will be taken on the following items at the regular council meeting on Tuesday February 25th 2025 in council chambers Sparta Township Municipal Building 65 Main Street Sparta New Jersey the time is 7:02 the regular meeting is now open
all Council meetings are now live streamed and can be viewed at the following link www.youtube.com press on January 10th 2025 by delivering to the press and posting on the township website a copy of the notice Madame clerk may we have a
roll call councilman Scott here councilman blumetti here Deputy Mayor Murphy here mayor Clark here and so the record reflects uh councilwoman Murphy is under the weather
but given the trooper that she is she's participating by own so thank you Council woman Murphy uh please stand while we salute the flag please I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to
the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all all right welcome everyone thank you for coming out um as we do from time to time we do have a
proclamation um because it is American Heart month um and so we also do have a representative uh from the county of Sussex Department of Health and Human Services uh who after I read this
Proclamation I will ask to uh receive it American Heart month whereas heart disease and stroke claim more lives each year in the United States than all forms of cancer and chronic lower respiratory disease combined heart disease is the leading
cause of death for both men and women accounting for one in about every five deaths about 1,95 people die each day from heart disease over 605,000 new heart attacks happen each year and about 446 people
die from stroke each day about 6.7 million Americans over 20 years old are in heart failure and whereas heart disease can often be prevented when people make healthy choices and manage their health conditions with proper exercise adequate sleep not
smoking as it smoking is the leading risk factor for premature death and disability proper nutrition and managing stress levels and whereas developments in technology and the discovery of early markers of heart disease have allowed Physicians to diagnose and treat heart disease much sooner and to develop
strategies for their patients to stay heart healthy now now therefore be it resolved that the township Council of the township of Sparta hereby proclaims the month of February to be American Heart month and invites all the township residents to join them in committing to fight
cardiovascular disease and um Miss banister would you please come forward thank you is that good thank you good evening everyone I do have handouts for everyone that I leave here for the clerk uh you
can collect on your way out thank you so much I want to particularly thank uh everyone for this honor and particularly Our Town Council I first want to thank uh Deputy Mayor Marjorie Murphy councilman Mark Scott councilman Dean
blti councilman Daniel Sherell and our mayor Neil Clark and also like to extend a thank you to our clerk Roan as well for making the connection I just want to give a short uh word of the Proclamation read very
accurately about the state of heart disease here in America so I wouldn't reiterate that but those are very uh scary numbers so this evening um I also want to in my brief remarks uh here in our Spartan Municipal bu building remind everyone about the vital role of uh
heart in our lives February is marks uh marks is American Heart month and uh throughout this month I've been going around in different counties uh and townships and all speaking about heart health and uh I'm open the invitation I'm welcome to do that here as well as
well as other topics here in on our in our agenda for all areas of Health in the public health department heart disease Remains the leading cause of death affecting Millions but we can do significantly more by reducing our risk we can do so by taking small steps by
making small changes in our diet in our exercise in our lifestyle and these changes will make a difference uh let's commit to looking after our hearts by taking particular uh strides by seeing our cardiologists for example learning
CPR as a safety maner as well or renew your CPR if you haven't done so um just watching um making sure like rather than sitting all day after a meal get up and walk at least 10 minutes it aids with digestion and also increases uh the chances of staying healthier reducing
that risk for heart disease by just moving we sit so much a lot driving and NW work and all like that so just a reminder about that but as a group together let us commit for staying stronger together because together we can make a difference for American heart
health not just in the month of February but all year long for ourselves and our families thank you so much for your time thank you Miss Minister for that and um I can't advise that uh being a council person is probably not the best
thing for your heart um but uh in any event no I I encourage people really um to go to your doctor get screenings um I know for me I you know I've been healthy thought I was healthy my whole life but
then you know cholesterol has some something else to say about that and so um you know I I've I've taken medicine to lower my cholesterol can be very effective there are some side effects but I do encourage you to go see your doctor and talk about them and even if you think you're otherwise healthy there
are a lot of components to to heart health and so I encourage folks to um to go to the doctor and talk about them because we love all our Spartans here we want you to be healthy so thank you um we are now up to the minutes portion I I will
make a point of order uh in light of M councilman chell's absence and that uh councilwoman Murphy and Scott would not be able to vote on the December 10th minutes as they were not present um I
would think we probably need to table this the approval of these minutes until such time as we have okay so um I would make a motion that we table approval of the December 10th 2024 minutes uh because of a lack of quorum to vote on
that particular minutes I'll second uh all those in favor say I I I okay the December the voting on The thank you so we have uh four eyes for tabling the approval of the December 10th 2024
minutes until such time as we have a quorum of council people who can vote on it uh next may I have a motion to approve the January 7th 2025 reorganizational meeting minutes as presented I'll make a motion to approve
the January 7th 2025 reorg meeting minutes may I have a second please okay all those in favor say I I I I all right the reor reorganization minutes for January 7th
2025 uh have been approved we are now up to the manager's report um M manager zeep may we have your report please thank you good evening mayor councel Sparta residents both present and on our YouTube
stream I would like to extend my gratitude to the sparta Township Fire Department for inviting me and my assistant Michelle lantau to the 2025 annual installation dinner it was a pleasure to witness the swearing in of fire chief Ryan Odum and introduction of
this year's president Karen rosiki as well as the president of the ladi's auxiliary Annie angelucci and all their officers the event was well attended and as always we thank the fire department and all First Responders for their continued service to our
residents I am pleased to announce the addition of two new employees who started in 2025 Miss Christina Tierney has joined the Municipal Court staff and Miss April Walcott has joined the utility department office staff we warmly welcome them to the sparta
team registration for the summer day camp at Camp saaka jya opens to Sparta residents on March 4th the camp runs for six weeks from June 30th to August 8th more information and registration links can be found on the Township's website under Parks and Recreation by clicking
the day camp link a reminder there are still a limited number of openings for the circle of friends preschool registration for the 2025 26 school year registrations opened on February 15th I'm also pleased to announce that
we have scheduled this year's confidential paper shred event for Saturday May 31st at our town hall during this event we will also be hosting an e-w collection once all plans are finalized we will notify all residents through the Township's media
sources the event is open to all Sparta residents businesses and nonprofits Chief mccarrick will now read his portion of the manager's report thank you thank you manager Z thank you mayor thank you councel on Tuesday February 18th six of our officers were trained in
ice water and cold water rescue the training was held on Lake a pacon and hosted by New Jersey State Police Trooper Trooper Anthony burrow uh our department as I just uh have reported uh I think a few meetings ago had purchased
six dry suits and rescue gear in order to be prepared for any type of emergency especially in our Township where there's many bodies of water was my plan to eventually have all of our officers trained in this area and um also work with our fire department and ambulance Squad in the very near future for
training um with that the very next day uh other agencies were training with State Police on the lake and there was a real emergency out there where they did perform a rescue so it is important um I've mentioned this for uh around this time when the weather gets
warmer there's a lot of people that go outside I'm asking the motorist to be reminded of the people that are out there the adults and children who are taking uh advantage of the warm temperatures and the Fresh Air with the recreational activities and as always our patrs will be out enforcing traffic violations and as a reminder if you have
a traffic complaint you could send the information through the link on our website and that concludes my report thank you thank you manager Z thank you chief mcara may I have a motion to accept the manager's report so moved may I have a
second please I have a second all those in favor say I I I all right we have four eyes the manager report is approved we are now up to our first uh public comment period um this is limited to
