Okay, John. Hello. That's okay. It's okay. I just got You can scoot down here if you want. Thank you. Okay. Okay. Uh, welcome to the Township of Sparta Environmental Commission meeting of Thursday, May
22nd, 2025. The meeting is called to order at 7:03 p.m. Um, please take notice that action will be taken in uh on the following items at the Spartan Environmental Commission meeting on
Thursday, May 22nd, 2025. Um, adequate notice of this meeting was provided to the public and the press on January 10th, 2025. Um, not January 10th. January 10th. Okay. Uh, by delivering to the press and posting on
the township website a copy of the notice. Uh, let's have a salute to the flag. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for it stands one nation under
God indivisible with liberty and justice for all the roll call please. Emily Deputy Mayor Marjorie Murphy here. Chair Kimberly on on the minutes. I have a correction.
Ted, I'm down as president and absent. We're doing the roll call. Oh, after the roll call. Yep. Hang on one second. Vice Chair Neil Sarowine here. Christine Dunar here. Ted Gaul,
you're here. Here. Here. Okay. Christine Rogers here. Barbara Kazulka, Landon Tenieri, Robert Otto, John Grath here. Thank you. Okay, we have approval of minutes for
not April 24th as it says on the agenda, but May 8th. 8th. Thank you, Emily. Uh there was a typo there. Um okay, Ted, go ahead. Yeah, I have a correction that you have me both present and absent. I
believe I was here. Okay, got it. Thank you. Has everyone had a chance to I make a motion that we accept minutes. See if anybody anyone else has uh any corrections from me? Okay, I'll I'll second the motion to accept the minutes
of May 8th. Okay, the uh minutes are accepted. So, first up, we have a special presentation. Uh Jill Aquino, is that how you pronounce it?
is here to um uh give a talk on the New Jersey Climate Super Fund Act resolution. So, um where do I stand to do this? Like, do I come forward or stand right here? Yes. All right. I'll just I'll just Yeah, you
can go right up that or that or is that your map? No. Okay. stand. I'll stand. You guys can hear me. Use the microphone. The microphone because you're being um I'm just going to call um if you don't mind Ken Doulski. He is on the Empower New Jersey
board. So, if any questions are directed towards me and I can't answer them. Ken is here um as my support. So, I'm just going to put him on speaker and call him in a second. Um if that's okay with all of you. What was his name again, Julie? Ken Doulski. Oh, I know. D O L S K Y
Ken. Yeah, I'm here. Hi. Okay, I'm gonna start, Ken. Thank you. Okay. Good evening. Um, thank you for having me here tonight. My name is Jill Aquino. I'm an environmental health nurse and I work at NYU Medical School in the environmental medicine division
and I work directly with the Ramapo Lenopi Turtle Clan in Ringwood, New Jersey. I work with them on a 5-year grant. Uh, this Native American community is suffering from severe negative health impacts due to Ford Motor Company's dumping of toxic paint sludge and other toxics on their
ancestral land in the 1960s and 1970s. I am also a member of Annie Ahee, Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments. I'm also a member of CCJ, Clinician Climate Action New Jersey. I'm a volunteer with Food and Water
Watch and Empower New Jersey and Kendolski uh board member of Empower New Jersey is on the call listening in if there's any questions as I go along. I am also on the board of trustees for NJLCV, New Jersey League of Conservation Voters. As you can see, I'm very
passionate about the climate and the state that we are in. I live in Frankfurt Township, several towns over from Sparta. Empower New Jersey and CCJ is supporting a bill in the state legislator legislature called the climate super fund
act. This act would provide a source of funding to help offset the financial burdens of climate change on all New Jersey towns, residents, and businesses by making the largest fossil fuel corporations pay for the damages caused by climate change in New Jersey. This
bill would not affect local providers of gas or oil. We are asking municipal councils to support the act by simply passing a resolution. I asked Chris Dunar uh who is on the Spartan Environmental Commission to present a model resolution
to this commission for review. So far we have over 36 municipal resolutions as of May 19th and we expect more modeled after similar legislation passed in New York and Vermont. The bill apply the bill applies the logic of the original super fund act which requires polluters
to pay to clean up their contaminated sites to the climate crisis. It is reasonable to estimate that New Jersey could receive between 10 and 20 billion. If this act is successful, the state will collect this money from the major climate polluters and create grants for
municipalities to address the cost of projects for remediation from and adapt adaptation to climate change. The bill was passed by the environmental committees in the Senate and Assembly, but still has to be passed by other committees in the full and the full New
Jersey legislature. It is moving far too slowly. If we don't pass this act this year, it may never happen. Senator McKon, the prime sponsor of this bill, stated that passage of this bill is not assured and that municipal resolutions would be very
helpful. Participation in this effort will not involve any financial or legal risk to Sparta. Costs that can be covered include, but are not limited to, infrastructure resiliency, for example, energy efficiency and weatherization, upgrades to schools and municipal buildings,
flood protection, home buyouts, remediation of toxic algae blooms, upgrades to storm water drainage systems, well replacement and water purification due to low water levels caused by droughts, storm recovery, and more. Any costs related to climate would
be candidates for a grant. This law will reduce the financial burdens of these events on town residents and in some cases may provide the only means to address these costs without tax increases or bonding. The global cost of climate change remediation and adaptation are
increasing yearly. The New York State senator stated repairing from and preparing for extreme weather caused by climate change will cost over $65,000 per household by 2050. It is reasonable to assume that the cost
per household in New Jersey will be similar. Also, as you may have seen on the news, the current administration is planning to deeply cut or eliminate FEMA. This will force states to increase their costs to handle disasters. If we don't pass this act, we
