on the following items at the regular council meeting on Tuesday, July 28th, 2026 in council chambers, Sparta Township Municipal Building, 65 Main Street, Sparta, New Jersey. Regular meeting is now opened at 7:23 p.m. All
council meetings are now livereamed and can be viewed at the following link. YouTube.comignspartwpstreams Adequate notice of this meeting was provided to the public and the press on January 7th, 2026 by delivering to the press and posting on the township
website a copy of the notice. Madame clerk, welcome back. >> It's nice to have you. >> Thank you. [laughter] >> Uh, and may I please have a roll call? >> Councilman Scott >> here. >> Councilwoman Murphy >> here. >> Councilman Clark >> here. >> Deputy Mayor Sylvester >> here.
>> Mayor Blummedi >> here. Would you please all rise and join me in a salute to our flag? >> I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and
justice for all. For anyone who's attended or or viewed our council meetings this year, you know that I began each meeting with a few words to level set us emphasizing the fact that we are part of one small community and we value civility. I do
know that it resonates with many. So tonight, just a reminder to strive to be a role model for decorum and acting respectively to one another. Everyone here deserves that. Thank you. So, first on our agenda tonight, we have
a special presentation is Mr. Medina. Here, come on up. See, we can uh give a microphone. Mr. Medina is uh representing Mothers Against Drunk Driving, MAD from Northern New Jersey. >> Would you like this microphone, sir? Or
that one behind you? Good evening everyone. Once again, my name is Pedro Medina and I'm a program specialist for Mothers Against Drunk Driving. Before I begin, I just want to thank the mayor, all council members, Chief McCarrick,
Lieutenant Antelo, and the entire Sparta Police Department for giving me the opportunity to be here. Thank you. uh going to speak a little bit about what we do in MAD. Okay. Uh my role as a specialist is to educate and bring
awareness to fourth and fifth graders, middle schools, high schools, as well as parents as to the dangers and consequences of impaired driving and underage substance use. Me brief history on MAD. M was founded in 1980 by a lady by the name of Candace
Lightner in California who lost a 13-y old daughter to a drunk driver. Prior to that offense, the driver had been convicted of four DWI and he was still on the road. So, he was charged with vehicular manslaughter and sentenced to two and a half years in
prison. Two and a half years for killing a 13-year-old. And of course, as fate would have it, I'm getting stuck in here. As fate would have it, he did not serve all two and a half years, of course, and he was found, as
soon as he got out of prison, he was found in another city in California driving drunk and hitting another lady. So, upon learning all this, the mother of the 13-year-old got together with other mothers and decided to go to Congress to ask for
stricter and harsher laws and DW offenders. And they were very successful because in 1984 then President Reagan passed the MLDDA law minimum legal drinking age of 21. Originally was 18 years old.
So when when she started his organization she had a vision and that vision was to have no more victims in the future and the way that we carry on that vision of us is by concentrating on three areas and drunk and drug driving. support the
victims and their families of this horrific crashes and and of course um and um I'm sorry uh I'm sorry for a minute um support the victims of the this support the victims and their families of this horrific
crash crashes and uh prevent underage drinking and drug use. Um, I just want to say that, you know, when um if you or anyone here uh has been
impacted or anyone that you know of has been impacted by a drunk driving crash, we're here to support you, okay? We have a victim services unit that does that. We we gather you go to court. If they have to go to court, we accompany them. We also um give them some resources. say
if they have a brief, we give them resources for that. So we c we we carry them and and we give them all the support that we that we can. All right. Um the other thing is that what what what I do is I go to the schools. Okay. So um if anyone is a member of the
school board or I would love to come to the schools here, the school u district and present the presentation. As a matter of fact, I brought the presentations that we have here. I'll leave them here for you to look at. Um, as I as I said before, we we we have uh
we have a pro me presentation which is for the fourth and fifth graders. Then we have a power of the youth which is for uh middle schools and high schools. And we have a promposal as well uh for the those that are attending the prom. And that that contains a school a great activity which is uh they get to try out
the the goggles and and make them feel how it is to be impaired. Um and we also have a power parents presentation for the parents. We This is a great presentation. It it gives you it gives the parents it tells them all the misperception that they have about uh
impaired driving or or drug use as well. Um let's see what else I can tell you here. We do have a um I forgot to tell you. We do have a 247 hotline for anybody who has been impaired by drunk driving crash. Okay. or an impaired driving
crash. And it the number is 177 MAD HELP. That's 877-62334735. And all of our presentations including the victim services unit are all free of charge. There's no charge whatsoever. Um
now uh with all uh I came here for a very important uh presentation and that's to present the the certificate of excellence to patrolman uh Paul Wel. Okay. It is my honor to recognize patrolman
Paul Wel with his outstanding dedication and commitment to keeping our roads and commitments and communities safe. Through his efforts to deter paying, he has helped prevent tragedies and protect lives. His professionalism, vigilance, and commitment to public
safety represent the very best in law enforcement. So on behalf of mothers against drunk driving, I am proud to present patrolman Wel with this certificate of excellence award for his recognition of his dedication to preventing impaired driving and making a road safer.
Patrolman Winel, thank you so much for your service. >> Thank you, sir. >> And for the difference you make in our community and congratulations on a well very welldeserved recognition. >> Thank you. All right. Thank you so much. Thank you. Oh,
>> okay. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Thank you for all you do. >> Yes. We appreciate it and congratulations patrolman. Very proud of you. Okay. Next on our agenda, we have a
proclamation tonight. This is to honor the Sparta High School boys lacrosse team. So whereas the Sparta High School boys lacrosse team completed an extraordinary 2026 season through hard work, dedication, teamwork, and sportsmanship.
