good evening welcome to the fifth meeting of the year today is March 10th 2025 Lissa can you please read the publication in compliance with chapter 231 of public love 1975 notice of this meeting to be held at the criminal justice building 61 Main Street South
River has been published in the home News Tribune on January 5th 2025 posted on the municipal building bulletin board the burrow website in the front door of the Criminal Justice building at 61 Main Street South River call Mary gy here Council here councilman santis here
Council deian here councilman jop here councilman gy the United States of America and to the repblic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liy and justice for all have a moment of
silence for ex-councilman Sean howman and please Poli officer of nework police Joseph aona may be seated all right before we begin tonight's meeting I'd like to take a moment to honor the memory of Sean hman a former councilman a dedicated
Community volunteer he was a committed public servant who worked to improve our community and was always there to lend a helping hand his passion for making our Bor a better place will be remembered by all who knew him our thoughts are with
his family and loved ones during this difficult time please remember Sean H there are no proclamations we're going to go to agenda session believe there's only one for second one for first Mr want the first one sure this is
the second reading of a water rate ordinance um discussions with the budget committee is necessary to balance the 2025 budget and then the second one Andrea thank you mayor uh it's ordinance 20259 it amends your zoning code it
actually removes the provision uh that we have in the code that was put in place quite some time ago uh it violates the municipal land use law because of permitted the Reconstruction of reconstruction of nonconforming structures so it just seeks to remove
that to be the law2 ordinance 2025 and ordinance to amend the code of bur River chapter 155 entitled fees by amending section 15530 Chapter 30 water make a motion we to full
reading all in favor i' like to open it up to the public 10 minutes your name address first call second call motion motion byoun counc pres second
Council all in favor Alissa first reading 20259 oh I'm so sorry I'm sorry do I have a motion on first reading motion motion by councilman kinsky
second second by councilman Council yes counc santz yes counc yes councilman Jan councilman yes council president yes ala2 coordinance 20259 and ordinance of the bur of South River County of middle
SEC state of New Jersey amending chapter 350 of the bur code of the bur of South River and title zoning mayor I moveed at the council pass ordinance reading by title only and the cler the authorized of hold the same as required by law the second reading and public
hearing to be held at 7 p.m on April the 7th 2025 by video conference via Zoom or in the council chambers of Criminal Justice building 61 Main Street South New Jersey motion by council president second
counc counc santz yes counc yes counc J counc yes presid yes move on to reports Bruce thank you Mr Mayor the 2023 and 2024 project that jaz's construction has
they come back out they're doing sanitary sewer repairs they're also working on top soil and seating then they will be finishing the concrete work we'll check all the handicap Ranch to make sure they're all okay after the winter if not fix them and then they'll
begin the milling and resurfacing the 2023 Local transportation projects Grant we're working on that design and pretty much have it done just want to go out and walk if the weather hasn't been good for that with the snow on the ground and such but now that it's gone a little war
out it to do that and then we can proof it get it down to the go the 2025 local paid projects we submitted a proposal for that substation I'm just waiting for the reports to
everything's done and once we get that I guess it's really time to go back and you know start the work over again because it's generally an annual thing so I will put a proposal together I'll give a call to Sean not Sean but from Chuck and see where they are with that
and then we'll do that and the storm water assistance grant there is no change in that thank you counc you have anything for Bo you sure two items number one the annual financial statement was filed
with the state of New Jersey and it's on it's going to be on the website tomorrow and the other one we have a resolution approving uh inclusive playground equipment at grasi Park if you remember this was funded by the D green ages Grant we received last year for 54,000 so this is the first part of it
okay anything for Joe question I have for you I know we had this at the beginning of the year sometime I know there's an impact with the health in state of New Jersey where are we right now we're about a 20% increase right now in South which is very very
very significant in the budget but you'll see that dur the introduction of the budget um eight we're out there filling potholes using the coal patch the asphalt plant doesn't open till April 1st once they
open up we'll be getting the high asphalt filling up the follows C have for chief M only thing I have for the agenda is the resolution number 113 and 114 uh appointing PMA INSP to acting
Sergeant he will be taking over for uh Sergeant Flores who is retiring on August 31st but we'll be uh taking his benefit time his last day here Sergeant Flores is actually this Friday uh the other one is Kenneth nil he is
um being appointed to the active Sergeant position he's taking over for uh acting lieutenant John Kenny who is uh working in the capacity of Lieutenant because of the retirement of Lieutenant mclusky so these two officers uh are on
