##VIDEO ID:kV6tZ2O-ilU## e e e e e e e e okay good evening everyone please stand for a short prayer and a salute to our flag almighty God grant us the wisdom to make those decisions that are in the best interest of all our residents May the heavenly father of us all bless those who have given the ultimate sacrifice and service to our nation and may He watch over and protect our service men and women now guard guarding the gates of Freedom so look to our flag I pledge alance to the flag of the United States of America and theic for it stands one nation under God indivisible with and justice for all statement of publication take notice that this regular agenda meeting of the mayor and burough Council being held on this 27th day of January 2025 has been posted and advertised in accordance with the open public meetings act chapter 231 Public Law 1975 roll call Council person's Bala here polii Novak here Roberts here senari here zabowski here council president approval of the prior minutes sorry I I move the following minutes of the mayor and Council be approved on roll call vote subject to correction if necessary December 9th 2024 and January 1st 2025 second roll call Council persons Roberts yes fala yes polii yes Novak uh I'll abstain on December 9th and yes on 20 January 1 tarski yes zabowski yes okay is Mr Shaw here okay that being said it is our honor to honor a beauty queen so I'm going to ask the governing body to come up front this okay I have met the beauty queen before at the sa s's Carnival but Lenor let let us honor you as is rightfully your place thank you so much I'm gonna have the council president Donna Roberts do that and then the rest of the guys are gonna oole you husband's right here same thing in OG okay so this is a certificate of recognition presented by the mayor and burrow Council to Lenor sabelli Lambert in honor of her outstanding achievement as Miss New Jersey senior America 2024 the burough of serville proudly recognizes and commends Lenor sabelli Lambert of Parlin for her grace talent and dedication to representing the dignity maturity and inner beauty of our senior Americans on May 30th 2024 at Harris Resort Hotel and Casino Lenor stood among eight remarkable contestants and emerged victorious in this time honored pageant which has celebrated extraordinary women since 1971 her heartfelt and inspiring performance of my grown-up Wishful list re-imagined rendition of my Grown-Up Christmas List conveyed a powerful message of peace and Hope earning thunderous Applause and the admiration of all in attendance her achievement is a source of Pride for middlex County and the buau of cille and we honor her as a role model for Elegance talent and Community Spirit congratulations thanks what well this is in the way can I move this guys would like to talk to you absolutely and councilwoman Novak come come get over listen I've been enough of these things in Hudson County so I know how we do okay all righty thank you hi I'm very well thank you thank you so much putting us on M yes well I I'm trying to get more women from the central to North nor than New Jersey involved because it is a very well-known event that happens and it's a national event so it's a well-known event that happened and turn around to the camera so everyone I'm sorry so I'm very honored to first of all live in the town of sville in Harlin and I think it's very important that senior women from the age of 60 and over realize that there is more to life than what the founder of this organization did in 1971 and he was in a senior center in a senior home and he saw women sitting around do not doing much of anything except sitting in a rocking chair and he vowed that he would take women from the rocking chair to the runway and so from 1971 when he started it right here in New Jersey down in Atlantic City three years later it became a national competition so any women that are 60 and over in the state of New Jersey can walk with me at the Harris Casino on May 29th and they can be part of this organization it's not just the crown what I do is I have traveled throughout this year my rain is up May 29th but I go to senior centers we I am part of a Sisterhood that is called The Cameo club we perform at senior centers uh Memory Care Centers 55 and over libraries we've been Tom's River but no one really knows about me and about this organization here from Northern central New Jersey North so it's a very big organization very well known lots of contestants from Brick New Jersey and South and so I have tried this year to really make it known what we do and it's it's not about Medicare anymore it's about Sparkle and bling and having fun and learning that we women have a lot to offer after we are 60 so my job now is to get other women involved get them up get their blood pumping and to show them that they can have just as much fun as the rest of the um 65 women that I'm a Sisterhood of right now so I competed nationally in October for Miss senior America I did not place but I had a great time I met 43 women from so many different states and I'm became friends with them and it's really just about bringing people together and doing more in life than just your your average day so I thank you for letting me take this time and I appreciate each and every one of you I appreciate you and I appreciate you and thank you mayor O'Brien it was great to meet you at the carnival we had a lot of fun did and thank you so much thank you I appreciate it thank you very much I'll pass this back to you okay Lenor you make us proud thank you very much and Lenor I just want to say I looked you up before this and I really liked your quote about reaching the age of Elegance and never giving up so thank you for that those encouraging words thank you thank you there you go I beg your paron okay at this time we're going to go into close session counselor if you would uh oh you have it just there Section 8 of the open public meetings act chapter 231 Public Law 1975 permits the exclusion of the public from a meeting in certain circumstances and whereas this public body is of the opinion that such circumstances presently exist now therefore it be resolved by the mayor and bur Council The Bu of saal County of middle SE state of New Jersey as follows the public portion of this meeting is hereby adjourned in order that the governing body may meet and close private session for approximately 20 to 30 minutes to discuss the following matters litigation Personnel attorney client privilege affordable housing following the conclusion of said closed session the governing body shall reconvene the open portion of this public meeting to consider any other matters which may be properly brought before it at this time the nature and content of the discussion which occurs in close session shall be made public at such time as the need for non-disclosure no longer exists this resolution shall take effect immed there a motion I make a motion to go into closed second roll call Council person's Roberts yes fala yes polii yes Novak yes sinari yes zabowski yes okay e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e to return to open second sorry Roberts yes fala yes poliisi yes Novak yes sinari yes zabowski yes okay so at this time I'm going to ask the governing body to uh go up to the rail and I'm going to ask Mr Rishi sha to come forward hi okay Mr Shaw it's a pleasure we're so happy that you honored the borrow uh with that I'm going to have our council president read the proclamation thank you mayor the certificate of recognition presented by the mayor and Barrow Council to Rishi sh in honor of your outstanding dedication to community service and Leadership we proudly recognize your exceptional commitment to the Bureau of cille your tireless efforts in serving as the president of six School clubs former secretary and head high school representative for the Bureau of cille human relations commission as well as your role as vice president of the Teen Advisory board at the serville public library exemplify your dedication to bettering our community Community your passion for volunteerism has made a profound impact on those around you your recent achievement of the lifetime presidential volunteer service award signed by President Joe Biden is a testiment to your unwavering service and Leadership on behalf of the burough of serville we extend our