will all be paying these costs. We think that companies whose products pollute and cause disease, property destruction, and death, and who knowingly continue these practices should be held responsible and made to pay for these harms. Not the individuals, not the families, and not
the businesses who suffer because of these companies actions. No products, no matter how beneficial, should be exempt from product liability laws. The argument for the climate super fund act is the same logic that states use to force polluters to pay for cleanups
under the EPA super fund act. It is also based on the fact that polluters knew of the problems they were causing by dumping toxics. There is clear evidence that in the 1970s, Exxon recognized the climate problems that were being created by burning fossil fuels. And they not
only refused to admit this, but they spent the next 50 years clouding and denying the truth and impeding government responses to this crisis. And we are still following the same game plan today and it needs to stop. One question we often hear is whether forcing fossil fuel companies to pay for
their harms will cause them to increase the price of their products. The answer is no. The price of oil is set by the global market based on global supply and demand. Individual companies cannot directly raise the price of their oil without losing market share. Our elected
officials were voted into office to protect us, the residents and businesses, not global fossil fuel companies who make billions of dollars in profit every year. Exxon's global profits in 2023 were $ 36 billion, while the global oil and gas
industry earned record income of more than $2.4 trillion. Who do you think should pay for climate based damages? Us, either directly or through increased property taxes or the fossil fuel companies? Is your major concern burdens on the
largest businesses on earth and distorted market incentives or our ability to stay safe and healthy and spend our money as we see fit? We often complain about government unfunded mandates that increase local costs but provide no source of funds.
Climate related costs are similar. They are being forced on taxpayers with no recourse. The New Jersey super the New Jersey Climate Super Fund Act attempts to correct this imbalance. We ask that you put a resolution supporting these principles up for a vote at your next
meeting. The time to pass this act is now. What are your thoughts on supporting this bill with the resolution? And do you have any questions? Thank you for listening. Thank you. Thank you, Joe. That was very powerful. Thank you. I think uh do we have a copy
of that resolution? I have it. I knew you would. I brought it. Oh. Oh, great. Thank you. I do the same. Give it to you, Margie. Thank you. So, um, have any, uh, other
municipalities in the area passed this that you know of? None in Sussex County. Um, can can you tell me what Morris County municipalities have passed this resolution? Um, so far Paripany has passed it. Uh, Morristown has passed it. Um, we're
talking to Montville. Um, but those are the only ones so far. So, Paripany, Morristown, and we're talking to Montville. Correct. And Ken, can you tell us the other towns um that you know of because I don't know all of them. You know
better than I do. Yeah. A number of towns in Mammoth along the shore. Um, Red Bank. Um, Mont Clair just passed it. Hogen has passed it. Uh, Leonia, Tene. Um, I think
they're fairly well scattered, you know, across at least northern part of the state. Okay. Thank you. That's great. So, we have the opportunity to be the first in Sussex County. And the reason I came here tonight is because I feel that Sparta is more open-minded than other um
Sussex County towns. I know you are all fighting warehouse sprawl and so I felt like this is a great place to come and speak on this because of your stance. I believe Sparta's stance on no warehouse sprawl. So that's why I started here
tonight. I see very friendly faces here. Some I know, some I don't know. Um so I just felt very comfortable coming here and speaking to you all tonight. So again, I thank you. Thank you very much. Anybody else have questions? Yes. for [Music]
um only due to climate change or you've you've enacted things that have also done because we've had some major cleanups here in town from companies that we've had to rectify the the grounds and whatnot in different
playground areas. When I went to school here, we didn't know, right? We didn't know that they were contaminated and uh you know, there's things that have happened. Thank god they've cleaned them all up, most of them. But you know, even with
PAS Yeah. Yeah. I just did a webinar um an expert in the field on PAS uh Dr. Gretchen Sultan I think is her name. She's been studying PAS for over 20 years. Um and she spoke to members of alliance of nurses for healthy environments. And uh one of the um
issues that we are dealing with with the Ramipo is very high POS levels. And so again, they're forever chemicals and so um I hear you. I understand. Yes, POAS are a major problem and we are now getting more and more knowledgeable about them. Um and they are they are a
real problem and they can't be cleaned up. They're forever chemicals, you know. So how do we rectify that? So I would assume Ken, can you help me out here? Um would the New Jersey Super Fund Climate Act um be uh would the money also go towards um remediation for
PAS? So two thoughts. Um number one um it does not specifically fall within I would say the categories of resilience and adaptation to climate. Um however if it's part of um you know general work on
the water system uh that might qualify it. Uh the other thing to consider is that if you get a grant, if you could use it for something else that um you might not, you know, then save that money or take the money that you would have spent on another project under
climate and you have the option to then apply that money to projects like PAS. Okay. So indirectly it could help. Great. Thank you, Ken. Okay. Any other questions? Are there any other states in the nation that have
passed similar legislation? Uh, can I believe New York and Vermont have passed this? New York and Vermont. So, wouldn't that be great if New Jersey could be the third? Yeah. Yeah. Just sort of piggybacking on that. I know that there's a lawsuit against