And whereas on June 13th, 2026, the Spartans defeated Ocean City High School 9 to5 at the College of New Jersey to capture the NJSIA Group 2 state championship. And whereas this victory marks the first state championship in the history of the
Sparta High School boys lacrosse program, a milestone for the school, its student athletes, coaches, alumni, and the Sparta community. And whereas the Spartans also won the North Jersey Group 2 sectional championship, avenging an
earlier loss by defeating top-seated West Morris Central High School 12 to4 to earn their first sectional title. And whereas the team further demonstrated excellence by winning the Hunton Warren Sussex tournament, defeating Warren
Hills High School in the championship game and cementing their place among New Jersey's premier lacrosse programs. And whereas this historic season reflects the commitment and leadership of the players, coaches, school administration, families, boosters,
volunteers, and community supporters. And whereas the accomplishments of the 2026 Sparta High School boys lacrosse team have brought pride and recognition to the township of Sparta and created a legacy that will inspire future Spartan
athletes. Now therefore, it be it resolved that the mayor and township council of the township of Sparta recognize and congratulate the 2026 Sparta High School boys lacrosse team on winning the NJSIAA
Group 2 state championship, the first in program history. Be it further resolved that the township council extends its appreciation to the players, coaches, school administration, families, and supporters whose dedication and pursuit
of excellence have brought honor to Sparta High School and the entire township. Congratulations. Thank you very much. Great job. Uh, thank you. My name's Sean Peterson. I'm the head coach. Thank you to the
mayor, uh, the council. Just an al also a shout out to the police department. These guys got two great police escorts on their way back from the championship. And, uh, that was a dream of mine as an athlete. So, it was really cool. Uh, so, you know, I think something to be said about these boys and mayor, you've
reflected on role models. Uh we've worked really hard for these guys to be great role models. These are two uh of our captains here and Nico, a rising junior. Um and they exemplify that in the school. Uh the other thing I'll say is our team was probably the underdog and that was really cool because it
wasn't a lot of all stars and it was just a bunch of guys who all they wanted to do was work together and win. So thank you very much. Mayor, we have the uh town hall columns lit um white and blue in recognition of our lacrosse team.
No. Why were you a coach? >> What? >> Were you a coach? >> Congratulations everyone. >> Yeah. Thank you. >> Hey, good evening. >> Thank you. >> What an accomplishment. It's It's incredible.
>> It is. It really [laughter] is. >> Okay, moving on to our minutes for tonight. May I have a motion to approve the March 24th, 2026 regular meeting minutes as presented? >> So moved.
>> May I have a second? >> A second. All in favor say I. >> I. >> I. Any opposed or abstain? >> Okay. Motion carried. Moving on to our third item on the agenda tonight, the manager's report. So T manager Zep, would you please present your manager's report?
>> Sure. Good evening, mayor and council members and all Sparta residents joining us in person or watching from home. Thank you for being with us tonight. In our recreation department, our summer programs are wrapping up over the next few weeks. As we finish the season, our
staff is shifting focus to the fall programs brochure, which will be released in mid August. Women's softball and men's mushball leagues are currently in full swing and continue to see strong participation. To celebrate the end of the season, the community is invited to the summer
sidewalk chalk festival and movie night on Friday, August 28th, beginning at 6:30 p.m. at White Lake Fields. Families and residents can help decorate the walking path with artwork and encouraging messages, as well as enjoy a bubble cart activities. Food will be
available for purchase from the Greek kitchen and brick and brew food trucks. The featured movie for the evening will be Zootopia 2, beginning at approximately 8:00 p.m. with free popcorn. Attendees are encouraged to bring lawn chairs and enjoy the community night out. [snorts] The parks
maintenance staff remain active throughout the summer, working diligently to maintain all parks and township properties. Staff continued to support all ongoing sports programs and assist with preparations for the upcoming special events. From the Sussex County Health
Department, the County Office of Mosquito Control has reported the detection of West Nile virus in mosquito populations within Sparta Township. Some of you may have noticed the county has set up a table earlier this month in the foyer withformational flyers about mosquitoes. The county surveillance
program remains fully active and mosquito control operations are being conducted in areas where virus activity can be detected. All residents are urged, regardless of their proximity to the detections, to take preventive measures as avoiding mosquito bites is the most effective way to protect
oneself from mosquito-born disease. We encourage Sparta residents to visit our website under health corner for more information on how to take the necessary steps for prevention as well as public notice for county truck mounted spring schedules. I believe they'll be spraying
tomorrow from our tax assessor's office. On Friday, July 31st, 2026, the tax assessor's office will be mailing chapter 91 income and expense statement requests pursuant to New Jersey statute. These notices will be sent to commercial
property owners of income producing properties. The purpose of this annual request is to ensure the tax assessor has accurate and up-to-date information necessarily to fairly and correctly assess income producing properties within the township. Members of the public who have any questions are
encouraged to contact the tax assessor's office directly at 973-729-2626. Thank you for your attention and cooperation during this process. The Sparta Library shares with everyone while you continue to enjoy your summer season. Please keep in mind everything
the library has to offer for residents of all ages. Please go to the sparta library.com to view their events, programs, resources, movies, and museum passes, homebound delivery services, student volunteering, and much, much more. A couple reminders from my last
report. Friday, summer concert series at Dyster Park. July 31st featuring Billy Hector. August 7th featuring Denilia Cotton. Sparta Council petitions must be filed by 4 PM promptly on Wednesday, August 19th, 2026 to be eligible for the
November 3rd election. The next council meeting will be on o uh August 25th. [snorts] Uh this concludes my report to all the residents of uh please enjoy your remainder of your summer. I will now turn uh uh [snorts] to Chief
McCarrick for his report. Thank you. >> Thank you, manager Zep. Thank you, mayor, deputy mayor and councel. I'd like to thank the council for allowing uh Mr. Madina to speak tonight uh on behalf of MAD. Uh it's important to talk about this uh to let the public know
what we do as officers, not only as enforcement um but prevention uh in our schools and awareness and education to our to our motorists of not to drive uh while intoxicated. The 12th annual Changing the Face of Addiction Walk will take place on August
1st, 2026 from 9 to 12 at the Franklin Fireman Pavilion. That's this Saturday. For the past 12 years, that simple message brought thousands of people together in Sussex County for different reasons. To remember loved ones, celebrate recovery, support families, and to stand beside those who are still
struggling. Sparta Township is a sprout p proud sponsor of this event through the opioid settlement funds. You can register at the centerforprevention.org for this walk. The police department is hosting its annual junior police academy open for students going into fifth through 8th
grade. It takes place from August 4th through the 7th, 7:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Recruits will experience the everyday life of police officer recruit. They will experience and train in marching, defensive tactics, physical fitness, CPR, and AED use. They also have crime
scene investigations, team building exercises, interviewing techniques, and team competitions. Recruits will experience demonstrations from accident crash reconstructionists, specialty K9 demonstrations, bomb squad, and entry team units, and the New Jersey State Police Aviation Unit with a helicopter
landing. Our friends from the Center for Prevention and Counseling will also come to speak about the dangers of vaping and other products that are illegal for juvenile consumption. Wrapping up the week, recruits will visit the Morris County Police Academy where they'll be able to observe an act actual police recruits in the academy. From there,
they will also visit the Morris County Juvenile Detention Center and finally wrap up the week with a formal recruit graduation, which I invite all the council to. Last thing, uh I would like to make our residents aware from the uh emergency management department. Um I would ask
residents to check out ready.gov. This website gives great information on how to prepare in areas such as flooding, wildfires, power outages, extreme weather incidents, and more. Uh there's a lot of great information about family communication plans. And additionally, you could download the FEMA mobile app to get preparedness strategies and a
real-time weather and energy alerts. As you've seen over the past week, we've had some crazy weather in Sparta. Um and uh this gives a lot of great information to the residents to prepare. If anybody's have any further questions, they could email me directly, jerkspartd.org.
work. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Thank you, Chief. [clears throat] >> Thank you, Town Manager Zip. May I have a motion to accept the manager's report as presented? >> Some move. >> I have a second. >> I'll second. >> All in favor say I. >> I.
>> Right. Motion carried. Next, moving on to our first open to the public segment. Uh, this is for items on the agenda. This is the first public segment period tonight. Uh this includes resolutions. There will be a second
public comment period a little bit later and that's for items that are not on the agenda. So please state and spell your name for the record. Any speaker is limited to one comment of no more than five minutes. No yielding of time. Thank you. >> Good evening. Jenny Derek's tapping into
Sparta. Mr. is up. Congratulations um on your retire on your retirement, but also on um this great uh resolution [clears throat] that's on the agenda for swapping land. You won't have to hear from me anymore.
Um to that item though, I just was ask I'm asking what is the um timeline for this? Do we have an understanding of what the next steps will be? uh when those will
commence, what is the process that the I understand this is probably the first step in the process of transferring the land, but what comes after this and what is the timeline to get us to the actual closing?
And then um on resolution 811 and 812, I don't know if congratulations to you Roxan, but in any way congratulations um to the interim position. What is the again same question what are the next
steps? What is the process for uh Phoenix Consulting Group? Is there an expected timeline? Uh and what will the council's role be in that selection process? Thank you. >> Okay. Thank you, Jenny. I know one question is going to come off your week
bi-weekly list. I mean, what are you going to do? [laughter] >> Don't answer that. Would you like uh I have some people who can help with that resolution. Would you like when we come up to that resolution just answer her question then? >> Yeah. Yeah, that would be okay. We'll
answer when we get to the resolution. We'll address that part then. Okay. For your Okay. Um and I will say for the resolution that will be 89. If you don't mind, we'll defer that one. >> Um and then 812.
So that's the resolution for Phoenix, the search firm. Um so once the resolution is passed, uh they'll they'll jump into action. Um they have some draft um ideas around requirements. They have their own templates. They'll be issuing a posting a search. They'll
start to search. It'll uh go on for my understanding is 30 days. Once those um applicants submit their documentation, the search firm will then go and do their own filtering and interviewing as necessary and bring it down to a short
list, which is typical. So, three to five, give or take. They'll use their professional judgment. Once they narrow it down to that, then it will come to the council and the council will then interview those short list of candidates u here most likely in executive session and proceed with that process to come to
a conclusion on who the next town Andrew will be. Um the time frame will likely be that they'll wrap up around Labor Day with the search process in terms of the opening of the posting being done and then we expect perhaps
late mid to late September, maybe early October to get into the council interviewing of candidates and you know we we look forward to uh finishing that up that month. >> I had a few seconds left. Um, do you have in do you have input in does the
council have input into what the parameters are for the job? >> Yes. Yeah, we we've collected those already amongst ourselves. So, we have our council list and they'll they'll match it to their what they've done in the past with other township manager positions. >> Yeah. >> Good evening, Jen Rogoff. Welcome back,
Roxan. You were missed. >> Um, congratulations, Mr. Zep. Um, I am also speaking about closing of the landfill because I do have some questions about the land that's going to be used in exchange. Um, so part of this is definitely relative to the agenda.
The other part maybe not so much. And I I kind of want to address maybe Neil directly because he and I had a a a pretty good communication going when we talked about the trails committee and things about the level of transparency and no more surprises. But on July 7th, the Dystridge team was out again on my
property reserveying the lot adjacent to my property, which is not the land to be conveyed in regards to the closing of the landfill. So, there were no new flags placed on the additional lot that's not adjacent to my property. So they weren't out surveying reserveying
the land that is to be conveyed in exchange for closing the landfill, but they were reserveying and putting a second set of flags directly next to the original set of flags, which is what brought me to my very first town council meeting. So I am um curious. The other
thing is in the discussion that we had even going back to I have notes um from the October 3rd 2025 meeting for um the Walhill preserve conveyance information. Um they were talking about who would be
in control of the land at the state level and in what is listed here tonight, it does list several different um organizations within the state. And so I am curious who will be specifically um taking ownership and control and
controlling what happens on these parcels that are in residential neighborhoods in Sparta. They are very far away from where the landfill is and I understand that whole exchange and what has to happen. Um but I want to know because I know that time and time again we have heard from different
members of the community. Um we don't want another Sparta Mountain situation. Um, and that fell specifically under Green Acres, which falls under another G. So, I I I know that I and I think other people would like to know which agencies will be controlling which of
these parcels because it's kind of grouped together and says in the in the wording here that it will be under one of three um different organizations within the state level that will be taking control of this land. So, I certainly am am curious how that shakes
out. I know you said there's going to be someone speaking specifically. >> We can >> cover the resolution. >> Yeah, I think we'll do it when we get the resolution. >> We know what you're asking. >> Yeah. Yeah. >> Okay. Um and then rather than have me come back up later, but I can. Do we know why they were surveying again on
the other parcel? >> This is regarding the land exchange around the trails work that was discussed in the last six, nine months and all that, right? That with the the first time you were here with the flags and all that. >> Yeah. I did speak to the attorney for the land trust. She actually uh was extremely responsive and wonderful. Um I
had asked if there had been any further communication on their end. She said that the minutes uh from the March meeting hadn't been released yet because they didn't have a summer meeting, but she reassured me there was no conversation at the March meeting. They did not have a summer meeting and they were not anticipating having a fall meeting. So that's why I was curious