deepest gratitude for your contributions and congratulate you on this well-deserved honor your efforts Inspire others to give back and we celebrate your achievement as a role model for future Generations congratulations thank you so much we'd like you to speak to everyone I stand here today deeply honored to reach to receive the lifetime presidential wary service award as I reflect in this journey it's humbling to see uh how a small desire to give back to the pandemic during give back has made such a big turn I started during the pandemic uh been doing small things like uh small acts of kindness like making cards uh making masks uh tutoring young students delivering groceries to neighbors help being a helping hand basically those small efforts led me to and uh eventually become president of six clubs in my high school uh giving me the opportunity to create meaningful change whether it be leading over my local Deca chapter with over 200 members or promoting inclusiv inclusively with through the seral human Lance commission I learned that true leadership is about empowering others we working together to make a lasting impact one of the uh biggest uh things I I did was like create a nonprofit uh the small business support initiative it was a simple idea to help local businesses uh and small businesses across the world during the pandemic and after to help them uh grow the digital presence till date I have supported over 570 small businesses and accounting through my efforts whether it be improving their digital presence connecting with customers and expanding their reach uh and we continue to grow with that it's a good thing and one thing I'm currently working on is like organization organizing organizing uh for this Valentine's Day like card Initiative for local seniors and soldiers overseas to give them moments of joy and those who may feel isolated from far and Far From Home looking in the future I'm excited to take what I learned from these experiences and channel it into my P passion for business administration and computer science and yeah thank you thank you so much Start down sorry go ahead thank you so much you want to say congratulations thank you congratulations thank you so much thank you and we wish you much fulfillment going forward your credit to our to the community of CVO and we thank you you honor us thank you very much did I a picture with me picture there you go thank you so much thank you so much mayor while you're walking back may I just say that Rishi has a very very professional LinkedIn profile already um and was already um got python on your resume I'm going to be uh that's my next language to learn so I'll be looking for some tips thank you all right uh appointments um first appointment is Mitch Cooper uh to the library Board of Trustees a five-year term is there a motion I'll make a motion there second roll call council person Roberts yes fala yes poliisi yes Novak yes narski yes zabowski yes okay the next is Recreation a three-year term for Sher Co is there a motion make that motion is there a second second roll call Roberts yes fala yes Ley yes Novak yes sinari yes zabowski yes okay and the third is the cdbg administrator gwendel Knight is there a motion make a motion Roberts yes Bala yes poliisi yes Novak yes sinari yes zabowski yes okay uh for all all of the volunteers in sville I received the uh appointment list on Friday but over the weekend I was um involved with with uh personal and family matters I just came across it tonight I sent it out uh so it is my solemn hope that at the next meeting we'll we'll finish up uh the appointments okay that being said uh we're going to go to the public hearing on the submission of a Grant application to the state of New Jersey Green Acres and Jake's law programs for improvements at Bailey Park located at South Minn Aven Cheesequake Road uh Glenn you want to give a briefing on it before uh Nicole has uh put up a a rendering of the burrow Engineers concept plan for the park and what we plan to do there should we be successful in obtaining these Grant funds there's two separate grants uh that we'll be applying for one is under Jake's law and the second is a Green Acres Grant application both are for the overall Improvement of the Bailey park facility uh an online public survey was posted on the Burrow's website and the community was invited on social media uh to provide input that was very enlightening and with that knowledge and armed with that knowledge that is how the concept was further developed into what you see now on your screen at this point uh the planned improvements to Bailey Park will include a Universal Design fully accessible playground for all ages and abilities that's for children with both uh uh neurode Divergent and develop and uh physical disabilities this will be the first such facility in the Bureau of cille uh we made some efforts years ago to add some handicap swings but this will be a comprehensive play area uh for those children it'll include Paving of the parking lot including new entrance and lighting a new Comfort station which will of course be handicap accessible we're going to provide storage space uh for the bck summer camp uh in the hopes that we're able to locate them back at that facility if they so desire uh enhance the existing picnic area improve walkways and handicap access and of course there will be uh substantial landscape improvements to the facility um as you can see we tried to provide uh good uh access to everyone from Every Walk of Life it's uh some of the highlights are there's a dedicated pedestrian pathway uh that runs from minin Avenue deep into the heart of the park as well as a vastly improved parking area which will be paved and have the proper drainage and be cited in such a way not to affect the wetlands that are immediately adjacent to the south of the site um an environmental assessment was conducted as a part of the study for this project and the findings were as follows uh in terms of the impact analysis the project is focused on formally developed areas of the park no undeveloped portions of the site or trees will be impacted mitigation measures will include compliance with permits and management of temporary disturbances during construction such as dust noise Etc and in terms of alternatives to uh to the proposed none of the alternative sites address the community's desire to improve Bailey Park the environmental assessment concluded the proposed Redevelopment of Bailey Park is the most balanced and effective alternative addressing both environmental and Community needs while advancing ing equity and accessibility goals at this point with your permission Mr Mayor I'd like to solicit any public comments or questions about the proposed application at this time I'm going to open the public portion Jim thank you mayor Jim Robinson Parlin and thank you for soliciting questions I was going to ask if this was a part of the survey I'm glad you answered that I and number of other people participated in that survey and always Happ to see something like this I just want to make something clear the parking lot in the bottom right corner that's the Arsenal parking lot that's not part of this project correct that's correct okay um and do you anticipate that this will serve a neighborhood or is this for burrow wide because well it will be available burrow wide as a traditionally has been dating back to when it was ducks nest but it will obviously service that oak tree neighborhood that's immediate adjacent okay one of the things that uh I wondered about when I when I looked at this plan is there anything that will make sure that and and it looks to me like uh the playground is going in the area where all the maadam and the construction vehicles and the other debris is dumped right now is that correct okay and um it looked to me when I looked at that area that that is that's an appropriate place for it but it is right near the entrance to the pond to the lake and right now any kids that are in that area can very easily access that Lake um through the gates is there going to be something that makes sure that young folks or anybody else that is uh at this park can't access the water certainly we we've not gotten to the details of that part of the plan yet but we will make uh every accommodation that's feasible for Safety and Security at the site as the