Vermont. What type of ramifications will that have on this project if Vermont loses its its stance? Ken, did you hear that question? Not quite. Chris, can you ask it again? Yeah. Um, I understand that Vermont has passed u a super fund
uh climate super fund act and now they're being sued uh I presume by the fossil fuel companies, right? So, I I think all eyes are on Vermont right now, and I was just
wondering if you could give us some insight into the that process and um where it stands and um you know, what will happen to this project, you know, if uh Vermont uh
loses and has to withdraw that super fund. Ken, did you hear that? Yes. Okay. Uh so um it's expected that there will be lawsuits involved. Nobody is going to quietly pay the money that is being
asked. Um there are various types of lawsuits right now uh across the country against the fossil fuel companies. Some of them are oriented more towards u the behavior of the companies and the fact that they did not uh acknowledge the
costs or the damages that they were going you know that their emissions were were going to cause. Um this is really not you know attacking them for behavior. This this is basically just saying it's a product issue and there's
a liability with the product. Um so we don't know how this is going to go. Uh, Senator McKon has said that he did work with the uh New Jersey Attorney General's office to uh make this as uh
pro uh lawsuit proof as possible, but uh you know that that probably isn't going to stop it from being sued. Um but the lawsuits that are being undertaken that are mainly product liability uh lawsuits
um are enjoying some degree of success. They're not being uh you know the the lower courts are supporting them. Um there's been I I forget exactly how many u there's probably a dozen of those you know in different stages in different
parts of the country. So, uh, the the product liability approach seems to have more success than accusing the the companies of bad faith. Um, so we'll just have to see. The, um, attorney general office um, is a mock step with
Senator McKeon on this. They're willing to undertake the fight for this. Uh, you know, it's if they win, it's an awful lot of money compared to what it would cost to sue. And um I'm not a lawyer, but if they're willing to go ahead and
and support this and uh and fight it, uh we're willing to support it. Great. Thank you, Ken. Thank you. We'll be watching to see what happens. A couple of other things um I looked up um on AI, what what is the main arguments
that business and industry have um against uh this resolution? and they they're touting two things. Um, and if you could respond to these that would be great. The first one I hear a lot is that the economy is
structured on fossil fuels, its availability and its uses and all of the people globally have benefited from this for years and years. So that that is one of their main arguments is is that everything is comes
from fossil fuels pretty much, you know, these days. And that's our energy supply. That's that's the things that we use, we drive, um that we package things in and um that
transport us. So um so we have had this great benefit from fossil fuels and yet they're being punished now for providing that. Okay. And that is linked to the second thing that we hear all the time
and that is that there are are no real links between greenhouse gases and extreme weather events. That has not been proven. But I just went on to to the EPA NASA website uh today and they
are are also saying that well there's so there's just so many because the air temperature data and the ocean that's coupled with the atmosphere and the migration of plants and animals and the
allergies, you know, seasons and it the list just goes on. Floods and droughts, you know, and so on. But yet this is their u main argument you know that uh really um you know there's no direct
evidence between like what we had in Sparta like in the year 2000 when we had the thousand-year flood you know how can you say that more greenhouse gases in the atmosphere caused that cloud to stay over Sparta and rain for two and a half
days you know um So they point to to that a lot. Um that there is not a real strong correlation. But you know the feeling is the general feeling is is you have all of these
climate change indicators you know and the cumulative effect is very powerful. Yeah. So I was so these are the two things that I noticed in trying to find out what their main arguments are. uh in opposition to
this. Yeah. Ken, can you answer that? So, the first argument is really not a legal argument. Um like I said earlier, it's a product liability argument. Um this this the um these bills and these
acts are not going to stop um fossil fuels from being provided to us. Um the you know companies are going to pay for them just as if they had other liabilities where they um you know
um irresponsible let's say um in any other area and um it's not going to stop the uh use of fossil fuels. The um the the the second argument uh you know is in you know when you look at it as an
individual weather um it may be hard to find uh some very very specific uh change that you know that could be pointed to to climate but overall especially if you Google the cost of climate change you will find a
ton of articles and studies um Jill Jill really didn't get into this but uh one that I recall is you know forecasting that uh climate change the cost of climate change and it's not just the cost of the damages uh but it's the cost
of you know providing resilience the cost of you know building and adapt adapting to climate change um that the debt will wipe out 10% of the US GDP in about 25 years by by 2050 so these
studies are all showing that there is a tremendous cost associated with it and uh you know like you know it may not be quite evident in any in individual you know weather but uh events heat is a real killer. Yeah. Um we can see what
happens um when we have excess, you know, when we have, you know, very very hot days. Um and maybe the United States hasn't had as much as other countries, other areas of the world. U heat heat is directly related to climate and produces
a lot of damage as well as health issues. Yes. Um and um you know and climate increases the amount of ozone in the air and we have to burn more fossil fuels in order to stay cool and all that creates more ozone. Ozone as Jill will tell you is a a cause not only of
exacerbating a lot of illnesses but causes has been proven scientifically to cause premature death. Y so there are plenty of plenty of costs associated with it. Okay. Thank you Ken. Thank you Ken here.