items that are not on the agenda so before you come to the microphone take a look at the agenda if there's something you want to talk about now is not the time um for items that are not on the agenda and I'd ask that you please be mindful of the 5 minute limit thank
you good evening my name is John fley I live at 33 St Mary's place in Sparta New Jersey I'd like to begin by expressing my sincere gratitude to the previous Council for appointing me to zoning board it's been an honor to serve the
people of spida in this capacity and I've taken great pride in my role for context I hold a degree in civil engineering from NJIT I am a licensed professional engineer in the state of New Jersey my approach to serving on the zoning board has always been Guided by
fairness professionalism and commitment to understanding each applicant application presented to the board I have a I have consistently base my decision on the testimony of
applicants professionals and the public public in ensuring that every vote I cast I was informed and impartial I firmly believe in upholding the Integrity of the process never making a decision prior to a meeting and
never influence influencing fellow board members via email and never casting votes outside the proper public form given this I'm perplexed and disappointed by my recent by the recent decision not to reappoint me to zoning
board after years of service I was removed without any formal notification either verbal or written adding to my confusion I was originally listed on the reorganization agenda for a reappointment yet a motion was made during the meeting to appoint someone else in my position the lack of
communication and professionalism in handling handling volunteer appointments is very disheartening as a dedicated volunteer and longtime citizen of Sparta I had hoped for the basic courtesy of being informed directly while I respect the
council's authority to make appointments I believe that transf transparency and professionalism should be standard in our Township leaders especially when it concerns residents who volunteer their time and
expertise for the betterment of the sparta Community I remain committed to serving Sparta and hope that future volunteer appointments are handled with greater communication and respect for those willing to serve thank
you and uh Mr pinkle D I think please don't take your um lack of uh reappointment for any indication of the level of service that you've provided or your competency and uh I take your point that the communication advising you could have been better um and I think
the point is well taken so thank you excuse me my name is Jerry Murphy 161 Alpine Trail Ronald Reagan said it best in his debate with Jimmy Carter when he said there you go
again well sported Township Council there you go again and I'm referencing Mr Fin's speech why would you treat a fellow Spartan that way
what a callous disregard for the time and talent volunteers bring to both the Planning and Zoning Board did you replace him with any member on the planning or zoning board with Superior
qualities no you don't appoint you're anointing big difference you don't plan you purge anybody who appears to be an
independent thinker you replace with somebody who will rubber stamp your ideas pathetic but now you have these anoints on the Planning and Zoning Board who can't vote on any issue
why because they're tainted they're all by virtue of Association with members who belong to SRD and I think we all know now what that is the majority of this Council not
everybody is the antithesis of s What I Call srg Spartans for responsible government next year this nation is going to be celebrating 250 years of democracy
while Sparta is be celebrating narcissism but I hope there is hope and I'm going to reference this to Mr Dash You're new to the field of Municipal attorneys so I'm going to give
you a a citation please look up njsa 40 colon 69 9 A-1 168 that'll be the key to the future of
this Council you can on your dime make an executive summary and distributed to the members of the council so they're aware I'm not going to burden the public with what it is
they'll find out all too soon and by the way Mr Dash I'm going to open your billing I don't want to see a lump sump payment or billing I want to see itemized
expenses so I just put you on notice thank hi hi bth Beth brck Northshore um I just want to thank Council last prior councils in this one for the time and effort put in but I think that it's important that both Council and the
members or the residents of Sparta be respectful of each other whether it's a council member or a member of the public that we keep the negative comments and sidebars to a
minimum it's okay to disagree with what a prior Council has done what a current council is doing what an attorney has done but I think at this point we're several weeks into this Council it's time for everybody here in the room and
watching on TV to be grown-ups and stop with the snarky comments and comments about what was read on paper or on Facebook or what acronyms stand for is I'm not singling anybody out because I know I've made my share of comments but
I think it's time that all of us move forward and be adults and address what really matters to Sparta and not personal issues or preferences if there's an issue it can be addressed in email or phone call or whatever but I
think by en larg is time that we move forward from what prior councils have done what this council is doing changes whether it's regarding zoning planning anything it's getting really old I just ask that everybody here
resident and Council kind of move on thank you [Applause] Jim castore two Bell Street and Sparta like to read something into the public record if I may the recent recent National political stage and what our US
president has taught us to have the courage and put the town efforts aside and it goes on to say andad you're the one that wrote this how two people that were running for the Town Council were told to step to the
side so two people could get voted on two people got voted on and all of a sudden well we got a reward Mr
Dash so we fired the town attorney of 40 years we hire Mr Dash we don't hire Mr dash at a lower rate we start him off as the same came rid of somebody who's got 40 years experience you
know prior to this election Christine and Josh were on this side and they were outnumbered by you three over here table has turned Mr blti and for you and Dan you are now the new
Christine and Josh I'm sorry to say that you cannot run the council your way you're running the council you cannot do the stone the zoning the spot zoning anything else you want to change in this town you're in such a
fight for that warehouse you're never going to win and Mr Zep I'm going to open you tomorrow and I want to know where the money came from for you to start a subcommittee that was to take a majority
vote of for of the old Council you didn't get it for the expenditures for that and all of a sudden we have a subcommittee where's that money coming from was voted no mayor all of a sudden we have all this
money we're doing traffic studies on a state highway for 8,500 bucks guess what you have no say over that highway state New Jersey wants to put a driveway right there that's where it's going as far as the traffic out
there those people are passing through Sparta you know you guys are out of control and this the like this person just said no communication throw them off the board you went to the planning
board put on somebody this Holly conflicted put on somebody else that's your Swing Vote off goes that attorney we hire an attorney where was he at the first meeting oh he's not here he's conf
conflicted where's the conflicted attorneys that we hired oh they're not here either we got somebody else we go doe to a traffic study councilman councilman Scott says I found somebody I've been in this business all my life that's not the job
of the Town Council that's the job of the planning board I mean you guys got to get it together here because at the rate you're going last year to Balan the budget my memory serves me you took over $4
million out of the capital reserve fund correct Mr Blen is that about right that doesn't seem accurate two two mil well how you going to put the two mil back can't you can't keep the bleet the
capital reserve fund for something you can't win you are not going to win appealing the state water quality management plan that place over there has been there since 1956 it has no water quality plant
they're prec conforming they're pre-used they don't need one so they can stay there forever they don't need one and for you guys to sue the state of New Jersey I don't know I think you've missed your point Thank you thank you Mr
castore for recognizing all the effort we've put in so far thank you all right anyone else uh for public comment on items not on the agenda all right see none
um hman blue medy would you please read the expenditures for February 25th 2025 y I make a motion that we approve the expenditures for February 25th 2025 in a total of 6,
523,000 $86 may I have a second please second all those in favor of approving the expenditures for February 25th 2025 say I I I I the expenditures for February
25th 2025 have been approved uh we are have no ordinance to introduce tonight uh we do have a hearing on an ordinance so Madam clerk could you please read the title of ordinance
2506 an ordinance of the mayor and Council of the township of Sparta amending chapter 18 entitled comprehensive Land Management code to amend portions of section 18- 4.3a entitled planned commercial Economic
Development Zone pced okay we are now um open to public comment limited to ordinance 2506 so if you are here to speak about ordinance 256 please um come to the microphone and please limit your time period to the
five minutes allocated thank you Eric Wilson I reside at 428 Howard Boulevard in Mount Arlington my business address is 2011 houses Corner Road Sparta New Jersey my parents who cannot be here tonight reside at 203 houses Corner Sparta New Jersey my aunt resides