like why all of a sudden if they're not even anticipating having any type of meeting in any of the months upcoming why they were back out on the property on July >> 7 or whatever. Yeah. >> Yeah. So I I'm Does anybody >> I will I will um leave it up to Council
Clark if you want to get back offline and research or if you have any comments tonight. It's up to you either way. I don't need to um dig too deep tonight if you want to look into it or we can as a township too at a >> I mean my understanding is that um it's going to be a while before the New Jersey land trust meets and approves the
minutes that then would kick off you know discussions but I think that um surveyors are simply acting under their statutory authority and under the proper notice procedures. I don't think we've heard anything here that to change that conclusion. Um, and so I think it's also
part of due diligence. And I think that if uh residents and property owners are concerned, I think it it probably is helpful to be as uh correct as you can when you're doing the surveying, right? You don't just want guy to come once and you kind of eyeball it and then walk
away. I think to make sure to address the concerns uh that you had. I think it's probably in your interest that it gets surveyed and gets surveyed properly. So >> yeah, I I don't think that Mr. Dyster team was eyeballing. So I wouldn't say that. I mean, they came out and did a
proper survey. They came out again, obviously, and put flags directly next to them. So I was just curious if there was any movement. Um, >> no, as far as uh my understanding is, we can't uh get into a discussion with New Jersey Land Trust until they've approved their minutes. But I think, you know, as
part of the due diligence, um, you know, and that's that's the call by the professional surveyor. Um, I think he probably had given the concerns of the the the residents, they were concerned about, wait, you know, you given away land that may belong to us, uh, etc.
It's probably in his interest to make sure he his survey is correct. So, that's um probably why he's surveyed again. I think that would be serving the interest of the community. >> Yeah. You and I I mean, we had that open conversation that he came out in November, walked the property with the
residents. That's why this seemed like out of the blue and you know my favorite word transparency like a little heads up rather than me being at work and hearing I I can't even tell you how many calls I got from people in the neighborhood say they're back. Um so you know I if you
were unaware then perhaps someone from the council can reach out to Mr. Dyra's team and just simple transparency just like hey we're going to be out there would go a long way rather than bless you uh rather than phone calls at work like hey they're there hey did you know
they were coming I had no idea. >> Okay >> so that would be appreciated. >> Okay sure >> thank you. >> Thank you. >> Hi my name is Laura Nugard. I'm with Eco Sciences and I thought I'd introduce myself because I'm the one who's been working on the green acres issue and it
sounds like there's some questions I know from the board and apparently from members of the audience and I just want to let you know I'm here and I would like to be able to, you know, answer questions, discuss whatever confusion or not confusion there is and I guess we'll
do it when you do the resolution but I just want to let you know it's here. >> Okay. >> Thank you. Appreciate it. Thank you, >> Mayor Council. My name is Jerry Murphy. Murphy Roxan, welcome back. And this is rather timely because my one question can be
directed to Miss Nygard. And Miss Mayor, are you going to treat all the resolutions like a consent agenda or are you going to approve them one by one? uh half and half probably the ones that are bulked together we'll announce and if the council wants to break anyone out
we'll do that separately um but we also have a bunch at the end that we're going to do separately so because I I I had um just a suggestion to you for 8-9 um in it Echo Sciences Inc. is identified but they don't have an
address and as a suggestion I found it very helpful in the past to add their address as a clarification and that's uh the only suggestion I have appreciate it thank you
>> good evening everybody day Sparta uh two resolutions I I have questions on. Uh the first one is 8-8, which is a wireless consultant. Um I didn't really understand when I read through it what that was for, what types of services, um how much is that going to cost us and um
is this something new or is this a continuation from what exists today? >> Any other questions? Ron, I want to >> let me let me just if you can give me a short answer, that'd be great. Then I'll move on to the next resolution. >> Sure. Um, the water utility has 14 water tanks and the township owns one
monopole. That's a whole lot of cellular uh uh vendors that would like to occupy that space. Uh, when I got here, I learned that there's a whole bunch of leases for the space to different carriers uh, Sprint, AT&T, and and whatnot. And uh in my discussions with
our new QPA, he had suggested that we utilize a consultant to maximize the lease returns on all that uh lease space on uh the water tanks and the monopole. So uh it made a lot of sense to me uh track keeping track of all the leases on
all the uh the cell towers uh um you know hiring a consultant who can go out uh and bundle it all for us and get us the best bang in the buck for leasing that space. made a lot of sense to me. Um, I explained that to the council. They they agreed and so we're taking the
next step passing a resolution. So then the QPA will go out and do an RFP for a consultant. >> Any any estimate on what this is going to cost per year or >> I I don't have an estimate, but I tell you what, I'll take it out of the lease money. >> Okay. All right. So it sounds like what this is just basically someone to manage
the existing towers, not to bring new towers on or >> uh No, there is discussion of new new space as well. uh and then we end up uh coordinating with the utility director on whether we have the space the additional space. Uh but there is a a pretty large market out there for
cellular space right now. >> All right. So let me let me just um if I can make one last comment on this is just it sound it sounds like there are things in place and this person's going to help us manage given some of the budget constraints that we have this year. Would it make sense to defer this to next year? It doesn't sound like it's
like an emerging need that we really need to to do today. Um >> I can understand that concern, Ron. I think once we get the RFP results, we can make that decision then whether we can afford it or not. Okay. >> But um yes, the context of the the budget would be well taken.
>> Okay. Thank you. Uh the second one is also on uh 8 89 which is a land donation. Um, you know, so looking looking at this, you know, I had some some similar questions in terms of what what what is all this is about? I probably should have talked to Jenny
before I came in here. I think she probably gets it as well as anybody anybody in here. But if I look at it, it sounds like that we need to remediate three acres and we're going to give up about 70 acres to do that. Um, so I'm not sure where that math come from.
