence to all that happened. But and rest in peace Charlie Kirk and I pray for his family and I pray that we all heal. Thank you. Thank you, Councilman. Councilwoman uh Councilman Petroski.
Thank you, Mayor. Uh first of all, I want to send my condolences out to John Dilva. Um um I coached basketball against him years ago when he coached his son. Um so he he will definitely be missed. Uh
September 5th, I attended the Hispanic Festival. Um on the 10th uh recreation um we're getting ready for the Halloween get together. Um so uh noses will be sent out and
but uh we started uh preparing for it on the 11th. I attended the 911 memorial. Um like I said uh two of the uh two of my former classmates uh their brothers
uh were killed over there and uh uh it's hard to believe it's 24 years but uh next year will be 25 and it'll still be very hard but uh um on the 15th I attended the historical
society meeting. Uh today I attended the joint sewer. Um they're waiting for bids to come in for the new elevator. Um the first bid they sent out was higher than they were they projected. So they sent a
new bid uh bids out and hopefully it comes down a little bit. Um and they also order parts for inventory. Um if you need to contact me, get me at jetroski roseupark.net net 9086667821.
That's my report, Mayor. Thank you. Thank you, Councilman. Councilman Johnson. Yeah, Mayor, I got a short report. Um, on September 16th, uh, I attended the Hispanic Heritage Monthly flag raising uh, at Union County. I just wanted to thank uh, Chairwoman Leon and the commissioners for that invite. Uh, it
was a great way to start off uh, Hispanic uh, heritage month. The purpose of it is to recognize and honor the uh histories, cultures and contribution of Americans who have ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean, Central
America, etc. Um, and I just think it was very important and and nicely done. So, I I needed to say that. Um, also, um, trying to promote unity in community. Uh, and, um, Rosel Park is
having a multicultural and heritage music festival. Um, a lot was put into this. Uh, we have a lot of sponsors. Um, uh, you know, a lot of people involved behind the scenes and and I just want people to come and enjoy the music,
enjoy the celebration. This is for everyone. I think we got bands that cover Irish. We got bands that cover Hispanic. We got bands that cover jazz. We got bands that cover And the goal is to do that every year. Of course, we have minimal budget, but the goal is to do that every year to promote the
diverse uh community that Rosell Park has become. So, please come out, celebrate. This isn't a us versus them celebration. This is everybody. So, everyone is invited. Everyone is welcome. Uh we got uh Afro Dominicano,
Verdict, Pride, Hanukkah, Chris Bulger, and the Jameson gang. But I I wanted to say um thank you, Councilwoman uh uh Rosanna Lions. I wasn't even going to touch on this, but I was one of the people that got attacked online. It it's just
disheartening. I have to share her um her sentiment. I I can't believe we live in a day and age where people don't understand murder is wrong. I don't care who or what the other individual said or done. It's just wrong. Period. That's
universal. You know, of course, we're going to have disagreements. I have disagreements even with my mother. I have disagreements with my wife. I have disagreements with my kids. Have disagreements with council. But I don't want to see anyone die.
That c type of celebratory act attitude is just shocking and from some of my own constituents. And you know what? You don't got to reelect me. I don't care because I am not standing I stand with Ro. I stand with the rest of this council and the rest of the people when
I said that is heartless and despicable. We can agree to disagree and not want and wish death upon one another. Martin Luther King, one of my favorite civil rights leader in the world. He would not even be for that
and they murdered him. So no, unacceptable. We got to do better as a society. We got to get back to the days where we can agree to disagree and not want to kill one another. So, Mayor, I digress and I'll leave it at that. You can reach me at gson
rosepark.net 9083031519. And uh councilwoman Wells said, thank you, Councilman. Councilman Sigello. Yes. Good evening. Um I I myself and a
lot of firemen could not attend a local um um 911 ceremony. Most of us were in Wildwood at the fireman's convention. We attended numerous uh memorial services and uh myself I attended four meetings
and some training. Unfortunately, every six years, this uh um vigual that we do in town comes around when we're a lot of firemen are doing some training and looking at equipment in Wildwood. So, uh I I I feel bad I I couldn't make it, but
I was pretty busy in Wildwood. Anyway, um we're doing some things hopefully to, you know, uh take care of our flooding in Rosal Park. uh the police department and group, we we put a uh some cones in
an area and a safety box where if we need to close down Chester Street in the near future that uh the police department should have easy access to get these heavy duty cones to close off Chester Street and hopefully it doesn't happen for a long time, but we're trying