at 205 houses Corner Road Sparta New Jersey and my 86-year-old grandmother who cannot be here tonight due to health reasons resides at 207 houses Corner Road thank you mayor and members of the council for providing
Clarity the council documents that are reviewed tonight state that the removal of land value does not constitute a taking I just want to come out and say I vly disagree with that it should be clear that even though you have claimed
The Authority tonight to steal it is still theft and it still is immoral though you may believe it to be legal I think we can all find things that are legal in this country that are not right a year and a half ago the previous
Council under the leadership of those members still here launched an assault on my family and a few other property owners specifically my grandmother by far the majority property owner of the pced
Zone well over probably 70% of the property specifically seeking her financial ruin by using the power to restrict her rights to her private property the last Council I thought had seen the error of their ways when we
spoke before them in August of 2023 two members of this Council who were not members then but are seated now made plain in their public comments that night as members of the public that that ordinance didn't go far enough and they advocated for the outright and
complete theft of All rights of the property not simply the restrictions that were proposed at that night I stated at the start of my comments thank you for clarity a year and a half ago I viewed those on this esteemed body to be just my fellow citizens and neighbors
who couldn't possibly want to harm my grandmother and we just had to find a way to common cause it's now been made clear in one of the first official acts of this body this year that it stands in opposition to property rights and the
residence of Sparta my grandmother has resided in this town since 1955 and in her current location since 1966 this Council in one of their first official acts introduced this ordinance with no support simply claiming they were in the
right we spoke tonight about heart health and the mayor quipped that his position is not good for his heart it's probably true it's also not good for your heart to have your government attack you and try to take your entire American Dream away mayor Clark shared in January about
1 Corinthians 14 20-22 and that in this Township we needed to protect the weakest Among Us mayor I want to thank you for being bold about your faith and for sharing that as that might be the only thing that we share together at this point in
time James 1:27 reads religion that is pure and undefiled is this to visit orphans and widows in their Affliction and to keep oneself unstained from the world 1 Peter 5'8 reads be sober minded Be watchful
your adversary the devil prows around like a lion seeking someone to devour Lions do not attack the strong they sit and wait and they pick out the oldest and the weakest from the herd and devour them this Council has set about
the greatest theft in this town's history their first Target an 86-year-old Widow unable to attend this meeting du her health and speak for herself fortunately she has a grandson who can come and speak for her now knowing with full clarity the
intent of this Council I call on my community those that are here tonight those that are watching online those that'll watch this later to stand with me and fight for the rights of citizens the rights of property and especially
the rights of the elderly and the weak and not allow this Council to run rough shot over them thank you thank you thank you um Mr Wilson I appreciate your your heartfelt comments and I want to make it clear this ordinance is in no way is designed for
one particular person or property owner um this is an ordinance uh for all Spartans uh we have a duty the five people who sit up here to protect the safety Health and Welfare of all 20,000 citizens of Sparta and not just to
protect uh the property rights of one person I understand um how meaningful that is to you I I don't disagree with it but you have to understand that this ordinance is not related to one property owner it's related to this entire Zone
it's related to what we think is in the best interest of protecting the S safety Health and Welfare based on the reports that we've identified in there and I you know I understand the effect that you believe that it has um but please know uh it is in no way directed to you or
your family personally and I do recognize the significant contributions that your family has made to Sparta and but this ordinance in no way is designed to to be punitive or to penalize them we are trying to do what's best for all
citizens because all citizens want to return on their investment they pay taxes they raise their children here and what they want in return for that money is a safe environment a quality of life
that they've come to expect and so the return that this Council has to give them on that investment are decisions that we believe as a whole and the whole Township is in their interest and I understand that we will have a disagreement as it relates to you but I
you have to understand that we are trying to do what we think is in the best interest of all Spartans and and and no way is it to try to be punitive um to your family or to be dismissive of the contributions that your family has made to this Township thank you mayor Clark
respectfully prior many extensive public statements of members of this Council and this council's attorney have made it very clear that that is not true and we will fight you to the best of our ability and we trust that truth and Justice will win the day thank you
okay any other public comment I'm short I got to put it down good evening ladies and gentlemen of the council and I say ladies because I know she's here as well she's here telephonically I stand here today representing the Sussex County Economic Development partnership as you know I am
president to express my deep concern of the well-being of Sparta and Sussex County it's come to my attention that you are considering resoning several properties with the pced area numerous land owners in and around the pced area as well as throughout Sussex
County Margie could you put that on mute okay sorry thank you numerous landowners in and around the pced area as well as throughout Sussex County strongly oppose this resoning and the consequent devaluation of their properties many remain silent due to the
fear I'm told of being singled out or demonized as they witnessed in meetings concerning the diamond chip realy this rezoning proposal is sewing Discord in this community that was once peaceful and cohesive this amendment
could greatly affect several businesses especially those with existing buildings including Tech Flex Premier heal and a number of others bank loans or credit lines could be pulled if their buildings are not aligned with current
zoning ordinances and that's a big concern Andor they have prohibited uses as a part of the existing business operating a business in New Jersey is always challenging and I think you know that and such local government overreach
asbat these dis these difficulties the issue at hand is a road infrastructure project in Sparta not a property zoning issue to per se several years ago Senator Oro his team Sparta Township
officials and I met with the state do to discuss adding an additional Lane as far up as Lafayette however the state concluded that traffic was diverting at White Lake Road deeming the expansion
unnecessary instead they adjusted the timing of the light at the White Lake Road and add an additional light at North Village and of course the turning lane given the passage of time and increased traffic countywide it's imperative to reconvene
with the state and our legislative representatives to reassess the road issue it's one that has affected not just Sparta but this entire County all the way up to Pennsylvania furthermore many property owners in the pced area and owners in
other Economic Development zones especially on or near our only active rail line in this County and we've been fighting for rail for a very long time are very concerned many are residents who have been here long before
most of our current council members they have invested in and supported this town for many years and they deserve to preserve the value of their properties free from devaluation and I urge you to reconsider what really is spot zoning as it is not
only harms our countywide businesses and our business base but could lead to litigation costing taxpayers not only lost ratables but also substantial legal fees I also must add that of the
34258 total acres here in Sussex County approximately 47% I say that out loud 47% it's 161,00 , 308 Acres of the land are already permanently preserved which
leaves only 16% by the way 54,83005 while some of the council may feel may may be affluent enough to absorb the potential tax increases resulting from Lost ratables and increased legal expenses I have to say honestly that
many residents may not be in such a position also I've been told to ask has this plan been endorsed has the planning has the planning board endorsed this plan and is it aligned with your master plan one of my main concerns I have is
that we look at Recreation and tourism and you know it's in my heart the challenge is is if we don't have lodging to support that as well then we don't have funding that's coming in tourism needs overnight stays and it's critical for that to happen and
you're looking to change uses that are still tenuous and we and can change this entire County honestly so I ask you and urge you to please reconsider the entire Zone and the businesses that are affected in that because it really is critical and it's
critical not just for Sparta but for the entire Community our towns look to Sparta our surrounding towns and what you've done and how you've grown and I'm really concerned about where Sussex County stands in the future because quite frankly someone like me a general