plan is developed more further by the engineer okay and when will all those What's the timing on this um generally speaking the Green Acres grants land sometime in early summer uh the Jake law I don't know this is a new grand opportunity for us that I've never engaged with um you know we uh we trigger further planning moving forward and hopefully be in a position to be shovel ready should the funding arrive okay and is the maadam that is dumped there does that present any kind of problem now everything all debris will be removed the proper process of Land Development under the supervision of the engineer will be conducted and if any uh concerns are identified they'll be addressed before construction begins and the question that a few people asked me no splash park involved in this right no okay and just for your information where we have another funding opportunity coming up in June which we plan to use for the back half of the park around the pond and the picnic area to do further improvements but we're limited by the size of the grant we got one the other resolutions on the agenda tonight what you're talking talking about no no okay all right very good very happy to see this thank you are there any other questions being no other questions I'll entertain a motion motion to close the public second CC Roberts yes ala kisi yes Novak yes zarski yes zabowski yes introduction of the following ordinances ordinance number 1-25 burrow of saille County and middlex state of New Jersey ordinance regarding fee for yearly Farmers Market license move councilman Bel I'm sorry move the orance to be approved on first reading advertises according to law on a public hearing be held on February 10th 2024 second roll call Council person's Bala yes poliisi yes Novak Roberts yes sinari yes zabowski yes introduction of ordinance number 2-25 an ordinance of the buau of SVO approving revisions to Riverton street names schematic map and amending the Waterfront Redevelopment plan to incorporate said revisions uh Council councilman zabowski move the ordinance to be approved on first reading advertised according to law in a public hearing to be held on Fe February 10th 2025 is there a second roll call Council person's zabowski yes ala yes poliisi yes Novak yes Roberts yes sinari I'm voting yes but I got a comment John can maybe you can answer a comment on the Silver Star Award street names how did that get done it was done before our time but the veterans Alliance met with the Riverton people to go over our veteran Street ordinance with and everything was U they everyone was satisfied okay thank you ordinance number 3-25 an ordinance supplementing and amending ordinance number 40-23 fixing the salaries of certain burrow officials officers and employees for the years 2023 to 2027 councilman Bala move the ordance be approved on first reading advertised according to law and a public hearing be held on February 10th 2025 second call Council person's Bala yes poliisi yes Novak yes Roberts yes zarski yes zabowski yes ordinance number 4-25 an ordinance supplement supplementing an amending ordinance 40-23 fixing the salaries of certain bur officials officers and employees for the years 2023 to 2027 councilman Bala with the ordinance to be approved on first reading advertised according to law and a public hearing be held on February 10th 2025 second roll call council person Bala yes poliisi yes Novak yes Roberts yes sinari yes zabowski yes ordinance number 5-25 burrow of seral County of middlex ordinance accepting amendment to easement in favor of the burrow of saille relative to block 30701 Lots 1.02 and 1.03 councilman zabowski move the ordinance be approved on first reading advertised according to law and public hearing be held on February 10th 2025 second roll call council person zabowski yes Bala yes kisi yes Novak yes Roberts sinari yes great this time I'm going to open the public portion on consent agenda items other questions on Jim thank you mayor Jim Robinson Parlin on resolution 2025 33 it references the Community Development block grant committee is that committee staffed and working and meeting and I I don't know I had no interaction with them this was uh handled inhouse with the CD I'm sorry I can't hear Mr skarzinski to my knowledge no I've not had any interaction with the cdbg committee okay because the resolution says that the committee met and they recommended that we do Park improvements here improvements to the sidewalk at War Memorial Park and I know in the past going back here when in fact when I was involved um we used to take that Community Development block grant money and make money available for seniors and low-income folks to fix up their homes and some of that money you know one of the other resolutions we're going to talk about 194 present or rehab units that we have to comply with our affordable housing some of that money was used to rehabilitate homes so they could be counted in our affordable housing and so for each one of those homes that we do that we re abilitate that gets counted that's six market rate units that don't have to be built somewhere so we're talking about the Community Development block grant committee recommending these improvements to the walkways in the park and I'm just wondering why aren't we doing this well does the committee really exist resolution says it does but Glenn says doesn't have knowledge of it right Mr Robinson if I could just interrupt you could you pause this time so I could just okay and Mr Robinson let me let me just answer did she stopped your time you could resume uh the cdbg committee I don't interact with I all my interactions with cdbg are through Miss Knight who was reappointed tonight she's our cdbg coordinator so I'm presuming she met with her committee I can't attest to that factually but if the I I I have faith in a resolution and regarding your comment uh past use of cdbg funds you are correct but we are now going to be leveraging affordable housing funds to do exactly the type of projects that you're speaking of our planner and our burough attorney have uh finalized that and we should be rolling that out sometime in February to the benefit of our senior population okay thank you but we are passing a resolution saying that happen so we ought to make sure that it did and in addition to that fund that I was instrumental in getting us to to and and some of the other folks here in the audience were instrumental in getting uh created there is this Community Development block grant money that we ought to look into rather than sidewalks through the park on that resolution which is 39 um there there are a couple mistakes I think in the whereas section we talk about the burrow Committee of the burrow maybe that's the burrow Council of the burrow it should be I'm not sure but also in the in the be it resolved section and I'm sure you've all read this I'm sure you caught this um it talks about submitting this to the Superior Court in Hunan County and that was maybe a cut and paste error from on the attorney's part is that what that was that's it should be middle SE nobody mentioned that I read these things so I it's stood out at me and and how about the other parts where we talk about the burrow Committee of the burrow is that a typo should that be maybe the burrow Council of the burrow yes it would be the burrow Council I'm just trying to find okay I'm not saying well I don't want to take my time but on that same issue of the affordable housing I read the other day that the Riverton um number of residential units were reduced and consequently the affordable housing units were reduced from 200 to 130 now we were counting on those 200 what does that do to this resolution what does that do to our numbers if there are 70 fewer affordable um and I would ask but I don't want to use my time yet the contract New Jersey tree uh Foundation the first person I asked about it was Art because he's chairman of the trade of the shade tree commission he didn't know anything about it so I if we could have an explanation on that I think it would be helpful the Camelot Bond released we had some residents here and a couple of them called me last week had some issues wanted to know if they were resolved before that money is resolved before that money is released are all those problems resolved for those folks I'd like and answer that question why