to prep a little do a little better to uh u you know um help the situation where people aren't coming down the road and making wakes and putting and water going to the to the businesses. Um, other than that, I
did attend a couple of uh grand openings. I did go to the festival on was it the 16th uh you guys what was it the Spanish festival? I think on 16th and sun uh Saturday grand opening of some businesses that work from home and
they bring some quality and hopefully help some people in Rosa Park and uh hopefully they can use their businesses and just Rosanne short and sweet thank you for hosting a visual last night. Uh end of my report. Thank you Councilman. Um, I have nothing
to report other than um what uh unites us is more than what divides us. Uh, may I have a motion to Oh, no. Second public portion. Yep. You don't have any. May I have a motion to open the public
portion on any subject? So, second. All in favor? I I If you'd like to speak, please come forward to the microphone and state your name and address for the record. Good evening, Bill Crosset, 412 Galloping Hill Road. Um, first, Andrew, I read the agenda earlier today. You
will be missed. You've helped me numerous times and I appreciate it. Thank you. I'll still be here, though. I'll be I'll still be the clerk. Okay. And everybody here, I'm going to assume by now, has driven on Galloping
Hill Road from Lincoln to Westfield. It is an obstacle course between many speed bumps and ruts. Now, I know what you're going to say. It's a county road, infrastructure, infrastructure improvements. I get all that. My only
question is is I don't know who has the oversight. Is this a Rosel Park thing? Is it going to be a Union County thing? And if and when is it going to get fixed? The workers told me that they are going to be coming back and starting at
Lincoln and going up the Elizabeth side of the street to do the same thing. I don't know how true that was. Second on that, if you go and walk on some of the sidewalks that they dug up when they brought their concrete and black top
cutting machine in, they cut into my sidewalk. Did not have to dig it up. They didn't have to come that far in. So now I got cracks in my sidewalk that I just put in three, four years ago. Come wintertime, the water's going to get in there. It's
going to freeze. It's going to create a bigger issue. blacktop instead of where concrete is supposed to be. You you walk up from Lincoln, almost every one of my neighbors is complaining because they've
got a section of concrete that is now blacktop, excuse me, and it's been raised. You've got sections that's supposed to be grass that is blacktop. So if you ever find out who's going to
be in charge of that oversight, I'd love to know. Mayor going to be in charge of that one. No, not yet. Not yet. Right now it's just mayor stuff. The way I look at it is, you know, we all pay a fortune in taxes, you guys included. Me calling the county is not
going to do any good as one little person. But the town getting in touch with whoever at the county is going to have a whole lot more pull than I do. Councilman Petroski has been trying for months to get them to come and look at a
tree by my driveway. Every week, every other week, a piece of that tree will fall down. I sent him a picture a couple weeks ago of a branch that fell down into my driveway, and there wasn't even any wind or rain that day. M
and it's been going on for years. DPW has come out when I called them because of a branch hanging down and they came out and, you know, grabbed it and pulled it down and took it away. So, oh, and the last thing, the mini speed bumps
aren't slowing down the speeders. It's just as bad as ever. Um, yeah. So, on the construction, I'll I'll let uh the the whatever he is now. Yeah. the the BA respond. I will say, look, we can test your tree. If it's dead, it'll come
down. If it's not, it's county tree. Oh, it's county tree. All right, that's the problem. Got it. Call me in a couple months. Call me in December. Um, Bill, I don't want to I just don't want to take your time. You have 30 seconds left. I'm good. But I have Okay. So, I actually I had a
meeting this morning with um Alpha Construction, who was in charge of the project um along with Atlantic Infrared, who will be the contractor in charge of repaving Galloping Hill Road, Madison Avenue, Henry Street
and uh Henry Henry, Elanor, and um Clay, uh Ragland, Clay. Well, Clay Clay, it's only Clay's only a small part, but anyway. So, um, the restoration of the road and the concrete work will be done before the
end of October. Cool. Appreciate it. Um, I had that I had that conversation with them this morning. Um, exact dates to be determined potentially as early as next week. Um, I know that the contractor, Atlantic Infrared, is going to go back today after our field meeting
and they're going to mark up the plans, see where we are, make sure that everything's accounted for. What I would ask though, if you have sidewalk that's damaged, send it just to me directly. You can send it to the count any councils or whoever else, send it to me because I'll send it to my contact on