That's that's a 27 to1 swap. um as as well as um you know is is it a donation? It's being called a donation, but it sounds like what what are we getting for it? We're we're giving up 69 acres in exchange for
something that's not a donation. A donation is a gift. It's more of a conveyance of land in exchange for that. So what is it we're getting? Are they just going to approve the ECP or or or what what is it? So when when when you go over the presentation, could you really make that clear in terms of what
it is that we're going to get in response to this? And then and then the last question sounds like Jenny had similar similar questions is, you know, once we do this and we give up 70 acres, are we done? Do we have a high confidence that we're not going to have to we're going to get there and say,
"Oops, you we found something now. It's it's bigger than we thought." So So what steps do we have in place to prevent that? So are we really ready to do this? Um, so those would be my questions if they could answer it when they do the presentation. >> Those are good questions, Ron, and and they'll be answered when that resolution
comes up. >> But, uh, this this is a a 20-year venture, and all that will be answered, but >> I'm coming in late, so I'm just trying I'm trying to understand it. That's all. >> I I'm hoping I think we can answer everything there. >> So, with 40 40 seconds left, I just want
to say congratulations on on your retirement. And also, Roxan, welcome back. It's great to have you back. Good evening. Rick Finkle, 13 Hayward Road. Congratulations, Jim. >> Thank you. >> I retired a year ago. It's wonderful. Enjoy it. Um, I heard about the process
of the Phoenix Group doing the executive search, but who is the Phoenix Group? I saw there was two bids. she went with the lowest bid, but what is their background in municipal government and can someone just sort of fill in the gaps there? >> I'll uh I'll defer to one of my two or
three colleagues who was in touch with them a little bit more, but they're a well-known and referred professional services firm that does this kind of work with other towns. I don't know if anyone >> specifically for municipal government. >> Yeah. Yeah. >> Okay. >> Yeah, they have. I've never heard >> done tons of searches and I think even
some of their consultants have done this type of work and also or consulted with and have on their staff I think former town managers etc. So um >> have they indicated what the pool of candidates looks like at this point? >> Um not we won't know until the survey
goes out. I mean it you know listen it's a competitive market. I think you've seen that is looking Dville is looking. Um, so I think that, you know, we'll see what we get when we get Okay. But that that process, I think, as Mayor Ulummedi
said, is probably takes like a month or so. And then they'd also even one clarifying point, which is they'll recommend five, but they're going to hang on to other résumés, right? And so if we see the five are like, eh, we don't really like those five. Why don't you go back and take a look at some
other résumés that you got? They can do that as well. But um council did a very good job of each council member had the opportunity to identify what they were looking for and then all that and then all that information was collated and
then given to um Phoenix and uh so that they know you know what each council member is looking for. >> All right. Super. Thank you. Congratulations. Okay, seeing none, at this point we will close this open comment section. Let's
move on to next is expenditures. So we have two on for tonight. So deputy mayor, would you please uh move into our expenditures? >> Yes. The bill was for July 14th, 2026 totaled $661,128.78. May I have a motion to approve?
So moved. >> Second. >> Second. >> All in favor? >> I >> I >> I >> Okay. July 14th, 2026 are approved. >> Okay. The bill list for July 28th, 2026
totaled $717,4661. Motion to approve. >> Some moved. >> Second. >> Second. All in favor? >> I >> I >> July 28th, 2026. Expenditures have been approved.
>> We do not have any ordinance introductions tonight, nor do we have any ordinance hearings for tonight. So, we're going to move on to resolutions. So, we'll handle resolutions 81 to 87
together in bulk and then carve out the others individually. So 8 9 10 11 12. I may have a motion to approve resolutions 81 through 87 inclusive. >> So moved.
>> May I have a second? >> Second. >> All in favor? >> May I ask you a question? >> Good. >> Yes. >> Okay. Now that we've re reached the midpoint of the year, Jim, do you have an idea of how much uh uh veterans tax cancellation
has been this year? >> A trick question, isn't it? >> I had looked it up today. It was uh >> 195,000 194,130.
>> Great. Thank you very much. >> I'm sorry. Okay. All right. I'm ready to vote. >> Any other questions? Okay. Okay. Uh let's start the vote over again. All in favor of approving 81 to 87 say I. >> I. >> I.
>> Any opposed? Abstain. Okay. 81 through 87 have been approved. Okay. So now we're going to move on individually. Resolution 88. resolution of the township council of the township of Sparta authorizing the hiring of wireless telecommunications consultant
for the township of Sparta through the competitive contracting process. And again, this is what we just discussed earlier. This is uh regarding management of the vendors to maximize our return across the numerous contracts and spaces
that we have in town. And again, this is for the search process to begin. We still would need to then make a decision if we're going to proceed when we have actual bids to consider. May I have a motion to approve 88?
>> So move. >> May I have a second? >> Second. >> I have a question. >> Okay. >> Okay. Jim, the what we're talking about here is not the construction of new towers. We're talking about the utilization of existing
water towers and other other towers that we have in the town. >> Correct. >> Okay. >> So any expenditure here is is uh it's positive net present value to the town. >> Yes, it will be.
>> Thank you. Amen. [clears throat] >> Jim, you mentioned before that it's 14 uh 14 tanks, one tower that they would be looking and then you expanded that to say they're looking for other areas as well.
>> Uh well, they they are I mean uh we get calls all the time from carriers looking for areas to place their their stuff, but right now we we just have our water tanks in the one monopole. Uh there's still space on some of the tanks, you know, at the uh um guidance of the
utility director on whether uh he wants to allow any more uh um you know, cell tower stuff on the tanks itself. Um the the problem is is that they come on at different times and our lease agreements are all staggered and they're hard to keep track of and they're different
terms to them and different agreements and uh town attorney is is is reading all various amounts. If we can consolidate it all, maximize it. Um it is a good market though. Um that that's valuable space that the town has as a revenue generator.
>> But but the primary scope is going to be that 14 in1. >> Yes. >> The current the current existing >> Yes. >> inventory that we we have, right? >> Yeah. >> And then secondly, um what type of transmission are you putting up there? What type of network? 5G network.