resident probably won't be able to live here in the future so thank you I appreciate your time you know I have a heart for economic development and balance as well I believe in tourism I believe in preservation I also believe in economic growth and I believe in in reserving the rights for these people
who have lived here for a very long time so thank you thank you thank you um I I will say I do appreciate your advocacy uh on behalf of the susex chamber I know you do a lot of important work um you know please know
that again as I said to Mr Wilson uh this is about the Safety and Health and Welfare of all our citizens and if you look at the Abundant data that we've put there this area is the most highly trafficed probably most
dangerous uh area in the township accidents uh you know lost time lost police resources all dedicated to this particular area and it's that intensity of use that concerns this Township um
more intense use there just leads to more traffic leads to more accidents um and so we are faced with a situation where we're looking at the interest of the entire Township and trying to protect them and that that's our we're we're not here uh there's other areas in
in the township where Economic Development uh can occur uh we encourage that and we we have initiatives to do that but when we see a situation where the safety Health and Welfare of our Township is at Jeopardy we feel compelled to act and that that's what's
motivating this particular particular ordinance and in no way is it you know we do appreciate the business owners there's other initiatives that we do to try to encourage um Economic Development um it's just when the safety Health and Welfare is at stake we feel this is in the best interest of the town to do
it about theway we haven't but we can't wait for them um we can't have you know more accidents after accident while we wait for the state to get off uh what they you know their Collective behinds and and address this issue and maybe at
some point they will um but you make a fair point okay okay thank you evening Kathy EV and cows and scutters road as a concerned member of this community that travels the section of
Route 15 uh by North Village regularly I have felt the frustration of many drivers that are stuck in the gridlock caused by the volume of traffic in front of North Village the number of accidents in this spase has been going up year over-year this is
a trend that needs action to ensure Public Safety reading the results of various traffic studies the high level summary I've understood is that the these rural roads we're in a rural community these
aural roads are already saturated and exceeding their capacity as it is adding anything more to this down could be considered Reckless and careless considering the results of these studies the residents of Sparta trust
you to keep our town character as we love our rural Safe Community why do we have these studies done if we're not going to take action to remedy the negatives these studies are performed by
Professional Engineers planners our own Police Department they've all contributed to these reports I implore you to help keep the sparta we love and appreciate the one that is the reason we moved here it's
rural character thank you thank you any other public comment on uh the ordinance tonight 256 okay I will take it uh back to council for discussion and comments and I'll I'll start to my far left uh councilman Scott anything you want to
address with respect to ordinance 2506 I've been through this ordinance several times and you know I agree with you wholeheartedly that you know Public Safety Health and Welfare is is the priority here as I said I've been through this ordinance several
times uh over the past week and I agree with you that Public Safety Health and Welfare is really the most important I think that's what we were hired for here and I agree with you Mr Mayor thank
you uh councilman Bluey yeah a few comments and then a question um you know we think about the current master plan it was referred asked about just a little while ago we think about the master plan work that's underway and um while it's still a work
in progress there there is a vision there's aspirations and there's planning goals that are being thought through in the new Master Plan um and those you know are things we need to keep in mind when
we consider making a change like this at least for the time being until that master plan is completed um you know I understand the widening of 15 is a has come up over the years um you know the fact is right now Route 15 can't handle the ex existing traffic
um never mind additional traffic and maybe if and when it's widened it' be a different story um maybe it can support a little bit more activity a little bit more uh future additional Economic Development um you know there is an impact on our
neighboring communities as well um and Tammy alluded to that too at Lafayette and other towns around this that we need to keep in mind the uh the question I have is um what what can we do right now with this ordinance and this resolution to ensure that we protect our
existing small business owners that are there right now with existing uses um and I understand that once if this goes through they'll have a you know pre-existing non-conforming use um and that that's not you know it's not common
but it's not rare um so I just want to do uh bring that out for a moment or two ask our attorney just to comment on that um I'm familiar I've heard about um certificates of non-conformity that land
owners can apply for and receive if something like a non-conform use becomes a reality and if that's recommended you know if this should go through things like that if you can just uh mention why it's not uncommon not common not
uncommon but it's something that um can be is is in place today to protect some of the existing business owners because we don't want to hurt our small business owners and our existing uh people who are there now yeah it's a good point and I appreciate I'm happy to address that
and your concerns are well taken the the uh idea of a pre-existing non-conforming use is well established in the municipal land use law and um it encapsulates the idea that Planning and Zoning in municipalities and the state of New
Jersey is not frozen in time there is a fluid discussion in every town as to what appropriate uses of land in a particular town are what may have been an appropriate use of the pced Zone 10
years ago 15 years ago 20 years ago May no longer still be appropriate today and the legislator having recognized that uh fluidity has formulated a mechanism to allow for the
continuity of businesses who a local governing body have decided having taken into totality the considerations of a particular Zone their uses May no longer fit that zone that does not in any way preclude under Section 68 of the
municipal land use law for those businesses to continue in perpetuity under as you indicated section 68 and the certificate of non-conformity the the question that often comes up and I I'll address is
what happens when a pre-existing non-conforming use uh were to be destroyed either partially destroyed or totally destroyed well fortunately our legislator uh considered that and they addressed it they addressed it by indicating that a pre-existing
non-conforming use uh that has a non-conforming certificate is allowed to continue in perpetuity even when it's partially destroyed um in the case of a part full destruction the landowner is not without
aail a landowner May apply to the zoning board for any number of variances either a D2 variance or a d D1 variants to continue that use in perpetuity without being infringed upon by this ordinance
and so the protections of the businesses they should rest assured uh that who are existing the small businesses and bear in mind we there there are a fairly limited number of of businesses I I would like to correct the statement that was made earlier the tech Flex uh
business is not in the pced zone um that's further back off of I believe um but uh there may be an ancillary I the the really large building back uh along Demis Road I understand is in the Ed Zone um but uh
to answer your question councilman the the both the legislator and our land use law in in the state and local uh ordinances recognize the circumstance and the concern that you raise and which is a valid concern what about expansion
or if they were to stop if if the we're not going to handle comments from the the gallery it's just not appropriate but I'll I think one question I do have this is the follow up on councilman blue medy which is um what
about pre-existing news that say wants like a Premier Health wants to get purchased by Atlantic Health um would Atlantic Health be able to continue in that use assuming they want to continue the same use would this ordinance in any way affect such a transaction it it
would not the the purchase would would go on because the use is not changing there would be no consequence in fact the courts have indicated that an intensity of tenants may not be increased tenants may not even be a Prohibition so they could they could continue on if there's a change either
by way of a lease or by way of fee fee fee simple would it have to be a compl I'm sorry but you raised such a good question um what about uh a different use that's similar so you know obviously
the concern for this Council was intensity of the use and so when we looked at the intensity of the use in the zone um particularly the the trip generation and so um say it's a different use but has the same amount of
of trip generation as the pre-existing use would that argument favor someone who wanted to say purchase Premier Health it's not going to be a health uh manage you know Health Care Facility it will be something else but it will have the same or similar intensity of use as Premier does now would that be an
argument that the purchaser could use to to allow uh to take over the property yes so each case is it would be analyzed on a fact sensitive basis namely the courts have articulated a standard of substantial similarity and so depending