I have the studies. I haven't heard about them in a while, but during COVID when so many companies were shut down that they started looking I you know on on the maps all
across the world and how the ozone layer was thinned out that the skies were bluer that the have you have you air quality was the air quality was improved has was improved for that length of time. Yes. I mean, you could
look up even over Lake Mohawk and say, "I've never seen such blue skies in many, many years." And the clouds and there it was so much different. It was a noticeable difference. But there was a study and I had heard about but you haven't heard anything since then since
like 20 I want to say 21 20 since 22. Right. Right. But especially over over Asia there was a humongous change. Absolutely. Yeah. I I remember that. You remember that? Ken, have you seen or heard anything recently uh prior uh more
recently than that? No, I haven't. Okay. Yeah, I haven't either. No, I haven't heard a thing. Yeah. What we have seen is that um the level of of uh carbon in the atmosphere, well, it took a you know, flattened out
during during COVID, but it's now going up steadily, right? Um so is methane. And they they are both now at all-time highs. Yep. And you know, last year was the hottest year on record. And are we
looking to break that in 2025? You know, I mean, we we can't sustain this. This is not sustainable. You know, we're going to destroy our planet. We have to do something about this. And I know that you're a diver and I've I dive a little bit, not like you, but
I've noticed the change in in the fish and the coral when when I went diving in the Red Sea. Yep. Um you know, you see pictures of it in National Geographic, how it's all bleached. Yep. Bleached out. Yep. But when you dive and you see it, it's it's alarming. It's
heartbreaking. I I've been diving since June of 1997, so I hear you. you know, and it's it's definitely a concern. Um, and and and uh thinking of the ocean and being a diver um makes me think of all the microplastics right in the ocean. Um and that makes me think of um I recently
listened to a study about um human brains uh people that have passed and they've done they've done analysis of human brains and they're now finding a teaspoon full of microplastics in brains of people that have passed away that they've done autopsies on. I mean, that's terrifying. It's just terrifying.
Supposedly we ingest a credit card worth of plastic every week. That's the which is just Yeah. Which is just horrifying. A week. Yeah. And and and you know the the um microplastics are endocrine disruptors, you know. So we look at you
know um chronic illnesses. We look at type two diabetes you know especially and you know our our type two diabetes rates are through the roof you know and so you have to look at all the endocrine disruptors that are are in our environment. So, you know, there are so many different things that I feel like I
could talk about tonight, but I feel like it's it's I feel like it's all related to the fossil fuel industry because the plastics are the metabolites of the fossil fuel industry. And the fossil fuel industry, they want to ramp up their production and double, triple,
quadruple by 2050 what we have now, which is already so problematic. I can't even imagine this planet. How do we sustain? How do we have more plastics than we already have? We need to get rid of plastics, not have more plastics, you know, and and this is just a silly little thing, but like, you know,
Governor Murphy in the state of New Jersey, he passed a law that there's not supposed to be plastic straws. That you're only supposed to get a plastic straw if you ask the person serving you for one. I don't know anybody that's following that in New Jersey. And now our new administration has just completely squashed that whole plastic straw thing. Everybody's supposed to
have plastic straws, you know? So, and I know it's a little stupid thing, but like I'm a scuba diver, so I think about the plastics. I think about the plastic straws. I think about the turtles, you know? I I I am I'm an advocate climate. I'm I'm an an advocate for climate. And I just feel like um we're going so
backwards, so rapidly, you know, and when I read to you um that we are moving far too slowly in in um this this um climate super fund act, how do we move faster? We don't have time to move
slowly. And I I I've been listening to Corey Booker's um 25 hours and five minutes on the House floor. I'm at I'm at hour 15 of his 25 hour and 5 minutes and I'm determined to get through it. And I have to tell you one of the things that um Chris Murphy said and this has stuck with me. He said, "We in America
have been really good at running the race. We are really fast. We're really good at it. But we've just been told America, you need to start walking now. That's not going to get us anywhere. We've been winning the race. We've been first in line. And now we're
supposed to start walking. Why are we supposed to start walking? I mean, that has absolutely stuck in my brain and I can't get it out of my brain. And so, when I come here tonight and I speak to you all about what we need to do to pass this resolution in every town I feel in New
Jersey and get this, you know, into law for the state of New Jersey, we cannot keep walking. We need to run and we need to run faster and we might need to run longer. So again, I thank you all for being here tonight and I look forward to
hearing from you and uh where we're going to go with this. So thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Jill. And thank you, Ken. And and if you see uh under unfinished business, we also have the uh packaging and paper product stewardship
act uh tonight. So thank you. Thank you. Thank you. You can too. Okay. Next on the agenda is application PB number 25-7. Let me start again. Uh we have an
application uh PB number 25-733 LTL Investments um LLC Konos Stoga Minor Subdivision. Um I guess that's down on the table. We didn't have a chance to look at that. You didn't send that out
earlier, did you? No, I don't think No, I didn't. No, I figured it was easier to review here with the fullsized plans. Yes. Yeah, because it was hard to see over the computer. Okay, great. Should we go down and look? Let's take a look.