the list for our uh recent promotional exam for sergeant so we're just going down a list and uh you know these two officers should be promoted or will be promoted at the end of August uh and also end of July we put a few
yes fire chief thank you mayor currently all units are in service you'll notice uh we have resolution 108 for tonight with authorized low staff which is the length of State program which authorize payment for 2024 there are currently 35 firefighers that are qualified for this program thank
you Ford I have nothing TOA nothing to yeah just couple things we are making some progress on the people who haven't gotten their meters changed out yet and just an update on the battery storage
project we are on schedule to be on for this spring coun anything for all right we start councilman J yes may um so I had a couple of meetings I had a meeting with the uh electric
utility and uh I don't know if any everyone knows but uh New Jersey all the electric utilities are getting their customers ready for a 20% increase in South River we're uh not doing any increases and as a matter of fact also
we're not doing any increases and during that we're also improving our uh power grid they've gone ahead and uh replac most of the secondary power lines with new cables at a h larger gauge that can
handle more amperage more power going through them so in the summertime we'll have less issues with all the heavy usage that comes in the summertime and also with the homes that are going to be getting uh electric car chargers and all that should be able to handle that and
the new power lines are going to be coated and protected with the shield so branches and things that fall on them or causing shorts like the old power lines when it was really windy out they would get shorts and power outages just from
things dropping on them that shouldn't be a problem anymore with these new cables that's the one thing um also I guess everyone knows that the town went through a uh a project where they changed all the
LED lighting with the street lights well that project is done so there's no more sodium bolts so our town is using less power as a whole that's all done um the water utility uh we are aware that there's
five hydrants that are out these hydrants they uh need special parts to put them back together again those parts could take up to three months because they're custom order parts for each hydrant they're on order uh three of them are due to come in soon
as soon as they come in those parts will be changed those Hants will be back online and we're also working on replacing the other two um and also the uh as far as the sewer utilities they asked us to pass a message
along flushable wipes regardless of what they say are not flushable whether it's a diaper wipe adult wipe cleaning white no none of those are flushable and it creates a problem because it will Claud your
sewers you will end up having some kind of backup and the town has to spend money to go out there and clean these backups and the sewer lines so just as a reminder some people don't know but flushable whes are not flushable it's a problem all over the state not just
south and that's all I have to make thank you mayor uh for the Board of Education their next public meeting is Monday March 17th at 700 p.m. in the High School auditorium for recreation Advisory Board uh registration for some spring sports
are still open t-ball which is a fundamental instructional program mixed for boys and girls ages 4 through six they will start in mid April we're also looking for baseball for boys ages 5 through S for the uh instructional as well but they're still short on players
so please if you're interested get on the website and register flag football for boys and girls ages 5 through 18 the age groups will be determined once enrollment is finalized and they're also having a co-ed Division and a girls only flag so girls flag football has taken
off Statewide to the point that high schools now have a team it's in the spring season so it doesn't conflict with soccer which is big for girl athletes as well as regular football for the field so we're trying to start our own girls flag division where girls will play against each other and again high
school teams j.com has a had a player of the year last year for high school girl flag so that's taking off really Nationwide but in New Jersey it's going to be big and probably in the next few years you'll see a lot of local high schools having those programs so the earlier they start the better we also
have an adult volleyball uh League which is open for registration anyone 18 or older um I think we should put a council team up there and maybe we get up there and here no interest all right you want to play no uh so they are going to be
playing in the Middle School gym uh Thursday nights 730 to 8:45 and they plan to start on March 27th so registration is also open there to register for any of those go to www.s.org click departments then Parks
and Recreation and you'll see a link to enroll and if you have any issues online you could always call the office at 732 254 4412 and the next Parks and Recreation Advisory board meeting is Tuesday April 8th at 700 p.m. and they meet at 55 re
Street uh residents are welcome and encouraged to attend Council thank you mayor the neighborhood watching meeting was held a few weeks ago thank you to the police department for doing a wonderful job organizing
this event um we're very successful and these are open to South residents encourage down the road we do it every three months and encourage other residents to get involved it started last year it's a good program to find out a lot for you to ask questions to