on the nature of the use that is coming in the planning board or the zoning board likely the zoning board would have to evaluate what that new use is and would compare that use to the existing use and depending on what how substantially different or similar the
use is the applicant can apply for either a certificate of nonconformity one two a D2 variance for an expansion or enlargement of a pre-existing use or three a D1 use variance and could come in in either of those ways and the
critical point being that each of those variances are tied to very articulate standards under section 40 col 55d d70 D1 D2 and D3 of the municipal land use law which contemplate each of these
circumstances the case law is very well developed in New Jersey on the pre-existing non-conforming uses for the very types of scenarios you describe Mr Mayor you thank you appreciate it thank you I I just I'll I'll close with I know we
need to it's it's important that we follow up on our commitment about the free flow traffic on Route 15 and right now I think that that is something that's not happening um we also I think need to keep in mind this is again conversations
that happen you know at the master plan subcommittee level but in general around the rural character I mean that's in our original master plan it's in you know any amendments since then about protecting that rural character and you know you see things about deterring sprawl or um inappropriate sprawl are
preserving the quality of life so I think those are things that we need to keep in mind uh when we consider um issues and opportunities and and moves like this thank you thank you councilwoman Murphy do you have
anything yes I just I wanted to say that uh I travel that road and I am there a couple times a day actually and the state has been promising on and off over the years to do something with 15 and they have not and unfortunately with
everything from North Village and the other with the traffic from the the shop right center it is a nightmare and I thank his mck and all his all officers for being there because
I constantly hear the sirens going and for I work at the food pantry and it's it is a nightmare and uh it just can't sustain an another development or a and
farming is and green and beautiful skze and open space is why we all moved here so I I have to say this is is a good motion going
forward thank you thank you thank you councilwoman Murphy uh anyone else wishing to be heard okay uh before we take a vote I do need to make a motion to amend uh part of this ordinance uh these are
non-material changes just some language changes um just one second um so I would make a motion to amend uh to um under the purpose is that
right uh attorney Dash if you could direct me to the part of the ordinance that we are attempting to to change it's the second page of the ordinance section one sub paragraph a
okay got it and so uh the motion is is to make the following changes to subp paragraph a which is in the first sentence after the word Zone put when established so the sentence would read
the initial purpose of the route 15 plann commercial Economic Development Zone open pen pced closed pen Zone when established which is the new language was to permit the development of the areas of land along Route 15 West of
Route 15 north of New York scah Western Railroad rideway and houses Corner Road in South Wilson Drive and also another change is starting uh with the sentence that says
therefore so after the word therefore you put the following therefore the purpose of ordinance 25-06 is to promote the public health safety and Welfare of the township by
limiting the uses in the pced zone to Agricultural and outdoor recreation period so my motion is to amend the ordinance um as stated so may I have a motion to amend
ordinance 2506 as stated Neil can I ask you to repeat that second one again and are are we striking what's currently there after that comma so you inserted after the word therefore are we striking the rest of it no that would be that that would you
know it be an additional therefore sentence so would be therefore and then that that therefore would continue therefore restriction of further development would stay okay so we're adding a new sentence yeah we're basically adding a new sentence okay can you repeat the sentence then please sure the sentence is therefore comma the
purpose of ordinance 2506 is to promote the public health safety and Welfare of the township by limiting the uses in the pced zone to Agricultural and outdoor recreation period
okay so may I have a motion to amend 2506 as stated so moved may I have a second please I'll second okay all those in favor of amending ordinance 2506 as
stated say I I I I okay uh ordinance 256 is amended as previously stated now may I have a motion to approve ordinance 2506 as amended I make a motion to approve 2506
as amended uh may I have a second please I will second Madam clerk may have a roll call vote councilman Scott yes councilman bledi yes Deputy Mayor
Murphy yes mayor Clark yes ordinates 256 has passed all right we are now up to our next uh p uh public comment period uh this is
related to the resolutions and so um if you have something you want to say about the resolutions please uh look at them they're on page four of the agenda I'll say this and I'll go the fact that Mr Dash was unclear on which
of the boards handles use variances encourages me in our battle have a great night I do want to address um I'm sorry that he left but that uh Mr Wilson um asked about and and was concerned about
his property and and the valuation um and I alluded to the this last year um that there is a program that the state Agricultural Development Committee offers uh by which the state will
purchase land from a landowner for the fair market value of the property um and so I found out about that and uh encouraged uh Mr Wilson to
pursue that program and and uh my understanding was in July uh 23rd of 2024 not my understanding we did do the sparta Council we signed a confirmation letter for the state Agricultural Development Committee indicating that we support efforts to preserve this farm
and provide compensation to the owner in July 25th the state Agricultural Development Committee held a hearing to preliminary approve uh the participation of the what
I will call the Wilson uh property into that program so this was the part where the state Agricultural Development Committee would decide whether that property qualified for participation in the program and so if it if they voted
yes it did The Next Step was for the state to then appraise the property um so on July 25th 2024 the state Agricultural Development Committee approved D of the Wilson
Property to participate in this program they approved it and so the next step was to get an appraisal of the property um unfortunately I learned in August of 2024 from representatives of the state Agricultural Development Committee that
the Wilsons had decided to not participate in that program and that's unfortunate um if people have any knowledge about this program um they will know this program was used successfully in Warren County um where there was a a
development proposed for a million sare foot Warehouse um the landowner Mr jindel uh J AI n DL had bought the property in 2019 from Talon energy and he bought it for $1.3 million in
2019 in 2024 the state Agricultural Development Committee agreed to purchase that land for $27.4 million that's about $48,000 an
acre and uh councilman Scott can probably correct me on my math but if you look at the return on investments 144% return on on his investment and so it was my view that this was a reasonable alternative that
was Avail to the Wilsons that they decided not to to Avail themselves of and so after that that and seeing the sa safety and traffic concerns that we have here uh we were left with no choice of our solemn duty to protect the
sa safety Health and Welfare of our citizens and that's what we've done tonight so I just thought that needed to to be on the record thank you okay we are uh any other comment on the resolutions okay see no one uh we're going to take
these one by one there's not a lot of them we normally try to do uh a bunch when we have a lot we do them all together but tonight we're just going to do them one by one because there's four of them uh may I have a motion to approve resolution 91 which is a resolution authorizing tax collector to
refund tax overpayment due exemption so moved may I have a second please I will second oh those in favor say I I I resolution 91 has been approved may have a motion to approve
resolution 92 resolution of the township of Sparta awarding the bid for the township of Sparta contract number CN 25-1 for duct tile iron and hdp pipe mechanical fittings fire hydrants Water
Service Repair hardware and related activities can I ask a question of Mr Zep here on this one let's get to so the way we do that is we do a motion a second and then before we vote we can then talk about we first have to um get a first in a second
so I may I have a motion to approve ordinance or resolution 92 so moved may I have a second please second all right fire away you're going to use two different vendors here right for phase one and then two three and four is a different
vendor corre correct how do you make sure that that all works together when the bid goes out you have different categories of material so each category is is Bid by different vendors and then each each
category is then evaluated for the best value for the town and then an award is made which you're seeing right now okay that's why you have different vendors for different categories and the town benefits the best because it's getting the best bang for ex buuck on
that specific type of material like fire hydrant would be separate from the ductile iron all these materials are for our water utility thanks anyone else have questions with respect to resolution 92 okay um all those in favor of
approving resolution 92 say I I I I all right next up we have a motion I'm sorry with resolution 93 uh resolution to support publishing legal notices on official government