are we selling that property on Johnson's Lane um you know is a treed property is it we just sell it because we like to get rid of treed properties and I also note that we are paying jcpnl which stands for Jersey Central Power and Light $73,000 this month um maybe 20% of our street lights are still out some of us have contacted our legislative delegation to get them see what what they can do Mr oesi and I have talked about that a number of times and we're moving on that maybe it ought to be Jersey Central Power and sometimes light company but you know if we're paying $73,000 a month to the power company the least they can do the least they can do is get the street lights working and this is not something that went out yesterday or last week or even in December this is something we've been talking about for 18 months 20% of our street lights are out we're a big customers $73,000 a month to jcpnl so um and well that that's all on resolutions thank you and you want me to stay here for the responses or should I sit down no sit down okay thank you let it go okay uh anyone else being no one else entertain a motion to close the public portion make a motion make a motion to close the public and adopt the resolutions is there a second second roll call Council person's Roberts yes Bala okay on 2532 I'm going to be saying on the adelux bill the Casey sign bill and Kelly wolf Bill yes and all other items leisi yes Novak um there's uh I went up stain on 39 on I really wasn't involved in a lot of this I was uh happy with what I heard um that you know this isn't uh you know nothing is set in stone where there's ways to you know reduce this number but I'm still going to abstain on it till I get some more information and excuse me there was one other I wanted to abstain on no I'm just going to say yes okay so now I'm voting yes on all of them except 20 2532 I got a comment 25 20 2532 I got a comment about that I am also involved with Jersey Central and I am definitely in don't like the way it's being run as far as not us not getting our lights repaired uh I'm also concerned about the temporary permanent generator that they're transforming that they're have over by cilios not chameleos down by Camelot so I do want to work with Jersey Central and try to get some of these problems alleviated but I'm voting yes zabowski yes and just one more comment on that and uh I I would ask our burough attorney uh I know that there are a number of other townships that have initiated some some lawsuits in reference to paying Jersey Central uh because of the street lights being out so this is kind of an epidemic issue not just in C but it's in other counties and probably in our County as well could would you be able to take a look at that because I don't know if not paying is is the is the correct uh starting point or if there's another Avenue that would bring more fruit to getting these lights repaired quicker absolutely um uh councilman I I can absolutely look into that and report back at the next meeting I appreciate and I I vote yes to all the resolutions okay okay I need a motion to accept the correspondence as listed make a motion to accept the correspondence as listed is there a second second roll call Council person's Roberts fala yes polii yes Novak yes sinari yes zabowski yes and just under comments I just want to thank uh Paul Duffy for her time serving Sarah uh having been on the board and work with her uh she was uh she had quite a contribution to our commission okay Council reports Administration and finance councilman Bala thank you mayor uh we're busy uh compiling the figures for the budget and until the budget's further along in the process we surely should not be adding any new positions at this time and otherwise progress Planning and Zoning councilman zabowski thank you mayor just a few things first and foremost I just want to uh express my condolences to the Joe Rudy family if anybody knows Joe Rudy he was a very active member of our uh veterans Alliance particularly at the American Legion with the honor honor guard as well uh and uh again like condolences to his family uh the three committees planning board Sarah and board of adjustment all met this month for reorganization uh one of the things I did want to add although it was previously discussed is the affordable housing Rehabilitation plan uh that should go into effect as of February as as Glenn mentioned in the interim however if there are uh members of our community who do have needs for repairs to their homes uh obviously it's based on income uh but you are welcome to contact our clerk to get your name on the list but once the portal is open and there will be a portable available you'll be able to go directly online it'll have terms and conditions and what have you related to that um finally I just want to also thank Jen Bal and her staff what they do at the Active Adult Center starting February 4th uh they'll begin providing free income tax preparation through the United Way there's a Dropbox in the LOB that will be available after that date and your uh tax information can be dropped off securely if you want to have an appointment you may do so by go contacting the office uh for an in-person appointment which will be from 9: to noon on Tuesday mornings and mayor that's my report thank you thank you councilman Public Safety councilman kesy thank you no so far uh I sat with police chief plumacher and um also got uh in touch with the fire chief George gin and we went over a whole list of things wants needs uh concerns in the town so I'm excited to work on this now and um so so far with uh the report to date and the fire department was 81 calls as of uh January 27th so ranging from structure fires car fires motor motor vehicles accidents fires with uh carbon alarms so um that's quite a bit so they've been a bit busy so they're currently working with their underwriter for insurance and um um for the information on the fire rating in the burrow so they have not uh he has not had time to sit down with the officers to discuss the part the Department's future but uh going forward we'll just uh start working on the capital budgets now and then with the police department same thing sat with uh Chief plumacher and um we first formulated that response to the uh recent break-ins on the 17th we sent it out on uh social media um about this current epidemic of crime we have at this moment but uh there's plenty involved and um we're looking at ways to uh cure this okay so going forward so for the people who are not on social media uh we're going to try to get the word out in a myriad of different ways so um I'm excited to start all of this and uh let's just go forward and keep you up to date thanks okay Public Works councilwoman Novak yes I I'd like to thank uh the public works department uh they did a great job with uh snow removal um also um I'm going to at this time uh respectfully request that we allow for public participation in Zoom meetings I know in the past we've had some abuses of using this zoom and I hope that uh that would not start up again but I having worked with this it didn't drag our meetings on that long and it really was for the for the seniors that can't get out and I respectfully request that we go back to that let me look into a little more it was done specifically for for Co so let me see what the real need is um and I'll get back to you even if we just help one or two people you know okay I have hundreds of people doing customer service Monday through Friday I I got that I just you know it's just my opinion that you know it really was good for the public and I i' like to publicly you know respectfully request that we go back to that okay um is there any way that we can have the attorney look into um not paying the Jersey central bill I mean at some point like let's say if a light is out for 30 days that we can start deducting for these lights you know we hearing on uh Facebook and with the police chief and residents emailing us maybe some addition they're telling us to leave all our lights on in our house so many lights are off on the street and we are paying for it so could you check with if the council is agreeable have the attorney check into the legality of that I don't know if anybody's ever done it it's brought up before but I really think it's necessary at this point because unless you start hurting them