the police and learn a lot more about the safety within um the neighborhood the police depend on all of us and it's a great program we'll be again in a few months and we'll have a date set for that down the road that's
it councilwoman B all right uh from the Board of Health uh the free rabies clinic is then be held Saturday March 29th at the DPW facility at 9 Ivan way 12:00 p.m. to 2 p.m is for dogs 2: p.m. to 3 p p.m. is for cats they're also
going to be selling licenses to South River residents only for your dog or your cat if you're registering for the first time you must bring a spay or neuter certificate um if there's any questions you can call 732 2571 999 extension 517
and again continue to check out uh South rep Library website there's they're having a cooking class um for kids on St pack day teach them to make some Irish snacks they bring to me um
they're also doing a thing if you have a pet that is either with you now or not they're going to be doing a thing if you bring your picture there they're going to do etchings so if anybody wants to check that out but again check on the website they have so many things going
on and that's only thank you mayor uh The Office on Aging uh please check your email and the burrow website to sign up for any programs that you want to sign up for
during the month uh generally It's Beginning the first week to sign up for different programs um there may be room yet I'm not sure it's RSVP for a decluttering workshop seminar that's at 11:00 on on March 27th uh some of the
other um events are filled already and the Office on Aging is also having a thing on the New Jersey property tax relief and someone from the uh Division of Taxation will be Thursday on May 8th
at 11: PM whether there's room or not I'm not sure you probably would have to call the office on agent to find out a little bit more if there is availability uh this so will accomplish any questions that you have on the senior free and the uh anchor homeowners and any other of
the programs that the state is offering reates for with that that's all I have there thank you counc president thank you mayor uh the only I have is the EDC is g to be having a meeting this Wednesday um they're really starting to move forward on different projects that they want to do in town so um I'll be
reporting as we get more and more close closer to the uh actual times so that's all thank you I will hold my comments I am opening it up to the public five minutes state your name and your address good evening mayor and council
members Joe Donado from 30 daily streets here in South River um just two quick things number one is parking I don't know how many people that spoke Council just before the meeting but people seem to be parking any place they
can park it's not clearly signed one way or the other regardless of how wide the street is they're parking and they don't necessarily Park against the curve they have their butts sticking out into the intersection and this has been going on for quite some time I know some areas
should have been painted marked off some of them were so worn it isn't can hardly say it but I suggest that it all possible to leave those problems they try to take a look at whatever they paint put signs up whatever the case may
be I'm sure you got a list of where people are allowed to park and not allowed to park um please do so because there's going to be traffic accidents where some kid is going to run out in between parts we don't want that to happen um second item uh I know you the
council's very proud of the battery project and rightly so I've been try to get some information about it and I got some information few concerns I'm not going to bring them up now because I've asked for some more information hopefully that'll resolve my concerns
but anything that I come up with I am going to because it's only five minutes and I have a tendency to keep on talking um I will send an email to each one of you there everybody's email address including the clerk which I do have your
address um and I'll Express what my concerns are and my questions so when I come to meting um and I'll let you know which meaning that I plan on being uh we can maybe address those fairly quick okay thank you very
much good evening my name is Ed 64 um I had a couple questions so I just want I hope all you do out tonight just want to bring to your attention that the
B sof began accepting cannabis license suitability applications the class five retail to as of today um this raised some concerns for me because as of our last meeting of February 24th at the
council meeting at that time the B of Representatives explained to me that this required 20day is stop the period before applications would be received with this in mind I would appreciate some clarification from the to Council on the following points so I have four
points um and I know ien you know you're going to yes yes and not to cut you off because this is your time but you did send that email I did get it late this afternoon I do absolutely intend to respond to you fully uh one point that
just I I don't believe Council actually has been updated on this but one point is that um resolutions of local support are not tailored to one license so so any operation that comes in and has an
acceptable application with accept with an acceptable location will in fact depending on councils will get a resolution of loal support it's not only tailored to one applicant so so while I understand your