You want to take a look? This is an application that has just come out and we're just reviewing it right now. It's for a minor subdivision. a minor subdivision for residences.
I don't know. Knesogga is a residential zone, I believe. Correct. Except for on the corner where is the uh ENA the old ENA cleaners. Oh yeah, this one is
address 40 and 44 Knosogga. 40 and 44. I'm going to look it up on my phone. Where is this? I can't road. Okay. And right at that traffic light. Yeah. Is there's an ina cleaners and I'll go down and show them up. You
make a right there and go left. Okay. Left left to Konos Stoa right Hunter Lane I think right up there I'm not sure I didn't look at the application I think they're just trying they're looking to divide. I think
I think I'm not sure. I didn't fully look at the application. We don't have there's just one copy right here. Right. You have the copy. Sometimes they come in so fast, you know, and we want to catch them at the
nearest meeting. Oh, sure. Yeah. This came in really quick. So, empty. needed a memo from this commission, I guess. Any comments or We have a report from the fire chief
in here. No, it's just up there. And taxes are paid. I think 40 and 44. Oh, wait a minute. Here's um here's the engineer report here. You want to take a look at that? So, they've reviewed the
application. So, part of bowling alley and it's on your left foot. No, on your right. Right. So 7-Eleven is on your right, but like you're going toward that
first trail hunter lane is down here. So Neil, if you look at her phone, I don't know if Kosoga comes off of 181. [Music] A little bit further up.
It's pretty close to the hardware store. Yes. And then it goes off towards the left if you're going up 181. Looks like it's on the intersection of Knes Stoga and Hunter Lane. Right. Right. You're Kosoga and there's Hunter.
So, yes, Chris, that's correct. Yeah. Oh, yeah. I mean, yeah. It's not near. No. Yeah. So, so right. Right. Right. So, right. So, here's
Hunters and here's Kosoga. So, here Yep. So, this picture is this. Yeah. Yep. Because it says there's a pool here and it says pool ground pool to be removed. So, is that is that this is this is it?
That's it. That's it. You're welcome. Yep. Yeah. So, the ingground pool. Yep. Says ingground pool to be removed on this paper and that that's Yeah, but they were separated into three
lots because it's two now. Yeah. I don't know if they're on city sewer or not. It said septic on this. Oh, it did it. So the
the Konos Stoa Minor so in LTL Investments LLC they own the land and they want to No. Yes. So, so the the houses or the lots that are on this land
are owned by LTL Investments and they want to subdivide to make a third lot probably, but I don't know. There's I don't know. Yeah, that's my question is what's the purpose? Why why is this ask being asked? Well, to subdivide, if
you want to know if you can divide lots, you have to go in front of the planning board to get approval. But Sure. Um, the planning board is just looking to see if we have any comments or concerns or questions in regards to this application. Right. So, I guess the question is why is it happening in the
first place, right? That's like the initial question. Usually, you know, to make another residence or something if the lot's like extra large, right? Right. Right. I'm asking for any variances. I don't see the variance chart here. Oh,
they are That's my area. small minimum lot area square feet 14,000 is required this one would be 19,000 this one would be 18 that would be 15 so that forms also oh
subdivide to make another. Yeah, but it conforms with all the zoning requirements. So, there it says there are here We couldn't tell about all
three requirements according to fellow. You're I see. They don't show any driveway. So, why are they doing this? The lots are going to be So, one of the lots is only.1 acre.
But they're all within the zoning requirements. Yeah, they all meet. The proposed subdivision does not involve any new construction. The twotory dwelling and block garage are existing along with their drive.
I support the proposed waiver requests for completeness and can evaluate the application without the items noted above. They have some notes about holes and things and I recommend the application
be declared complete inclusive sense of it. Oh yeah. Drive garage, twostory dwelling. And then this Oh, this is one here. What's
this one over here? 2 acres. 2 acres. So maybe they're doing this because they're going to sell this property and and to somebody who wants to build their homes. They're going to live here and then they're going to sell
this and sell this. And this is just a preliminary here. Okay. Of course, the pool overlaps. They're removing it. Okay. These are new line to be removed.