in the pocketbook they just basically you know spinning their wheels is everybody in agreement with that the counselor writing it down okay I just want to make sure not just on my word that the council went along with that okay um I noticed in um the general discussion part of the agenda um we're asking that CMA do some uh work with uh the building next door and I was wondering back in November which three months ago now uh we made a motion to hire an attorney to help us go through all of this what is the pro what is the where are we at with that have we hired an attorney have we interviewed or where we at what yeah in November we authorized looking for an attorney that would help us navigate you know repairing this building and bringing it back up yeah the firehouse I'm sorry I said the building next door sorry we're goingon to cover that under Glenn's report okay because uh you know I I at this time I would also formally like to request that we make the historical designation of that building I mean because there's probably just like there were grants available to pay for the last study we had done there's probably grants available to do this and we're spending taxpayers money when it's not necessary so I make a motion that we we declare uh that building an historical building it's it's very important uh the taxpayers actually I was pleasantly surprised with the way that went in the uh meeting so I'm making the motion if anybody wants to what what exactly a motion Mary I would like to declare that building historical building a historical designation for The Old Firehouse yes please okay is there a second second roll call Council person's Novak yes Bala yes kisi no not yet Roberts no sinari no not yet zabowski no I think that's premature at this time okay I I I was hoping for a better uh turnout than that with the vote because uh again we just keep spending taxpayers money when there probably grant money out there that could pay for that although I am happy that we are starting to do something and I appreciate that and let me know what the thing is with the attorney so you know we Glenn did they kind of drop that in your lap to look for an attorney Mary I don't recall that resolution or was I directed to do anything but we'll follow up on that first thing tomorrow was that the last meeting in November okay anything else Mary no thank you very much okay thank you uh water sewer environmental councilman sinari thank you excuse me thank you mayor uh water and sewer is uh one of our big utilities underground and a lot of people don't realize how important it is uh last year when we were on the recck department that's very important but it's very visible the utilities underground are getting a lot older we're still producing over a million and a half gallons of portable water this month uh we had over billions of water produced throughout the year but we have an aging infrastructure and there's going to be some money put into that in the future so I just want everybody to be aware of that that thank you other than that progress thank you councilman uh Recreation council president Roberts thank you mayor the recreation department is getting started we have the weekly Farmers Market that's been moved indoors from Thursday Outdoors it's now Wednesday indoors at the senior center from 12: to 5: I'm sorry the active adult center um we have camp counselor applications available beginning February 3rd I was a cam counselor um one of my first jobs that Park doesn't exist anymore the top of Elizabeth Street it was like a desert um and a full event schedule will be announced in early February one of the things we're working on um is getting a comprehensive schedule together so we have a lot of committees that do um schedule events so we want to make sure we don't have competing events and that we can support each other so we'll be looking forward to some of those um that kind of information um for everyone here on Council I believe we had gotten an email about the um annual elected official seminar through the Mel every one of us that takes it we get a $250 um credit towards that so uh Mary I know we're going to set you up here somewhere so you could take it and just I recommend everyone here take it so we can take advantage of that savings checks only no cash of course um and on very good news I we're going to announce this figger later but our Recreation director Brian van donon I can't say his name it's only D Dungan D dungeon has been selected by the New Jersey Parks and Recreation Association as professional of the year once again he'll be honored at their annual Gala on February 25th in Atlantic City and I believe we are going to publicly acknowledge this this um honor a bit closer to the date of the ceremony so that was a little sneak peek on that um so a lot of good things going on and I feel like I'm forgetting something which is always the case um so I will remind us later if I recall it but I think that's it everything's going well Recreation is going to be a new position for me I was on Water and Sewer I'm going to miss the environmental commission but I'll visit periodically and thank you mayor progress okay thank thank you um there were two things I uh I wanted to talk about tonight one was Paul L Duffy who I've known for since the the late 90s who who was a super energized person committed and devoted to the borrow her Parish her her family and occasionally her husband but that being said Paula had had a hip-hop operation and it's a challenge getting better but she was um certainly an asset to the town and I I wish her a speedy recovery um so that she can get back at it so Bob if you would p uh pass along our sincere thanks and our best wishes on a on a on a quick recovery all right uh second thing I just wanted to say goodbye to my friend Joe Rudy he uh he was a remarkable guy he was everything you would think about with a veteran he he he always kept his composure he was an All-American guy Korean War veteran uh dedicated to his community his church his family and um it'll be a long time before I meet another man of his character and caliber so I know you're you're already up there Joe um you will be remembered well that being said we'll go to the general discussion agenda items authorization for the tax collector to refund taxes and cancel all subsequently bill taxes due to 100% disabl veterans tax exemption for the following 23 Orchard Street in the amount of $494 5 161 Madison Street in the amount of $438 46 any objection next item ization award a non-fair and open contract to jaffy Communications for social media consultant services in amount not to exceed 40,000 any objection I just have a question it's okay um uh do we have a copy of the contract and does it discuss exactly what his duties are I know he was appointed last year but I really was I don't know any of those particulars and before this comes up for a vote if I could get that thank you just bear with me one minute okay authorization to accept and adopt the Central Jersey joint Insurance funds 2020 five safety incentive program any objection next item authoriz changes to the this is basically just renewing what was there before their safety last year it's yeah it's the same yeah uh authorization to affirm the Burrow's civil rights policy as required by cjf for the safety incentive program any objection next item it's no changes no changes than authorization to cell block 371 lot 2.03 on Johnson's Lane any objection next item uh authorization for the burrow clerk to advertise for the receipt of sealed bids for abandoned nonaim Motor Vehicles any objection next item authorization of purchase ballistic carrier vest from the activity group through NJ Cooperative purchasing Alliance program in an amount not to exceed $153,700 UE contract to NJ tree foundation and an estimated amount of $100,000 for the Weber ad Macarthur Avenue flood plane restoration project any objection no objections but um the uh shade tree and that's under Public Works um doesn't seem to have any information on this if you could make sure that they get all the particulars on you get it to them thank you anything else all right next item uh Glenn authorization to promote Ryan Ericson from laborer one to ground maintenance worker one in the public works department effected February 1st 2025 any objection next item authorization