this project at American Water and just say, I'll get your picture. This Yeah, this is not what it was before. Um, and I'd have to say they've been pretty good with it. Uh, for the things that I brought to their attention, um, to give a little bit of insight because it is troubling for people. Um, a lot of
times they'll put black top in where sidewalk goes during the settlement period. Okay? So, what'll end up happening is they'll put it looks awful. They know it looks awful. I know it looks awful. You know it looks awful. Everybody It looks absolutely awful. And it doesn't make sense. But what it does is it gives the
the ground that's just been excavated or impacted the time to drop. Usually it's a 60 to 90 day period of time, which feels like way longer than that, but it's 60 to 90 days. Then they'll come in, make sure the ground is settled where it has to be. They'll back fill it, put the stone, and they'll and
they'll pour new concrete. And the odds of it breaking at that point are minimal, right? Compared to if they just did it right away. So that's one of the reasons. Now, why they put ashwald in grass, it makes it harder for them. I don't know. Um, but they but they'll come back and they'll restore top soil
and seed, concrete, and uh the roads before the end of the before the end of uh they said before the end of October. And there was actually a county county engineering was also at the meeting. Um, uh, they utilities tend to move very
fast for the county because the county is much more demanding and much more threatening. So, I guess my question came at the right time. Honestly, it couldn't be better. So, all right. Appreciate it. But please send me those photos so I can forward them on. Yeah, it's just two sections. Thank you.
Appreciate it. Anybody else? Tim Kley, 213 Charlotte Terrace. I thoroughly enjoyed watching how red his face got earlier while all of you were thanking him. I just wanted to do the same. I saw matches that fiery red hair.
Exactly. But no, I just wanted to thank Andrew last couple years uh in my role as environmental commission chair. He's been really instrumental in keeping things moving, getting things done, whether it's at the community garden, you know, extremely responsive. You know, just to use an example, recently
when the uh we had that large limb come off the tree, take down the pergola at the garden, and you know, a lot of nonsense online about this and that and the DPW, that thing was gone in very short notice. The tree was gone shortly thereafter when it was, you know, found
to be a risk uh to the fence and to surrounding properties. Um, we are not getting trees planted as quickly as I would like either, but I know Andrew has learned universal principle. He's very educated now, much more so on right tree, right place, things like that. He's put in the the time and the
effort to to lean in. Uh, um, whether it's community garden, repair cafe, shade trees. I really just want to thank him for his time, his service. We need more folks like him, you know, whether it's working for the town on council. I know we have a lot of those already. So,
thank you. Thank you. And I one other random thing I've been meaning to call the police department about and I'm sure somebody's already probably talked to you guys about it. The crosswalk uh crossing Chestnut right at uh Westfield Avenue there.
The walk signal is broken. I don't know if you guys know that. It seems to be stuck on the number 16 in red. Whether it's walk or or don't walk. When I whenever I stop at the light, I'm looking at it and I'm really puzzled by it. But again, I don't know if that's a police department thing or a county thing or what, but just seems like a bit of a hazard.
It's not our signal, but I'm sorry, mayor, but it's not it's not our signal, but we'll bring it to DOT. This is actually the first I heard about it, but they may be aware. I'll talk to the chief. Okay. Thanks, guys. Thanks, Tim. Thank you. Okay. I'm seeing no one else. Uh, may
have a motion to close the public portion on any subject. Second. All in favor? I. Uh there is one matter for close session. Um the resolution. How would we do this? I forget. I just have to read the resolution.
Okay. Yep. Whereas the mayor and council of the Bur Rosal Park wish to discuss matters which are described by the New Jersey own public meetings act NJSA 104-12. And whereas the general nature of the subjects to be discussed in close session are a matter of attorney client privilege involving personnel generally. And whereas the time when and the
circumstances under which the items discussed in close session will be disclosed to the public at a future time now therefore be resolved. The mayor and council of the bur ro park burrow of rosel park excuse me. County of union state of New Jersey do now adjurnn the open portion of the meeting and open a closed portion of the meeting to discuss the affforementioned item. Uh I need a
motion uh to go. Yeah. A motion to adopt. Motion to adopt. Second. And then we wait or we adopt. I forget. No. Yeah. Okay. You you got to go. Okay. Call the roll. No. Just all in favor. All in favor? I Why can I never remember this? Okay, we got to kick everybody out for close.
Thank you.