websites may I have a motion to approve resolution 93 I move that we approve resolution 9-3 second and just my understanding of this is that um you know now that there's a lack of uh I guess paper newspaper um you know I know
is the is the asbery Park Press and Star Ledger Star Ledger um um have have now seized their uh print edition it now become necessary to allow our notices to be uh done on electronic websites
correct okay and so if if you're a um a newspaper that that publishes only through um you know electronic means we would be able to satisfy the legal notices by publishing there that's what this there's a bill in the Senate to or
in the house correct and and I believe that there are allowing still the the print version to carry out for the rest of the year as well so it gives our clerks really who are really responsible for the notification to use uh these media Avenues out but it it it would
appear that the printing Edition is slowly fading out as we're seeing and it gives us the ability to use the digital version okay well um as much as I going to miss getting my hands dirty with ink I'm still the old New York Times paper
so um I wish paper would come back but you know so be it but I'm glad that we can you know satisfy that there is a bill pending and Trenton to satisfy our legal notice requirement Visa uh via Visa VA a an electronic means so all
those in favor of uh resolution 93 say I I I resolution 9 uh thank you Council Murphy uh 93 has passed next is resolution uh 94 it's the resolution of the sparta Township
governing body setting forth reasons pursuant to njsa 40 col 55 D- 62a for adopting ordinance number 2506 to amend portions of section 18-4 31a of the comprehensive Land
Management code entitled plan commercial Economic Development Zone notwithstanding ordinance number 2506 is partial inconsistency with the land use element of the sparta Township master
plan so may I have a motion to um approve resolution 94 so moved uh may I have a second please I just need a second on resolution 94 otherwise I'll do it myself right I will SEC second okay
um and again this is the resolution so if you want to know uh the reasonings behind ordinance 2506 uh grab yourself a cup of coffee and sit down and read the 26th page is it are we up to 26 Pages uh the
resolution that cites over uh nine different studies uh four other uh studies that pre-existed the studies cited there uh their citations to case law uh it's a very well-drafted
um piece of work and I commend uh our attorney uh Mr dash for a very thorough and very thoughtful um resolution and I I thank you for your efforts thank you I just have a question on this
one have there been any additional changes since earlier today that I'm not aware of uh just the request that you had made U for the uh adding the um the highlands uh for the hu hu 14
okay and you know what I am going to I realized there is a typo not a typo yes there is um so um it has to do with footnote one and on my page it's I don't know
what page of the resolution is it's my page 22 so it's it's footnote one of the resolution yeah I noted it okay thank you so um I would make a motion that we amend uh footnote one of the resolution
to reflect the level of service is e not F that's correct because the foot it footnotes the footnote one corresponds to the letter e but as currently drafted it says F and so just for the public this is on page 21
correct bottom of page 21 so I will make a motion to amend uh resolution 94 to replace uh the letter F with the letter E in footnote one so that's the motion second all those in
favor say I I I I I all right now I will um make a motion to approve resolution 94 as amended may I have a motion to approve resolution 94 as amended like to make res
uh a motion to accept 94 as amended may I have a second please I'll second all those in favor say I I I resolution 94 that's passed we are now up to the
council liaison update portion of the evening uh councilman Scott do you have any Council a on updates that you would like to share with us uh yes the planning board uh met last week um we
had a new application and that was approved for a uh industrial use um and also we hired a new uh attorney for the planning board Mr Ken porro who will be joining us on I
believe May I'm sorry March 5th March 3rd sorry that's all thank you councilman blue medy the uh first business development committee meeting will be this Thursday
evening so the 27th at 7 p.m here in town hall in a large conference room freshly redone newly renovated large conference room uh the business development committee uh which Mark and I are on uh will meet every 4th Thursday
through the end of October and then December 4th again uh it's the fourth Thursday of the month it's not the last Thursday necessarily it's the fourth Thursday that's all I have thank you okay councilwoman Murphy do you have any
Council EA on updates you'd like to share with us I do the environmental committee um Earth is tly set still for May 3rd and on March 13th they are going to have a speak
plant This Not That which is the the best uh suggestion for plant for to keep our soil healthy and uh it's from a res program so that would be I I don't know
the speaker but uh people are welcome to come for that and I'll get more information as it gets closer and they had a speaker uh Miss Jenna black from the New Jersey wersh she's a New Jersey Watershed Ambassador
and she gave it a a talk on lead exposure and lead in the soil and in the water and uh what's interesting is the fact that there any spices that come
from overseas or anywhere outside the United States have lead in them se you buy shop right you said is is is very good and and does not have any bring anything in with lead in it which I can't I just find that
amazing but excuse me um and it native the the the um plant This Not That is
by and it's native Native Plant and work continues on coordin and then will you do lmcc meal um unless you want to do it I'm
happy for to to se it to you they are going lmcc is going oh one more thing I'm sorry with the environmental they're working on the dark sky ordinances and all the lighting for the whole town to include in the
master plan so um also uh with lmcc the uh bridge going over westore Trail by Indian Trail looks like it will start
commencing work probably some June once school is out and uh it may take all summer to complete and we will have more updates once the we have our Engineers have met with Lake moho Country Club and
they working on final plans and once we have more information on that we will get that to everybody of of how we're going to rot um the senior committee uh looking for more ways to if
anybody has any suggestions more ways of getting out to uh the public events that are happening in around the area if anybody has any suggestions please email me and let me
know and for right now so I was unable to attend that but I will update more next sessions I was unable to attend that's all I have right now thank you thank you and feel better um thank you
uh so first the um revolutionary 250 I'm happy to report that we have a event uh attentively scheduled it's a little ways off but again people remember revolutionary 250 is a committee dedicated to celebrating the 250th
anniversary of our country but also with a specific focus on uh Sparta and so we do have in January of 2026 um we are going to have at crows what's called Tavern talks and what that
is is you get um Colonial period reenactors to um Converge on on crows and to kind of it's an immersive exercise where you will feel like you stepped into a bar uh in 17 you know 75
where they're discussing you know the issues of that day um and so there's you know it's a really interesting and and uh you'll learn a lot from it and and and if you think that what you'll learn has no applicability to today um
probably haven't been following the news and so I would encourage people to to to participate we'll have more on it um we continue as a committee to really try to engage all the various you know folks uh in in Sparta uh with ideas about how
they would like to celebrate the um the uh 250 50th Anniversary um I've already volunteered uh councilman Scott to recreate the crossing of the Delaware and to get his boat across Lake Mohawk
um so we're working on that um we just got to get his costume um and any event it's going to be fun there's a lot of you know and and and really we're we're bounded by the creativity of your ideas and I encourage anyone you don't have to be on the committee to submit iy I have
a good idea um just know if you have that idea we may make you run with it and execute on it so um but really hopeful that people will encourage um you know participation in that so that's revolutionary 250 uh our Trails
committee is meeting again on Thursday um of next week uh much of our time was spent uh trying to um figure out the grant information that we got um with respect and thank you to our environmental uh committee for uh
basically allowing us to access those funds and to use it for signage um and on um Glen on Sparta Mountain um also with our Trails committee we are in the
process of you know we have and and we're not really at Liberty right now because there's you know property owners that are affected um that we have to but we have we do hope in the near future to come to uh Council and present our plans
for Trails but as you can imagine part of the due diligence that's required is you have to look to see who owns the property along where the trail would be because you would either need some type of EAS easement or permission and so as we started to look into what we want to
do there's one private property owners there's say uh nonprofits who own it and so we're trying luckily we have uh Doug D on our committee who is serving the entire Township it seems like and knows who owns what and so we're
reaching out to uh some of the property owners or people with interest in the property to um figure out how we can best effectuate and so you know there will come a time we will be able to identify that plans but because it involves private property that could be