of promote Deborah Turner and Susan foreno from record Support Tech one to record Support Tech two in the police department retroactive the jary 1 2025 any objection next item authorization to appoint Wade Meyer as laborer one in the public works department effective february1 2025 any objection next item authorization for CME Associates to prepare plans and specifications for the preservation of The Old Firehouse and resurfacing of walkway in the Veterans Memorial Park any objection next item authorization to renew the contract with BRS Incorporated for Grant planning and administrative services not to exceed 44000 any objection okay cfo's report Danielle okay uh burrow Engineers report Jay Corell thank you mayor first item is improvements the Sy Avenue that project's been completed recommending the contract be closed out and a final change order with a net reduction be approved you need a resolution to do that any objection next item same thing for this next project French and Albert Street drainage that's been completed recommending close out with a net reduction change order next it any objection next item finally mayor the Camelot at Main Street project that's been completed all the bond improvements uh have been completed recommending the project be closed out and subject to a posting of a uh two-year 15% maintenance bond to guarantee the improvements the maintenance of the improvements that are installed on the project any objection anything else Jay that's it mayor thank you thank you burrow attorney's report I have nothing this evening mayor but I am getting up to speed on everything in the burrow and look forward to uh having something to report at the next meeting well welcome aboard okay with that we'll go to the public portion for questions and comments on all issues uh Ken thank you very much mayor kend sheski saille at the last uh meeting that I was at a couple meetings ago uh the mayor had some comments about me on a personal basis um and of course he he did it after the public comment per was over so uh uh thanks for that mayor that's that's that's quite a an act that you should be proud of um but I do want to thank you I want to thank you very much for the comments you made which I will answer maybe I won't get time on the five minutes tonight I have another thing to go over but rest assured I will answer them uh but I want to thank you mayor uh because you didn't refer to me as an a-hole uh nor did you refer to me as a Dopey person with with no life because that's how you normally refer to the members of the public here so thank you very much for that mayor I want to move on and ask about a job that that I talked about this microphone before we hired someone from South Jersey basically Philadelphia area 15 miles uh north of Philadelphia he hired someone there and the information I got was that uh was hired as a clerk typist it's hard to find out information because of course uh you don't answer questions uh so as I said before that's a good Avenue and Route to the secrecy leads to corruption in most cases so you don't get the real information but he was hired as as I heard by said clerk typus then the mayor introduced them later on as a as an aid one of his many AIDS uh kind of like the the mayor of New York City has oh except he's already under indictment um and then and then we hear that in addition to that he is now an assistant director of Sarah and I believe somebody at this microphone right here said not too long ago that he was chair of a pack for people don't know what a pack is a the definition of a political action committee but basically it's a fundraising committee for politics that that that this same gentleman was chair of a pack and The Pact was used for the campaigns of the mayor and of his people on this Council in the last couple years now does anybody know anything about that if that's true of course nobody's going to answer well let me tell you what that sounds like to me that sounds like job selling are we going to take in and put a sign up B whole jobs for sale and the person who raises the most funds he gets the job and then he moves through the burrow pretty quickly kind of this guy must be the greatest thing since sliced bread or is it that rais the most money for your campaign mayor and for those of your colleagues up here this sounds like a job selling deal um my facts may not all be right as I say it's hard to get information here but I think that should be investigated and if in fact that is correct this sounds like a job selling deal and wow this burrow should be ashamed of that and you people that voted for this person these jobs you should be ashamed of that too that's soundright horrible and just to uh to to comment a little bit on that I'm going to run out of time so I'm going to have to wait with replies for uh for your comments from uh from last uh last not last meeting last meeting I attended but rest assured I will have comments and I'll have a lot of other comments mayor the problem is going to run a time of the year that five minutes five minutes a meeting is not enough time for all the things that I'm going to talk about if necessary if you want to do that mayor I'll let it up to you but I'll be glad to reply to anything you come up with and finally I'd like to say I agree with the mayor Joe Rudy was a great guy he worked I worked with him when I shared water and sore in the barel and he was a fine gentleman and I send my condolence to his family the last thing I have you keep talking about Jersey Central Power and life and nobody yet as that I know has put out a resolution a resolution to our legislative delegation about this where is the resolution to the legislative delegation are we just going to talk about this and ring our hands where where where our Senator he has to he has to sign off he has to vote he has to vote for uh the the board of Public Utilities that's the people we should going for I have no problem with the with the uh the money that's a great idea but we ought to be going to the Board of Public Utilities and the guy that's responsible for that and for voting for it is Senator Vitality thank you very much all right go ahead ahead Mary I believe that when that ordinance was changed back it it wasn't limited to one five minutes am I correct when it was changed five minutes just one and okay I'll have to get a copy of that thank you Arthur okay thank you um happy New Year everybody uh one quick thing on the affordable housing I know the legislature is looking at changing um the rule the Mount Laurel and I would hope that you're in contact with the legislator to look that so that we're not spending and giving the builders $19 million like we did the last time um I'm concerned as chairman of the Shad tree commission that we were not informed of anything that's going on with the New Jersey tree Foundation shade tree commission is the authorized party to deal with local County state and federal properties and the planning and maintenance of trees in this burrow we are a commission we are separate we can do ordinances um we also have other plans we have going we've been asking to get the names of the people at Ruckers that we have not been able to get uh we would like to work with the business administrator um but we have not given the information that we need to get as far as the Historical Society I still cannot believe now now after tonight the people in this town voted over 5,000 votes in favor of spending $3 million we're still not asking to spend a dime you're sending out to CME to prepare plans and specifications they already did a report you spent $26,000 that wasn't necessary to be spent could have been covered under a grant there are grants available it's very simp simple our grant writer in the town can't even apply to him because one of the questions is going to be do your mayor and Council approve of making a local historic site and the answer is no even though the the public has said an overwhelming yes I've never seen anything in town election wise have a 5,000 vote plurality in the 30 years 30 plus years that I've been here so for you to say oh well it's not time now we got to wait no you've waited since a year ago you've waited since the November election and you've done nothing to me that's a d elction of Duty you are the legislative branch Don president you're supposed