Is it just this dotted line? This is one, two, three. What are these smaller It says lot line to be removed. So this was the old lot line, the dotted ones, right? And what are these? And then
that's the I think this is the old lot line. That's the structure. Oh, isn't it? Why is it Why is it smaller? So, is it just this
whole section And then the back section was a different I think it's just going from two to three. I don't think they're even making changes to property except No, I don't I can't see. I see no areas of concern
either. I just still don't understand what these smaller I need to take class actually has that um They're just subdividing it into the three three laws and they have to deal with this to be removed here. Um
they're not um they've conformed the zoning. So I don't think there's anything real concerning about this one. So there's I only see one septic. I was looking for the wells. Where's the Where are the wells, Ted? You set them.
I don't think there are septic disposal. Yeah. No, they said that well had to be sealed for some reason. Yeah, there needs to be a sealed well. Thank you for all you do. Thank you.
So all these people have to be notified. I just think they're gonna sell these lots so people can build small lots one 27 27 acres
here right here is one acres What is this one? This one looks bigger than this. Yeah. Yeah. The squiggly lines. There's no legend on this particular We don't know where the wells are. Well, there's there's one well that's going to
be capped and they're all going on town. That's what Okay. And then the septic field. Where's the septic field? Here's one. And then there's one over there. And there's one here. So, they'll be
putting new septics in this one and this one, I'm assuming. Or the person that buys the lot. Well, not they're going on sewer. Is that in a sewer service area? No. No,
it's accepted. It didn't. No. Okay. Need to take that online course on reading, but it does say it's meeting the minimum w area. Yeah. So, it's it's at least above the minimum. Yeah. Right. So,
13,000 is the minimum. This one's 197 18. And then 15,83. Yeah. Really? line of sight issues maybe. I don't know.
Okay. Is that this right here? All of this area is what they're doing. Yeah, that's what it was. Looks good to me. Anybody When did you get it in? Few days ago. April. Well, that's when it was deemed
complete. Just a few days ago. Yeah, that's that's why. Okay. We couldn't find the wells. We couldn't find the wells on the map. I know you're good at finding wells. The wells, you can see where they
are. Yeah, they have to be I guess they have to be capped because it's going on to Sparta Water Service. The only thing I saw was they didn't show the driveway coming up to the G
existing garage. Next on the agenda is public comment. Public has left the building. Uh number seven, reports. Who wants to go first? I um
trying to figure out what we did last night. It was such a long meeting. I'm trying to still wake up. Um no, we heard about and this is one that I don't think we had an opportunity to discuss. We heard about the new
cafeteria at the technical school, the sixth, seventh, and eighth grade. The charter school. Yes. And um we approved their application um for they need a cafeteria because
they kids um you know they don't have a gym. The gym is a cafeteria and the area that they're they're putting the modular on is gr a grassy area. Um and uh you know we had a little
we had somebody from the public come up and say um that he had been greatly disturbed by the lighting. And so the the principal, the supervisor is going to work with him and they're going to see if they can adjust
the lighting on I think was the gym mainly. And there's there's lights that run all night. All night. And it's like that was the superintendent, right? Yes. Superintendent of the school. Yep. So, um, so that was good. That was a
good connection that, you know, was was made and he was, you know, pleased for the kids as we all were that they were going to have this facility. Seems like you're still getting there's meals delivered, right? That's nothing is going to be cooked there, nothing is going to be made there. No. No. Um, and they call it a
cafeteria, but I think it's a food dispensary. It's They shouldn't be be saying it's a cafeteria because a cafeteria to me is you have trays and you choose and there's a kitchen in the back. They will have one sink. Um, the other thing I was concerned about is is
that um where's all the runoff going to to go? And but that will be hooked up to what they have there. And actually, it's not directly into a creek or anything. It's going to be dispersed. The runoff from the pavement and there shouldn't be any more
pavement. I don't think it's going to be dispersed. And I was hoping that they would in some way capture that water coming off of their roof uh maybe and have the kids do a rain barrel project, you know, or maybe do a
rain garden, you know, um there. So um so that was that was the bulk of our time and then we had our two executive sessions. So you went into executive session right after that before and after. So I I I watched that application
that was all Yeah. saw. Okay. Yeah. Cool. All right. Thanks, Chris. You're welcome. Well, I have uh some pretty good news. I feel that um there was a petition that went out regarding the cannabis ordinance that was passed and
it uh on town council we are agreeing to put it onto the November ballot. So, let the residents of Sparta vote to see if we want cannabis stores in Sparta and within 250 ft of any
school, park, li or uh was it or a church or ballpark. So, that will be on the November ballot. Do you think that the town council will honor the decisions of our residents if
um you know they they don't want that ordinance and um will or or will they will the town council honor the ordinance is is what I want I want to know because it's it's an
ordinance they know the wishes of the people let's say and and will they I believe I believe that truly that you know we're here to represent the people and if the
residents of Sparta don't want or do want I think that will that will let us know what what we should do. And if the people vote that they do not want any cannabis stores within 250 ft
or not within 250 ft and they don't want it, then I believe town council will honor that. Mhm. Was that the only thing in that ordinance was that it was so close to the schools or does the um does
the referendum mention other things besides the closeness to children? No, that's because it's can be only in the TCC zone and the C1 zone also. Okay. Yeah, those just those two
zones. That's what was meant. That's what's on the ordinance. Okay. Thank you. You're welcome. Anything else? S I didn't go to the um senior advisory committee. So
um and I don't have an update on the Rev 250. Okay. So, no. Okay. Thank you. Thanks, Margie. Y um the master plan subcommittee met last uh during our last
meeting. Uh so I didn't attend and I have no no news on that either. Our next meeting is uh June 5th. That's that. Uh now we come to unfinished business. Sustainable New Jersey
certification. I think we've submitted Y resubmitted. did submit on um May 16th and then they're supposed to get back to us for our round two evaluation by mid June. Um we submitted 170 points which
would be enough for bronze certification and then if there's anything left to correct or any new points that we want to add in we have until July 31st. Was there anything that needed correcting that we didn't get to?