concern just please bear in mind that fact completely understand but that's still because if there was one day sto period Then they wouldn't accept my class so that was still different completely understand if you could accept the class one through four but am I specifically
I'm just talking about class five did you you put your class five in today correct correct correct okay so so what I was trying to advise you is that that you put that in today that it's not a first come first serve so you won't be
you're not um at any disadvantage from you you still put it in whether you put it in today or if you put it in in day 20 resolutions of local support only your suitability application goes directly to your resolution of local support your resolution of local support
only tells the state that you have complied with our requirements and that you have an appropriate location so you're we're not limited to one so whether you put it in today or you put it in 30 days from now it's you're on the same plan oh great so just to put
that in space basically the town is offer multiple letters of support resolutions of support yes okay and then it's up to and then it's the application for the license is first come first sered but the resolution of local
support only says you have an appropriate entity this is what you're intending to do and this is the location that you're intending to do it you have proof that that's the location you're uh intending to do it and that's a location that has been pre-approved by the council and then that goes to the state
and then you do what you need to do at the state and then you have to come back and apply for the license okay so so the time period while I understand there was a little confusion there it it's not going to disadvantage your application or anybody else's application that that puts it in well that's great to hear so
thank you so much for you're welcome and I did have a question about the review process just you know this is a very intensive there's Consultants involved right I got security waiting because I have to the so just kind of curious what is the timeline
for this is St but just to kind of build my timeline and other timelines that go with that just kind of curious like what's the process on your side what is your estimate so so and mayor if we could have maybe another
minute just because I've been taking up his answering these questions um just so you are aware uh at least for the initial applications we have to do the resolution of local support at a a burough council meeting so depending on
how complicated they are um we would in theory and please don't hold me to this but in theory the resolutions can be on at the next meeting okay so so there is potential that resolutions of local support would be on at the next meeting I think that would give us all
sufficient time depending on and again please I I haven't fully reviewed all of the applications they just came in today um it would depend on how much in depth that is but most likely a resolutions of local support can start being put on the
agenda as of next meeting okay the April meeting I'm not sure the exct April thank you so much that's just helpful for my because I also to go back to mjcc thank you anyone else from the
public evening mayor of council Jim hon 30 Virginia Street just a real quick question on some of the storm sewer work that's going on in town I saw today I believe on daily Street I also see some markouts on darl street right for my
driveway uh are we going to be dropping notifications off is the contract dropping notifications off doing work get access there are some work that is tied into the road program there is also some
other work that is tied into our arpa federal account we have some manal cover that to be reilt this one says I can see it says stor repair and that's that's what we're doing with
local contractor and in the past BW has notified everybody okay just want to make sure okay thank you um second off um I think the entire burrow is in shock of the passing of the former council
president councilman I think he was acting mayor Sean Hower I found out last night and uh someone who served with Mr Hower and just shocking news I think Sean is a year year old than May and we served together on Council I was council
president and uh no matter what Sean and I disagreed a lot of times on political stances um but we shared that common information and even though maybe we had a different thought process a different
opinion it was always respectful in our discussions um we both very passionate about the way we felt and again no matter what your feelings were as far as either
supporting the positions of of him or going against his position as the mayor so appropriately stated he served the town he was a servant to the town it's not easy to do what all these folks up here do it's not
easy you're given yourself tremendous exposure to the public um you're ridiculed sometimes you're praised but very good thing you that there's like 36 things that go wrong so Mr howman took a lot of heat as
do we all who serve up here but he served he served and I'll miss him I'll miss him tremendously I had some great conversations with with Sean and I'm still in shock of what took place and I
just want to say this family we're all shocked we offer incredible condolences and we thank Sean for what he provided to the Bur he's going be sorely missed rest in peace Sean thank
you anybody else public first call second call motion to close public motion like council president counc all in favor
resolutions where as resolution 20251 authorizes the Bro Council to utilize consent agenda to adopt various resolutions of a routine and uncontroversial nature at one time now therefore be it is hereby resolve that the blow listed resolutions are hereby adopted by the bough Council and whole