to propose these things Council you're the legislative branch the mayor only votes if it's a tie he doesn't make the legislation you do um you know we've got the 250th anniversary of this country coming up it'll probably be 250 years before you do anything with the firehouse because you keep waiting and waiting we could be spending our time on that we could be spending time on the firehouse I strongly urge you again to make it a local historic site there are plenty of things available um grants you have preservation New Jersey and I'm sure the attorney knows many places to look for for historic preservation the state has many things my friends down at Middletown again $200,000 to fix up the train station as their Museum why because they don't want to be known as the people who don't want to celebrate the history of this country unfortunately cille is the mayor and Council that doesn't want to celebrate this country yeah thank you mayor Jim Robinson Parlin first I want to thank Mary for your suggestion on allowing people to participate by Zoom once again thank Mary and commiss and uh councilman Bala for the trying to get the historical designation and stash you and Mary seem to be supportive of doing something about the light so I thank you for that um back in 20123 mayor Kilpatrick and mayor McCormack suggested we buy and preserved the 40 acres adjacent to Kennedy Park that is owned by moo back then the council agreed they order an appraisal to put the wheels in motion to acquire that property then in 2024 mayor O'Brien was back he met with Mr Maco and they discussed building homes on that site right Glenn and progress on moving ahead with procuring that preserving that for the burrow was stopped I OA the appraisal that the council requested and it was denied I don't know what the secret is we paid for it if we're not buying the property is the mayor said what's the secret and over the holidays somebody asked me what I thought the cost of that property was and I thought it was an excellent question and so I'm a licensed commercial realtor and a successful one I might add um and I've dealt with similar properties so over the Christmas break I did my own research I looked at Maps ba dating back to 1930 I looked at toppos I looked at Wetlands I looked at comps I walked the property I did a pretty thorough review for an old guy property is Zone Prime so it's limited as to what you can do there the burrow assesses it at $395,000 I believe after researching everything that I did this property is worth surprisingly only about $155,000 an acre that intire 40 acle 40 acres I believe was probably appraised that's somewhere near $600,000 and if I'm wrong tell the public tell them I don't know what I'm talking about I'm an old man who's lost his marbles and I'm just babbling but if I'm right and that 600 ,000 figure is a is a real appraisal if you don't preserve that property then shame on you the people aren't happy with all the building the mega warehouses the condos the apartments the traffic the destruction of trees and the destruction of the wildlife habitat now is the opportunity to do something mayor you've not spent a dime on open space in your 20 years as mayor a few years ago so you vetoed the purchase of properties to stop apartments from being built thankfully the council overrode that veto and so Apartments weren't built there 4 and a half acres was add to Kennedy Park Danielle what do we have in the open space fund 88 10 there's about $9 million in there 9 million okay I was close all right so $600,000 is 7% between six and a half and 7% of the total amount that we have just sitting in the bank in that open space fund and if we can preserve 40 acres from Warehouse or residential development why not do it mayor I know you like referendums although they don't always go your way why don't we ask the people if they would like to spend $600,000 of the $9 million that we have in that account less than 10% to preserve the 40 acres before the most Builder friendly pro-development Administration in the in the Burrow's history gets their hands on it just as the people spoke on preserving the firehouse I think the people will want to preserve this space and add it to Kennedy Park because the one thing about land they ain't making it anymore and once it's gone it's gone you can drive anywhere in town and see that and in the burrow form of government it is the council not the mayor that rules the council passed a resolution the council asked for the appraisal and you know stop you know what happened people don't like a council that bows down to the mayor that's why the O'Brien team stashed with all due respect that's why you came in second Mary that's why you came in first the people want the council to do their jobs and you said you want that space preserved you asked for the appraisal I still when I asked you hav got the council has gotten that yet Jim thank you thank you Mayor Bob Bob Duffy 111 Merit Avenue I want to thank you for the kind words to my wife kind person uh we have a new attorney on the council now uh the last attorney he was going to try to come up with an ordinance for people to go in front of boards that all of fines and stuff was supposed to be this was in the summertime okay uh an ordinance to come up with an ordinance that if anybody wants to come in front of any board with property that their taxes Their fines right and okay you know yep yep so I'll go over it with him okay uh number two is uh clean bill of health clear title yeah well I mean why go in front of a board I got you when you're getting fin for what you're doing you want the board to rectify it make it all good again it's let them pay the fines and then go it's money into the to the township uh the other thing I'd like to talk about is there an ordinance for people to go door too in town yeah they have to have a permit corre okay thank you now Michael Bob there's a no knock where you can you can is it the police they call I think it's on our website for the nonok you can go to the website and and and there and anybody who's coming in to go door too will get a sheet of homes that they're not allowed to knock okay but I just want to wait wait let make something clear is only if they're licensed they get that uh sheet if they're not licensed if they're just freelance people we we we don't if we know about it they have to they have to get a okay because of the ration of C thieves and breaking in we need our police to question these people ask them in my area in Meritt Avenue up at the end uh we had three in the last month okay and one was very suspicious it was raining real hard and he was going door too selling roofs okay we called the police and he was out of our sight we got in our car and followed him and I don't know if the police ever showed up I think Michael and your reports with the public safety you're given a number of calls number of things I think you should get some time response maybe we can make it better just bring that to the police that that'll deter that'll deter the the bad guys that coming in once they know they're going to be questioned or get arrested right away for not having a permit or something they'll go somewhere else I mean you there's nobody here more involved with police other than John zasi than you are because of of your brother-in-law that being said as you know when a call goes in to the switchboard it's prioritized right so at any one time we you know in the in the in the evening we have four to six officers on the road so if there's a heart attack if there's other issues that they're dealing with they're prioritized I'm 100% with that I I not that your call isn't important no I I grant you that but if you remember years ago you changed the shifting of police officers because of the way the Bars were closing right you know what I mean so if you get response times and you can have someone look at it that's an expert and maybe there could be a change in it or something no no everything can be improved B yeah I'm just saying yeah I'm not arguing with you it's on the list the the times and we're not deteriorating the police force we just want to make it more efficient I think we happen to have an excellent police force oh always have I didn't say we didn't no I know you didn't you're Pro police you are I know that from a police family I know I know okay