>> It's it's yeah, cell a lot of cellular work is what I'm reading. um it may be a little beyond me on what you're asking for. >> And then the pros and cons from you know a health andor safety hazard issue related to that near residential properties and the like. I mean is that
going to be something they would take into consideration? >> They would a lot of this is pre-existing it's already there. Uh I know on uh the Mil Creek Tower we have >> 5G there may be 5G on on those in those areas >> on the higher elevation areas that are
popular. >> Yeah. I I'm just concerned that that the safeguards are there if in fact they're in and around or very close to residential neighborhoods. >> I believe it's all pre-existing right now and anything new would would have to come in front of the council. >> Okay. All right. That's it. Thank you.
See, just to reiterate for everyone, this is not um we're not charging if we do find a vendor, we're not charging them to say, "Hey, let's build new towers. Let's put up a lot of new things we don't have already." This is to maximize what's there already, simplify it, >> and make sure at the end of the day we're making more out of this than we are today.
>> Correct. >> Okay. >> And it'll get paid out of the funds. >> Yes. >> Out of the lease. >> Yeah. >> Okay. >> Okay. Any other comment questions? >> And do we have the ability now to figure out what revenue we are obtaining as of now from the leasing of the water towers
for uh the communication services? We do, but it it's a challenge and that's why we're doing what we're doing [laughter] >> to to try and track it all and what the revenues are. Okay. >> Um, it is fairly significant money though in the in the in the big picture
of things. It's one of the revenue sources we have. It's it's in the budget. You you see it as a revenue generation. So, um, it it it's in our best interest to maximize the return on that. So the the scope of the of whoever does the scope of the work that they will do will be one to identify what are
we making now off the the leasing. Two, what could we make in the future if we you know take the additional space that already exists and lease that? What revenue we'd garner from that? That's is that understanding of what one of the >> Yes, it sounds correct. You you'd be
surprised how many carriers want to negotiate with the town attorney and I on on on the lease space. Um they they they love the long-term leases, the 99-year leases where you know what, you're really not getting the money. I mean, I don't know who they think
they're negotiating with, but >> and am I right? And maybe this is a question for Anna and before we can enter into a new lease agreement or free up additional space and lease that out, that's something that would come before council for approval. >> Yes. >> Correct.
>> Correct. >> Thank you. All right. Thank you. >> Okay. We have a motion and second. We had discussion. Uh all in favor of resolution 8-8 say I. >> I. I. >> Any opposed or abstained? Okay. Resolution 88 has passed.
Resolution 89, resolution of the township of Sparta authorizing the donation of certain township lands pursuant to NJD file number 1918-04-000014.1. I have a motion to approve this. >> So moved.
>> May I have a second? >> Second. >> Okay. So, discussion time. Um, >> yeah, I I I want to let the public uh know that we're very fortunate to have basically four key members or the four loan members uh who've been involved in
this process up to this point. And I and I can't emphasize how much time and effort's gone into it. And that is our town attorney, Corey Stoner, is here. And Dash has helped me on the legal end. And uh above all is Laura Nugard who uh
works for EcoScience. Uh she has been uh a workhorse on the long slog on on getting 2 and 1/2 acres of wetland area in the landfill uh to allow us to mitigate it. Um the real short of it is
that we tried to close our landfill. We were so close to getting it closed. 98% closed, capped and ready to go. We come across some water. The D says, "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Stop everything. Now you need to mitigate that that two and a half acres." By the way, Sparta, it's
going to cost you a million dollars. All right. We we exhausted all our resources to try and mitigate other properties. We we've tried to do this without spending a million dollars. I mean, to close a landfill. Um, this extends a what how many administrations have have I gone
through since 200? Many. And uh because I was running DPW, I was really close with this project and that's why I know so much about it. And Laura's been in there with me for a very very long time on this. Um Ron, I'm going to let Laura really kind of guide you on why there is
that ratio of of 15 to1 and why you need so much parcel space to to mitigate 2 and a half acres. Um but um this is a very very good thing. Jenny knows about it because she's been asking, you know, you you listen to Jenny ask these
questions and all, but you need to understand there's two sides to it. The first side is that the goal is to close the landfill. All right? We want to close that landfill, cut down on our expenses, cut down on the monitoring and all. The second part is that once it's
closed, it becomes, you know, an asset for a solar field or other uh uh type of revenue generation. Um, my goal has been all along to get the landfill closed and um, I will turn this over to Laura. She she heard a lot of your questions from
from Jen and Ron and all and I think she can cover it better than I can. That's for sure. >> And can I just jump into Thank you, Laura, for being here. Um, I believe I know you were a Sparta resident. I believe you probably are. So, you're close close to your heart and very involved in this and from a really talented, you know, background and firm.
So, thank you for being here. Yeah, I am a Sparta resident and I was also on the Sparta environmental commission for a long long time. So, I'm very familiar with Sparta, which is kind of how this all grew. And
like I'm I'm going to Well, my name is Laura Nugard. I'm a senior vice president at Eco Eco Sciences. And the reason I wanted to just bring it up is that my expertise is wetlands, wetland permitting, and threatening endangered species. And all of that comes into play
here. And then familiarity with Sparta itself. And we have such valuable land. So going back to what Jim's saying, I think it's really clear that you understand that there is no landfill closure and there is no redevelopment
until you implement your wetland permit. We have the wetland permit. You had one back in 2010, but you didn't implement it because you never did your mitigation. And that was to create wetlands in Oxford Township in
Warren County for wetlands that you're filling in Sparta. That seems kind of a no-brainer. Why would we do that for a million dollars? And so, we took a different approach when I got involved in 2021. And thanks to Jim having all
the records and all the experience and knowing the history, we were able to pull it together working with Corey as well. But we took a different approach and said, "Okay, what can we do besides this
paying into a mitigation bank, building mitigation somewhere else?" D has a hierarchy and the hierarchy allows for preservation of land. Sparta has a lot of land in their portfolio
and a lot of that land you can't use and that was what I focused on because land that you can't use a lot of time is really really valuable from an environmental sto standpoint and that
means clean water endangered species habitat um proximity to already preserved land. So I went through the town records of all the available parcels and saw that we had multiple parcels that were going
to be either in the watershed of the pollen's kill which is where the landfill closure was going to be or in the wall itself. And so we we looked at those two areas and focused on those areas and identified several parcels,
presented it to D as an option, was able to convince them that these were very high value parcels and they accepted that intent, sent us to the mitigation council. The Wetland Mitigation Council actually sent a representative out with
me to walk all the parcels and she was very happy with what we had chosen and made the recommendation that we could go this route for mitigation. To get to the 27 to1 when you're mitigating for land that you are not
creating wetlands on, there is values you have to meet. The choices are anywhere from 15 to one all the way up to 27 to one. And the 15 to one would be if you were on extremely disturbed land.