as that the same were individually acted upon consent resolutions to 2025 108 to 20251 122 108 approved 2024 loap list and contributions 109 appointing secretaries to the Board of Health 110
permit a voluntary canning fundraiser to support the South rer High School booster club 111 authorizing the purchase and installation of various improvements at Kowski Park 112 authorizing the police department to enter into a contract with Elite emergency lights
LLC 113 authorizing the appointment of Paul masinski as acting Sergeant 114 authorizing the appointment of Kenneth nail as acting Sergeant 115 authorizing certain utility refunds 116 authorizing submission of
the middle sex County Recycling enhancement Grant application 117 authorizing an amendment to the burrow of sburg cash management plan 118 authorizing a shared service agreement with middlex County Improvement Authority for recycling
collection and marketing services 119 accept February 24th 2025 regular session minutes 120 authorize the bills and claims list 121 approving property tax refund and 122 approving property tax
refund resc counc yes counc Sanchez yes counc yes councilman janas yes councilman grensky yes council president Su yes the exstension from 108 and on 120
25517 all right we are going to going to uh Gover comments with councilman kinsky thank you mayor um first off I'd like to thank our police fire and Robert with Johnson for all they do to serve our public and everything um it's
getting where thei savings kids are out there watch yourself please they're all over in playgrounds and everywhere else uh also I'd like to give my congratulations and have a happy retirement to Sergeant Flores and
lieuten moski welcome our new Fellas on well not new fellas but your appointments says acting sergeant and acting Lieutenant um that that's all I really have right now thank you there
okay um as you noted Mr Mayor and Mr hon I also served with Sean at one time um there were four of us from our graduating class in 1976 which was amazing that we were all there at the same time and and again we
didn't always agree but out of those meetings he was always respectful and willing to listen so to his family I say my deep condolences um other than that happy St Patrick's Day and happy spring because that's
coming and I can't wait and again like Mr Pinsky said be careful the kids they're all on their scooters tonight enjoying this lovely weather and the sun doesn't set almost seven I love enjoy the next concert at the Imperial
music center it's a little ways off we don't have a meeting between them it's uh on the first Sunday of every month so so it's April 6th at 2:00 again it's at the Imperial Music Center um it's open to the public it's a lot of fun free music you might know some of the people
that play there they're former some of them are former South band members from years ago um it's a great time and I also like to extend my condolences to the family of Sean howman um a little bit older than me but I remember him
from high school he would be one of the ones that was a senior when I was a freshman I knew him since then I also remember him delivering newspapers and when I'd be out there running sometimes I'm remember stopping and uh just talking to him and again echoing what everybody else said he did a lot for the
town you know he was out there and like what Jim said he put himself out there to come up and do what he can um try hard for the town that he loved um and he's going to be missed and that's all I
got I just want to also offer my condolences for the passing of Sean howman um he's discussed sometimes in some of the of our things that we go through and the one thing that always sticks out is people talk about he was very brilliant intelligent very smart like and I anybody that wants to put
themselves out there like we said and to have a mind like that regardless of sides it's just U it's a shame and I just want to wish him rest in peace I'd like to reiterate that um my condolences to Sean how's family close friends I was
also friends with Sean we didn't you know always agree on our political views um he was a good man and uh he will be missed that's all I have Cil
president yes just reiterate condolences to the hous family um again kids are outside riding their bicycles and uh be very careful watch your speed and uh keep an eye out for the kids is J out in front of
everybody and just wish everybody a happy St Patrick's Day thank you as you heard earlier uh PA mentioned that they are still in pop holes if you have one next to your house and it's all over please call let him know put on our list he'll come out and actually take
care of the parking Mr Donado I totally agree with you this is my biggest advice to you and for that matter everybody else and I do it almost every other day and I know the police hates when I call call the police department let them know where
there's legal parking and they're it's a town of 2.7 mile radius they only have three or four squad cars at one time dve around just call them they'll come out they'll move them they'll take do whatever they have to do to you know clear the
road um Sean I know I a few words given this meeting um I also have the opportunity to serve with them on both sides uh he is a brilliant person uh he is going to surely be missed um he
served with us for 10 solid years as a council member uh he has done a lot for this town I know uh you know looking at the corner usually you see him back there with the computer he is going to be showing this and happy St Patrick
do I have an adjournment second motion by Council second by council president all in favor