Just the Yes. the um recycling education and compliance. They had some corrections that they wanted to the township letter that was submitted. So, that we can do by the next uh round. Uh and then there's also there
was one uh component for I think the electric vehicle charging stations that we submitted the last time and is not in the system right now. So, that's one that we've gotten points for in the past. So, I think that's one we should explore. Okay. Yeah, let's look into
that. But um also we'll have the rain barrel points we'll be able to submit um next month. So there are still points that we can get on the table and then once we get certified as bronze, we can just keep submitting points in order to
try to achieve silver. Right. Um as far as the uh the climate change hazard and vulnerability assessment, that's a part of the master plan. That's an element of the master plan that we will we need to to do to for the new,
you know, for the master plan revision. Um I'm not sure whether we'll be able to get that done by the next deadline is July 21st. I think the final uh 31st. Yeah, 31st is the final deadline. So I don't know because of the way the the you know the right the master plan
subcommittee it's the changes that have gone through we got backed up a little bit. Um, but hopefully we'll be able to get that. And there's also another uh the fleet inventory. I reached out again to our our fleet manager and he's going to
start looking at that. He had other things to do. Yeah, apparently. So, uh, and there might be some other things we can pick up along the way. So, and then maybe even that lighting ordinance that we talked about last time. Exactly. Yes. So, there are still points on the table, but I think if we can at least get to our bronze certification, then we're
certified and we just keep building off of that. Yeah, we restrategize. Yeah. Perfect. Right. Um, thank you. Oh, one other thing is I did attend the senior of the year uh not well it was senior volunteer of
the year dinner and it was really quite lovely and he will be honored and with a proclamation this coming Tuesday at the town council meeting as uh as will um Valerie Makio for the Sparta Community
Food Pantry for our 40th anniversary. So, that's the upcoming town council meeting. Um, okay. And Landon graduated. Yes. Landing graduated from Mars County Community.
Oh, okay. Thank you. Uh, next is a speaker presentation schedule. Uh yeah, we're going to have our next speaker is from Ridg and Valley Conservancy. We'll be coming to our June 26th meeting at 7 p.m. And then um
that'll just be a part of our regular environmental commission meeting. And what was who was that? uh June 26th and it's a trustee from Ridgen Valley Conservancy and and Emily, I'll get you the I got to
still make the flyer up, but I'll get that to you and we'll get it posted on the website. Perfect. And what's the topic? Um oh, it's all about how to preserve permanently preserve your land so you can be compensated um and it can be permanently preserved so that it's
perpetually can be undeveloped. And where's he from again? The conserv and valley consery. Great. That's great. Um, do we have the uh have more uh speakers
in line or I think the only one we were other one we were talking about was Kim was talking to I forget what his name was but about the the deer population and that was going to be part of the town council meeting and but in July I think in July they wanted right I'm
working with Roxan to try to coordinate a specific day that would work better with town council and that's a little less packed. So, we're trying to figure out a good date for him. Okay. And then it will also be coordinated with another
environmental group. Oh, so I'll we'll let you know. Okay. Um, that brings to mind another speaker or or another um presentation I thought that that might
have be coming before the council on the um Sparta Mountain. I think that's that's what they're working on. Oh, that's that's it. Okay. All right. I believe so.
Did you Oh. Rain barrel. Yes. Um but I before we leave that uh do we have opportunity to have more speakers? Yes. We're not limited, are we? No, we were doing we were planning for one every quarter so that we would have at least four speakers a year.