The 27 to one is if you're on very pristine land. So the landfill itself is a disturbance, but the wetland fill occurred in rank five forested wetlands. And rank five is New Jersey's method of
identifying highquality wetlands. And rank five just means that they provide potential habitat for federally threatened or endangered species. So we had to kind of find someplace in between that to come up with these parcels that
would meet this mitigation requirement. And we weren't going for 15 to1 because we weren't going to get it. We weren't going to get approval. So we went to the higher end. At one time we were at 27 to1. Unfortunately town the town of Sparta had already bought really good property and it was in your
open space but it didn't show up in my first review of the we didn't get it until the deed. So we had to modify it. And the parcels we chose are parcels that and I'm kind of I don't want to turn my back on you guys because it's important. The parcels we chose are
parcels that are going to provide protection of our water courses, protection of our water quality, protection of our open space, and mainly parcels that have no value to the town. So, I'm going to go through it and also talk about why I think they're going to
go to certain agencies. So, there's four parcels. >> You don't mind using the microphone? You can pick that up if you want out of there. Um, if you want >> Oh, if I turn around. Sorry. free. I'm not going to turn around anymore. Sorry. So, you got to you got to deal with it. Um I just want to make sure I'm talking
about them correctly. So, we have four part parcels. The first one is within the Welden Brook Wildlife Management Area. And just to give you an idea of where that is, if you're getting off of Route 15 at the Latty Clark building, the main entrance to the wildlife
management area is right there. There's trails, there's headwaters of the Walill, there's all kinds of endangered species habitat. And sitting in the middle of it is 18 acres of landlocked property. It has Route 15 right away on
one side and the rest of it is just the wildlife management area. There's no road access. There's trail access. I know it. I run it every day. But it's this nice piece of property. Has a headarters of two streams on it. It's not anywhere near residential areas and
it has no value to us. We the town you can't use it. So that was the first parcel we we chose and it was adjacent to already protected open space which in the D's mind, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection's mind is what they're looking for. Proximity to
already preserved land parcel one. Um the second parcel I'm going to talk about is Kittitatin State Park or Kittitatin Valley State Park. There we have 19.91
acres of land that in all of these maps the town has. So if anyone wants to see it, there's maps that show what the water courses are, what the wetlands are, the endangered species that might be located that and then the proximity to open space. So in the what I call the
Kittitatini Valley State Park parcel is surrounded on three sides by Kittitatini Valley State Park. One side is um is open space that's part of a subdivision that had been done and I did
not write down the name of the road and I'm really sorry. >> Excuse me. >> Is it Crown View? >> No, Crown View is is another one. Um, but the the point is is there is no that open space parcel separates this piece
from any residences. And when I say open space parcel, I mean it's 40 acres. And if you look at the town maps or if you look at the state maps, they show that they already own this piece of property and it's already part of the state park. So I thought, well, that works great.
You own it 100%. And so that was our second parcel that we use. Same thing, high value, doesn't have a lot of wetlands, but has an amazing out rock outcrop that you can just climb up there and see for miles, but there's no
trails, there's no disturbance, so it's a really special piece of property. And again, no no impact to residents and you can't get to it. Um, and then the next two parcels were actually brought to our attention by the Natural Lands Trust.
Um, I do a lot of volunteer work with them and they kind of said, "Hey, you know, we've got some pieces we would like in Sparta." So, we went and looked at them. One of them is within what's called Wildcat Branch Natural Lands
Trust. It's kind of a new um property that they have been expanding on. And so they have just bought about I think 200 acres at Straddles Hardeston in Sparta. It's located west of Wildcat Road. Um
and then they also had a piece of property. We knew it as a co-ranchesco site. It was a big wetland that had been purchased by them years ago. And in the middle is this little piece owned by Sparta. Again, three sides surrounded by
natural lands trust properties. The fourth side is adjacent to undeveloped property and a very, very large wetland. Someone trying to access this piece would have a heck of a time getting a permit to get to it if they wanted to
develop it. And if it's town property, I don't think you're going to build a road to this landlock piece. The last one is the one that's closest to Crown View Court and that is also a piece of property that sits it actually goes from
517 right next to the Lumber Company and it extends to the west and stops at two two lots off of Crown View. That piece is a critical connection to
the Walkeill preserve for the natural lands trust. Right now they have two very very rare endangered species habitats and they're separated by this little sliver and this allows them to have a connectivity between these areas
along the Walill River. The Natural Land Trust, and I'm sure you have dealings with them or have had dealings with them on the trail issue, which this is not part of. The Natural Lands Trust manages land to preserve
rare habitats, whether that's plants, animals, or ecosystems. They're not they are an independent they're part of D, but they're independent of D's normal regulations. They don't go out and clearcut. The only
thing they might do is some selective thinning in the wetlands of of invasive plants to maintain this habitat as high value. And so I don't think there would be anybody on Crown View would have an
issue because I don't think anything's going to change. The key thing to remember here is this parcel is 100% wetlands and waters. you can't do anything with it. It's not developable. So, that's where we chose these parcels.