affected by negotiations we're just not at Liberty right now to really disclose what those are but um we're trying to do the most feasible ones what we call the lwh hanging fruit first there is a countywide meeting um I think next week also we're working with the county on
this as well cu the counties uh part of their property AB but some of the trails that we're looking at so um we're really busy in that committee but we hope to um have something to present in the next few months that we can tell uh Sparta
here's the trails that we really want to work on and then try to effectuate that as you can imagine there's a fair amount of legal work and other work involved um given where these um properties are and where the trails are next is the film
committee um with the film committee uh we heard back from the state and um they they finally got around the state finally got around to trying to have some uniformity among these um ordinances that exist you know we have
562 municipalities in uh New Jersey and the state um got back to us and has a few tweaks to the ordinance that they want to make um they're they're pretty minor I think there's like four or five I have to look at them but they'll in a future date we we'll be making you know slight
Amendment to the ordinance because the idea behind the state is they don't want uh you know a entertainment production company to say well I you know how do I ever figure out whether I'm going to film in New Jersey there's 562 different ordinances it would help if there's some uniformity there so um we we will
probably in a future date uh have that uh in the meantime I think I had U alluded to um that there was filming done in Sparta um you know it's like a right now it's a 12-minute what they call us in the industry a Sizzle reel
which is something that you present to entertainment companies when you want to uh convince them to um create a series like a Netflix or Apple TV so that is in post production right now um and it's
it's it's very well done I've seen bits and pieces of it and for those of you who saw Emerald ties um this is a Next Level above that and so looking forward to once that finishes we will have a uh screening open to the public for that so
that you can see it um we hope to have people from the industry there that you can meet and talk to and then finally I will be attending on Sunday the New Jersey film uh committees uh they're
having a Oscar um viewing party and so I'll I'll be there with members of the commission and other people from the industry and we'll of course be talking up Sparta as a place to film and next up is the recreation
committee um we have gotten some applications I think roxan and I need to look at those uh cuz I think I alluded to earlier we need people on the recreation committee um but we need you to help support the Endeavors that the recreation department is doing I think
what the issue that they've had in the past is they need members not just to come to the meetings but to support say the winter carnival um uh you know Sparta day other things that the rec committee does um they could use help with that I know we've gotten some
applications so I think next um Town council meeting I will uh have some names to that we can add and then hopefully I will talk to Gene montimurro about our next meeting so send some of those to her okay I sent them so she was aware okay
good okay um is there anything else no I think um with lmtc there there was one issue which is I I understand um from their uh their attorney not uh Mr
Dash and a different attorney that um there's an issue with the zoning map right now um with respect to how the Mets and Bounds of the uh TCC Zone um that under as currently the way it looks is the TCC Zone
incorporates the um Lake Mohawk which Lake Mohawk was historically I think a C1 historic Zone um if I'm right and that changed um for purposes of a Federal grant a few years ago that they wanted to make it at TCC so they could
get the the Federal grant well that Federal grant has since outlived its utility and so the utility of needing this uh for the um Lake Mohawk to be in the TCC Zone has now expired and so um probably in the next month or so we have
to look I think their attorney had sent us something that we have to look at um about um bringing back Lake Mohawk to the C1 historic area cuz as it is uh a historic area and I think it would be
the um the support of the community to to continue that historic um preservation there so stay on the lookout for that and that are all the council leaon updates I have um does anyone have any
unfinished or new business they want to address yep I do uh and one follow-up comment on that zoning with Lake Mohawk I would say that we weave that in with the master plan subcommittee work because the master plan subcommittee as part of the land use element is going to
be looking at all the zones um and figuring out if the changes need to be made looking at historic districts things like that so I would say that instead of doing a an ad hoc change just for a few months that we talked to the m plan subcommittee and put on their radar to evaluate this there's also the state
plan endorsement process for Town Center um that we kind of paused because the state was finalizing their new vision for that that's also impacts the Town Center boundaries and all that so we just probably want to make sure that we're not messing anything up while we go around and change something back
being that we're looking at all this at once Catherine our planner is roped in on this and she's working with the the the attorney from Lake Mohawk and she's aware of exactly what you're saying okay so but right understood okay uh just two
quick updates one is um I had the pleasure of attending the sparta Chamber of Commerce meeting last week um had some great conversations it was the first time my understanding first time held at the sparta Diner so uh little shout out thank Sparta diner for the delicious
food and Service uh it was nice a nice venue uh there was a lot of interest in a few things I talked to them about uh particularly affordable housing and they're uh uh they're also very interested in the business development committee um naturally being the Chamber
of Commerce uh and they're actually a liaison and if we don't have one yet we'll have to add one to the BDC that's supposed to be representative of the chamber in Sparta um and you that's where the communication back and forth goes uh but it was a good meeting uh
second new business is I'd like to um uh make a nomination to appoint someone to the cultural Affairs committee um apparently there's a couple applications that came in in November November December time frame I think this was November um for someone
interested in cultural Affairs there's traditional cultural Affairs there's a second person I think that's interested in film committee so we'll handle that separately U so the uh her name is Janelle leard j n l l e last name l e d
y a r d and she uh was interested in volunteering for the cultural Affairs committee so I'd like to make a motion uh to appoint Janelle to the cultural Affairs committee I'll second the motion all those in favor say I I
I and welcome what's her name Janelle ledard welcome Janelle ledger to the cultural Affairs committee excellent okay that's all I have for now thanks okay councilwoman Murphy do you have any uh unfinished business new business you
want to address no I don't thank you okay cman scottt I'm good okay um I also attended the um installation dinner for our fire department it's
always um a fantastic showing also they have uh more food than you could ever imagine uh as consistent with fire departments but I I I think you know as I reflect on what they do I'm it's it's very
important um you know we we rely on these volunteers at the most critical moment of our lives and they show up and they it it was as I pointed out when I spoke they no year is easy for them but last
year was difficult they there was brush fires we had a fatality unfortunately um but they get up day after day and do it and we do was mentioned we do uh we finally got our fire our new fire truck um I think they
will be showing it off some time soon we're planning that but it is no mean feat this year uh in this economy to get a fire Tru it takes up to 5 years um uh as someone who looks at the
competitiveness of Industries the the manufacturing of fire trucks is problematic um there's been huge consolidation in that industry and due to that consolidation and the overtaking of private Equity to it um has caused
sign significant delays in the output of and cost of fire engines so we're very fortunate to uh have a new fir truck but given the delays it's almost by the time you get it you have to start discussions about the next one that you have to buy
um CU folks may have seen that there were in in the LA fires there are over I think 178 fire trucks out of commission simply because they couldn't get the parts um the ones that they had ordered had not arrived yet so um we are very
fortunate and Sparta to have now a delivery of a fire Tru so I'm I'm I'm very happy about that and so with that I have no other unfinished or new business anyone forget something that they needed to say about
unfinished their new business okay yeah I just want to thank Council plti for uh covering the Chamber of Commerce for me as I was out of town thank you absolutely thank you and I encourage other Council people can go to that and so don't feel like you have to do the duty all the time so I think they like
to hear from different Council people so all right we're now up to the final uh public portion of the meeting uh this isn't limited by the agenda so anything you want to talk about please do mayor Eric Wilson I understand after
I left the meeting that you proceeded to disclose information regarding conversations we had with State Farm board which we were assured were confidential so that's very disturbing to me that those conversations were made public by you