Okay. Um because well we haven't gotten to it yet, but um I did attend a presentation on backyard composting or any on the food waste reduction
resolution. But I was wondering if maybe we could get somebody to talk about backyard composting. Yeah. And maybe we can even tie that to like an event, right, where people can build their own compost bins or something like that. Yeah, that's a good idea to kind of drum
up some more support. Great. I'll look into that. I know the mayor attended the mayor's conference in uh Lang City last last couple days and uh there was a meeting on that
and the major problem with especially up here is the bear. Yeah. I was just saying the animals. Yeah. And that it's uh was Yes. It would be great, but with all of our between our deer and our bear
population up here, it would be extremely difficult. There are ways to alleviate that. There are composting techniques that I think can kind of uh can kind of inhibit those those uh predators,
compost predators. Okay. Um because they had a discussion about that down there. Oh, that'd be interesting. your uh mayor's take. Um
uh Rain Barrel workshop. Uh Jenna Black is going to be coming on June 12th at 5:30. Um she's part of the New Jersey Watershed Ambassadors
program and she's going to be running a presentation right here in the municipal building and then going outside to actually construct your own rainarrel. Uh the organization I work for at the Walkill River Wershed
Management Group, we're going to fund the all the rest of the supplies and the hardware for the barrels. So, the barrels were donated um and then we're providing the hardware. So, it will be completely free for residents who want to participate
and there's going to be 10 rain barrels available. So, the flyer's been finished. So, we're just waiting for final approval to get it posted on the website and then people can sign up. Oh, good. Okay. Has anyone signed up yet?
No, it hasn't been posted. That's June 10th. June 12th. June 12th. Sorry. So, it's going to be at 5:30. So, it's right before our environmental commission meeting. So, people who participate can stay for our meeting.
Exactly. Great. And June and uh Jenna is again from the Jersey New Jersey Watershed Ambassadors Program. That's it. Okay. Uh next is Sparta Day updates. Who was managing that? I think Kim was,
but um I was able to secure a spot. So, it's the B slash C section. So, that'll be where the table is. Okay. Yep. That's coming up, isn't it? That's on the 31st, right? What time do we need to be there?
I don't know. I don't know what time it starts. Wait, is that May 31st? They usually have a window of time where you bring everything and set up and then you get your car out of there, Saturday.
It starts at 11. So Oh, probably before that. I don't know what time that it doesn't say on their website. Okay. Yeah. I didn't realize it was 11. I was figuring it'd be earlier than that. Yeah. Yeah. It's 11 to 5 at Station
Park. 5. Okay. And that's on the junior women's club. Yes. And I'll try to get one of the Anjek uh displays or games before we
tree ordinance update. Rob's not here. Kim was also working on that, too. So, I actually just happened to speak to Corey Stoner earlier this afternoon, and he said he just has a few questions and comments, so he's just going to um speak
with Kim when she has a chance. Okay, great. Thank you. Um, next is the the aforementioned package and paper product stewardship act resolution. Margie, do you know where
this is? I think you did you present this to the council? No. No. No. We haven't had a chance to put that on yet. I can speak to executive session. Okay. It's Tuesday. Okay. Do do we want to do that all three of
these at once? The trifecta, what would be easiest for you, Margie? Because we've got the climate super fund now uh to think about and then we've got the food waste. So, there's three that um
are recommended by the association of New Jersey Environmental Commissions. So, do you want to to do that separately or or is it better if we package them all? I don't together.
Honestly, no. I'll I'll take it in and see what is best to do. Yeah, I don't know. Do you discuss that during executive session or um probably my meeting on Tuesday, my pre-aggenda meeting um if I
because it's not really probably would probably be better the soup the uh either at the council meeting. It's not jam-packed. Um or at the pre-aggenda meeting. Okay. So, I'll ask and see which which
would be better to package them together to get more information on them. We have all three of them now, right? And that brings us to what we just talked about new business make polluters pay resolution. So you have that.
We'll wait till we hear more from you. Okay. Uh any other new business or unfinished business? Um, I would like to invite people to
join uh the Ridge and Valley Conservancy who's going to be our next speaker and uh the Pollenkill Watershed Community um at Fairview Lake to do invasive species removal on June 2nd at 9 in the
morning. June Monday morning. Monday morning at 9. And um I don't know whether you want to post this. I can get you the flyer next week to post on the the website, the EC website. Absolutely.
Where's that going to be? It's the Fair View Lake Association. It's um in out in uh Still Water. Really out in the boonies. It's a It's a little It's a little community out there. On the other side of the
Fairview Lake is the the YMCA facility and that's the Rigiden Valley and Pollen skill that are doing that. Yeah. And there there's another organization also that's going to be um partnering. So
it's a kind of a coalition group. The the Fairview Lake Homeowners Association of course will be there also. Good. That sounds interesting. It's uh brutal. Wear long pants, bring tick
spray, wear hats, long sleeves, and a big and a big smile. And uh if you have clippers, shovels, bring them. But um Rigiden Valley has some of that like loppers are good. And they probably will be using chemicals on that.
Um, but no chainsaw this time. Last year we had a chainsaw and it's just come, you know, it's 9 to noon, but just, you know, come for an hour or two and, you know, I get tired after a couple hours and I'm just going to leave.
Yeah. All right. Thank you. You're welcome. I guess if nobody has anything else, I have a motion for adjournment. Oh, okay. I motion that we adjourn our
meeting. I'll second. Okay. Thank you. Motion. All in favor? Oh, I I I say I. Thank you all very much. I will get information back to you. Okay.
on these. If I need any more information, I will let you know. Great. Okay. Thank you. Thank you for uh getting us the food waste resolution. We'll have a little time to read that