you may thank you anything else that being said I'll entertain a motion Jim you you already came up I have something else you can you can call me again I don't know well I have to check but I think it's once one no Jim I didn't call on you you called on you I didn't call Jim mayor at the re this is pretty important at the reorganization say anything failed to appoint councilman zabowski to the planning board 4055 d-23 says the governing body needs to appoint a member appointed by it appointed by the governing body we have a very important application before the board zabowski was appointed liaison to the committee but not appointed the last three member of the planning board so I listen to the I I specifically made that appointment or I made so no you made the liaison appointment you didn't appoint him to the and besides that mayor it isn't the mayor's appointment it's the council's appointment so if you specifically made that appointment it's not a valid appointment 455 d-23 says a member of the governing body to be by it I did that I did that and I listened to the tape it wasn't done I'm not trying to cause the problem I'm trying to solve I'm trying to make sure there is we're look we know what happened we'll take care of it okay and I would suggest you do it tonight Jim thank you sit down okay my pleasure out I'm always glad to help mayor did it for the stand committees did not no no I did I sent I sent in the appointment by email to both the um planning board and there's a special category for the planning board and the environmental I specifically that wasr all right I did that for the environmental not the class which one do I need to appoint class three you you didn't reappoint the class two no we did yes class two he did yeah which one is missing class three councilman Zas all right so I appoint councilman zebras Council app yeah it's a motion motion by the council I'll make a motion to appoint John Z Browski as the class three Delegate for the planning board and I'll second second roll call Council persons Roberts yes Bala yes kisi Novak yes uh sinari yes rski thank you sometimes the dopy a-holes know what they're talking about but not you um with that being said I will entertain a motion to close the public portion come on up you are good evening uh Charlie Caville I'm the editor of New Brunswick today uh Community News Outlet are you here as a reporter or as a citizen I am both go ahead char thank you sir uh here to follow up on a concern I raised at your reorganization meeting about Judge Spencer Robbins uh if you recall I raised a concern about uh a criminal case from 10 years ago uh I'm still looking into that and I did take your advice and I was able to get a number and did call his office and haven't heard back yet to get his side of the story but I have that's come to my attention there's more concerns um in particular looking up his record uh a disciplinary record as an attorney um the Supreme Court of New Jersey has a whole system for attorney discipline I believe there were two of the lowest form of uh punishment is called an admonition one from 2005 and one from 2015 or I'm sorry 2004 and 2015 but um much more concerning is a more recent order from our state supreme court uh this is a what's considered a censure and so I'll just read a little bit from this uh in the matter of Spencer B Robbins attorney at law attorney number 02 9951 981 the disciplinary renew review board having filed with the court its decision in drb 24-9 recommending that Spencer B Robbins of Woodbridge who was admitted to the bar of this state in 1981 should be censured for violating RPC 1.5d parenthesis failing to comply with the recordkeeping requirements of Ru 1 col 21-6 and RPC 8.1b parenthesis failing to cooperate with disciplinary authorities um and you know it goes on from there uh but this was signed by uh the uh um Stuart rabner Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and the clerk of the Supreme Court uh the 3D of December just uh uh last year 2024 so I I didn't realize it at the time when I was bringing up what I brought up at your reorganization meeting but this is a very timely concern looking into judge Robin's record uh how he was appointed uh the vetting that was done and and I think since he has taken the bench there's now a new matter that's that's also of concern so I wanted to uh get your side mayor hear you and the council talk about how you vetted uh Spencer Robbins and what's being done we submitted the name to the assigning judge and the assigning judge passed it so I I I you know whatever your issue is with our judge is your issue he's done he's done a commendable job here you know I assume you might have lost a case he might have represented somebody on the other side of the aisle from you because it seems awful personal for you you assume wrong I've I've actually never met the man I no I I recommend you keep calling him okay well I I'll give him another call but I I think that at this point reasonable people should be concerned and if you know one of the municipal judges being censured by the state supreme court is not cause for concern then I think we've got an even bigger problem and so I'm just bringing it to all your attention because you're the governing body that has appointed him to this position of power in the in the burough where he's overseeing lots of cases you may think he's doing a commendable job and whatever that's based on I I I'm sure you have your factors you consider hey Jim if you're going to talk take it out in the hall just from the public perspective this is concerning that that uh this person with this record is a judge list go right ahead you can you got five minutes to say what you want to say and that's and then away we go sure sure I guess I was hoping to prompt some discussion from the the mayor and Council here and um if anybody want a public portion it's not a press conference fair enough fair enough I'll just say I'm I'm here to bring this to your attention I want to thank the person who brought this to my attention after I spoke at your January 1 meeting someone called me and I encourag people to call me with tips and information about things that need to be investigated need to be exposed need to be lifted up and raised up so I give my phone number right now to anybody who wants it 732 99396 N7 encourage the council to give me a call if you want to talk about this matter or anything else same to you mayor and same to the the general public at New Brunswick today we're here to help we are a community news outlet and uh this is our community so thank you for hearing me out and hope that uh we can keep an open line of communication okay anything else anyone else take a motion make a motion to close the public second roll call I I make a motion to adj not yet Donna sorry there is something that that's I wanted to point out when it comes to open space one of the things you have to have is a willing seller so over the over the course of years I have asked Mr Marco from time time to time if he would like to sell some of his property to open space so and he didn't uh so I think during my predecessor's term he has about 140 Acres uh on the other side of Kennedy Park on the Main Street side and that was went through the planning board and it was approved for warehouses uh so now on on the Washington Road side uh he has the 40 acres which he does not want to sell doesn't want to sell the warehouse side doesn't want to sell any of his property you are Jim you have a personal relationship with the guy you can call him anytime you want and and ask him if he wants to sell it ask him if he wants if a if an acre on Journey Mill Road is going for half a million dollars for a warehouse I don't see how 40 acres in Kennedy Park is going to go for 15 I'm not here to discuss show us the appraisal what are you hiding show us the appraisal wherever the appraisal is the appraisal is property behind Kennedy Park is different property and its own FR little bit Jim except you're not allowed to be appointed okay so what everybody needs to realize is you have to have a willing seller and if you don't have a willing seller you're not you're not going to buy it at any price and that's the point that I wanted to share with anyone that being said I'll entertain a motion make a motion to close the meeting second call all in favor I I