it's disturbing that you even knew about it because it was supposed to be confidential we had those meetings because you requested it we sat with them we came to an we signed the requested agreement which required that we not Market not sell and do nothing with the property while they conduct
their appraisals and make us an offer and we waited 7 months and heard heard nothing and then at the end of the seven months the first thing we heard was we need you to sign another six-month agreement they never made an offer they never conducted a single appraisal and your assertion that we turned away tens
of millions of dollars is a patent false lie so I need to correct the record for the public and I highly suggest that you keep confidential things confidential and you not air people's conversations with PE with with with potential buyers
of their property on the public record it is highly unprofessional and Unbecoming of your office thank you you can that's a matter of public record you can go to the state agricultural development committee and you will find your property listed yes we had a
conversation with and and I did not say that you I said there's an opportunity for that you didn't turn down millions of dollars that's not what I said there was no opportunity presented we waited and they did nothing and they just wanted us to do continue to do nothing
and given the pressure that this body and the planning board placed upon us to sell to them or else we now know what the Els is here tonight so I just uh I walked out I reviewed on YouTube what you said and I'm just appalled appalled
that you chose to make those assertions and imply to people what happened which is just not what happened we've been trying to work with you for two years honestly and in good faith and it's clear that that is not being returned
good night just one clarification to something Mr Wilson said uh you incorrectly stated the planning board wanted to purchase and wanted to so you said that this planning board wanted you to sell that property to them or the town that's not true that's not what I intended to say I thought that it was communication no one no one made any
offers to buy the property not the planning board not the town not the State Farm board no one else we were promised an offer in 6 months and they made no effort to do so aside having a public meeting apparently saying that they were going to do it they took no
action so that's where we are but that's not something I should have to discuss with you in front of all the residents of Sparta and YouTube so you know just uh well if you're going to accuse this Council of stealing your
property that's those were statements that you made am I am I right yes okay you accused us of stealing your property well not yet but you know when the ordance becomes effective but yes so if if you're going to Lodge those allegations against this against this Council we will clear the record what
would you consider it to be if someone comes and says you can no longer use your property the way that you were able to use it and in fact you can do nothing with it except economic inutility well am I correct that you've
been using it as a farm ever since you've owned that property in fact I think it's 180 years it's been used as a farm yes are you are you saying that you were you did not have an opportunity to uh prior to the change of this ordinance to use that property in the best way you
thought fit uh we've been pursuing it and on multiple occasions for the past 10 years Sparta has made it incredibly difficult to do so and they're just uh capping it off tonight well other businesses in that zone have been able to um oper find uses
for that that Z just kind of confused why you why you've had problems I don't understand your question why it wasn't built already yeah You' you've owned that property for a long time it's been used as a farm for 180
years so my my question is why haven't you done it why did you know you're laying that on our feet but but you know some people have to act upon their rights sir that's what I'm trying to propose to you that you are acting you you you've suggested that
it's not theft because we can simply just say the rights of the many to wish that they have a more rural character of their Town supersede the rights of the few and their property that's what you've said tonight and that's just an
an antithetical to everything I thought we we stood for and and and private property rights and the American dream and trying to to make our community better there's it's been very clear that there's one target of this Zone in the
past the target is us and then upon leaving oh you know they did talk to the farm it's very unfortunate but you know they didn't choose to participate in that program that's a mischaracterization of what happened and I just think it was wrong to discuss and
that's that's all I have to say okay point tanken Thank you thank you for your time any other public comment uh Rob Auto Northshore Trail um so some of you might remember I think I said something after Mr Wilson was here
last um and I was hopeful that there would be kind of that farmland uh acquisition so I'm disappointed but it sounds like it's the state that uh didn't follow through possibly
um I you mentioned the revolution program and it got me thinking about Wharton and you know hey it would be interesting to have a discussion about mining iron mining in the area as we know it was you
know there was a lot going on Con conal Congress actually took the Andover Iron Works um and started making iron for the American uh the the nent American uh
forces and so that would be interesting but then that gets me to uh the characterization that uh this body is looking to preserve the rural character and I think that
that's probably true but uh I would urge people to look at the subsurface as we talk about mining we look at sinkholes and um you know Mr castore was up here earlier I'm surprised because you know he got Chris Quinn I think Josh
Herzberg uh I think Neil you actually called the EPA and we all heard about aop polymers development and uh how even now we're dealing with subsurface issues um that haven't been resolve so for the
people that would push development um it's not always the sub Arial stuff there's subsurface concerns um concerns that I have uh about health safety and well-being uh I'm not saying that um a land owner
shouldn't be able to get their money out of their land but I just you know I have lots of questions myself we've asked about like what ratables did North Village get us I know the previous Council was all about ratables ratables ratables I'm curious about that
um and I know like Herzberg uh Mr Herzberg uh said Trenton didn't leave us much in the Ed Zone there nothing we can really do about that right um so I don't know I'm just up here because there's a
bunch of other questions I feel like there's some comments been made by Mr cmore Mr Murphy Mr Wilson uh and there's a big picture thing I hope that people can come to the table and we
can come up with something um but I understand what you guys are are doing here and I don't think it's punitive but uh I probably shouldn't even be saying that but thanks for your time thank you hi Jenny Derek tap into Sparta I'm
sorry if I missed Mr zap if you made it uh comments in your report I'm sorry if I missed it but did we have a good outcome on the 20th for the Brownfield hearings we did
okay um and how many acres it was 75 that you had reported in the oah request that I made I think it was uh closer to 69 it was very close to 70 okay and do we know where that land is going who is going to own that land or
how is it going to be encumbered um no I I I was I participated in the in the the council the virtual meeting with the wetlands Council I was happy to see that they approved of the proposal to uh donate the property in Le of payment uh
in order to mitigate the 2.75 Acres at the landfill so that was approved so now I'm waiting to hear as to the next step on donation of the property and obtaining a a wetland permit which then allows us to resume closing our landfill
okay so that's the state yet or that that body that you appeared in front of for the or whoever our representative of here um the EP Wetlands um they are the ones that will determine where the land is going to be
banked yeah I believe there's two Land Conservancy type uh groups that that they will uh accept and that we we could choose okay we choose I I believe so okay they'll give us the option of uh you know they're just happy that it'll
be preserved in perpetuity okay and do we have a timeline on that I don't but I hope it's sooner than later because we've waited long enough so that's the next step you have to get a permit a Wetlands permit correct and
then then the um I I forget the name of the company the solar C Renewables thank you um at that point they can go ahead and start their construction is that the last barrier well we'll want to close the landfill so we would then fill in
the the mid the the Wetland area and and then they would uh proceed with grading and then they could proceed uh uh they have to still um uh approach the planning board with their plan okay uh I know that they have a plan develop but
we've been waiting for this order to to take place first okay and do they are they responsible for reapplying or um appealing the denial for um uh the brown field to be no to be in
the um BPU to be to be a a utility yes and and and the town helps with that okay and so that that goes kind of all at the same time is that what you're okay all right thank you but it's it's good news and I'm glad you yes uh any other public comment on
anything you want to talk about all right seeing that um we are up to the adjournment portion of the evening uh may I have a motion to adjourn I make a motion to adjourn may I have a second please I will second all
those in favor say I I I all right get some rest and get better coun woman worthy all right thank you thanks for soldiering on appreciate it