We've spent about five years on getting it to this point of applying to green acres. You got a permit, a wetland permit on July 21st of 2025. Those permits are good for 5 years. You
can get an extension, but I think, you know, you want to move along. What I think everyone needs to not lose sight of is this permit is actually to address a violation that occurred in 2010. And
that's when you started the landfill closure and accidentally filled wetlands. DP has not forgotten. You're not going to get anywhere until you implement this newly approved permit, which can only be started when
Green Acres accepts what we've presented to them. And this resolution is basically the last step in that process. We've submitted all the other um information that they've requested and this is this is what we need to get over
the hurdle. If you don't implement your permit, you're going to have a violation that will continue. You will not be able to close your landfill and there is no redevelopment. So, this is the first step and you need
to complete this step to go through the other steps for whatever the future is on the property. I'm not involved with that. I'm only involved in the wetland end of things, the permit end of things, and the green anacre things. So, I think I touched on everybody's question, but if I didn't,
>> I can ask. Um, I have one or two written down here. I think I heard. So, you mentioned um the natural land trust. Are all four going to be managed by the >> We're the natural land trust is what I'm I'm going to tell you what I think is going to happen, but I can't speak for
D. In fact, one of the reasons this has gone on so long is it's really hard to get D to move at all. But we assume that the Kittatini Valley State Park is going to take from Green Acres will get that
piece that is encompassed by the state park. the wildlife management unit which is part of fish and wildlife will get the piece that's inside the welden brook wildlife management area and the natural lands trust because they've requested it and it's within their lands will get
those two parcels. I don't think there's any can change that but I can't guarantee it. >> Okay. [clears throat] Um, in terms of I know you can't speak to next steps timeline farther down the
road about what we do once this is closed and how we use that land that >> or solar fuels or whatever. Um in terms of just next steps with the remediation and the closing of this once the land is um approved to be donated what's the next steps for D to I mean we have a
permit what do we what happens then >> as soon as D is just saying that the way it's if you were doing a creation plan D is saying that if you're going to start with your closure plan the two things need to go hand inand so you don't get ahead of them in this case it's a weird
case because we're doing the preservation and so as As soon as you get that sign off from Green Acres, you have your permit. You're ready to go because you haven't filled all the wetlands. There's still about a half an acre that I guess you found some materials and needs to be filled. This
permit covers all of it. What's been done and what needs to be done and you're done. >> Okay. So then it's up to us to fill in the last percentage or two, whatever that is to fill it in >> and then that's okay. That that'll handle the landfill that's been around for what 3530 or whatever that is longer
even. and and D's gone out of your >> Well, in that in that respect, I >> respect. >> Okay, we're we're on the one yard line. >> We are. We are. I mean, the resolution is the main thing we need to submit. Um, we actually it took us a while, but Jim
and I finally have someone at D who's green acres who's really been great and responsive and is moving this quickly because they understand that you want to get it going as soon as possible. >> Okay. And that amount that we've settled on these lots that's they're not going to come back and say, "Oh, we need one more. We this has been approved."
>> We're at I think our number is 25 to1. So we're not at the maximum, but we gave them a lot of the million dollars. Was that was that the cost equivalent of mitigating or remediating the 2.5 acres? Was that where that million-doll benchmark came
up where you had to then try to cobble all the land to get up to that value or >> No, it has nothing to do with the value of the land. The the it's 2.75 acres now. You can either go to a mitigation bank >> and there's someone who already has land
and you buy credits from that bank >> and for 2.75 acres at the um when we went to the mitigation council trust me all the land banks the wetland banks wanted your money and they were willing to do deals still was going to cost you
about 900,000 >> okay so that's where that was determined >> and the other one is if you create wetlands it's very time consuming is very expensive and you have to monitor it for five years and the plan that you
had had prepared um would have probably cost you about that same number. So that that has nothing to do with land value. It had totally to do with going those op going those routes was going to cost a lot of money to get them implemented correctly.
>> Okay. Mayor, if I may just just to just to go back one step. So the the ma the main landfill the one that started this is that remediated that's capped that's remediated there's no more work to be done on there >> can't I can't speak on that not involved >> and the question is who is overseeing
that is that under an oversight or what division of D andor what group is overseeing that because I'm I'm afraid of reopeners after the fact to get this is great I'm get this 2.5 mitigated transferred and get the full I want
regulatory closure on the entire project and I'm just afraid that I want to look back at whether there's regulatory reopeners because the standards changed or in fact I want just some confirmation that the actual landfill has been checked off met and satisfied the
remedial action work plans and and work that they were obligated to to complete. That was one question. Uh the other question was and you don't know if it's under LSRP or what departmental >> I'm not involved with the landfill closure. >> It's under solid waste with D and from
what I understand Laura is that once we do mitigate and we close and we fill it in that we we're going through the D who come out and they'll they'll observe and and they'll eventually sign off that the landfill now is fully closed and we will get that. So, so the actual remedy to
this is to to fill in the 2.7 completion of the 2.7. Fill it in. Is that [clears throat] going to be fenced or restricted? >> No. >> There's no more digging. There's no more sampling. There's no more restoration. >> Yeah. Once it's capped, >> it's filled. Yep. >> And capped. So, it's going to be filled
and capped >> and and closed out that way. >> Yep. >> And some of it has already been filled in. >> Most of it has been. Most of it has been. We're lookingal little bit more. >> It's 2.5 is left or a little smaller than that? No, it's 2.75 and I think you
have you have a swale that has to be filled because I guess you found more debris and that swale is is less than half an acre. >> So, your firm is not handling the mitigation component. You're just doing all the permitting and processing. The actual remediation contractor, who who is that? >> C renewables.
>> The lease the lease agreement is with C renewables. Um, in the lease agreement, it says that they would do the bulk of the actual physical filling in of the wetlands and assisting in closing. Um, in fact, as I've stated several times,
uh, Laura services are are paid for through escrow of C. >> And remember, equal sciences is the gold standard of the very familiar. Okay. >> I'm very familiar with the law and and a lot of other people in your firm. Yeah,
>> very very familiar with them. So, >> so just to be clear, the rest of it has been filled and approved and seen by the D. >> Yes, I I've seen a lot of documentation on the West Bank side was was done and we we've gotten sign off. We we're
almost done and and then we bumped into that one area and they did a stop everything. So Jim, when you're saying C renewables handling the remediation, they they actually physically cap the landfill or is it still need to be done? >> It still needs to be done because they're waiting for the
>> permit. The land, not the 2.7. I'm talking about the landfill where we're going to drop their system off. >> That's that's the landfill. The 2.7. >> It is part of the landfill. It's there. >> 2.75 acres. >> Yeah. >> That's what's left. It needs to be kept. >> That's what's left of the total of X.
What is the total of X? I don't know that >> uh it's roughly 18 acres to land >> that. So the so this don't make me do fuzzy math here at 8:30 at night 15.7 acres away or someone had done the remediation. Was that I'm just trying to ask was that handled by C C and a
consultant of which they did or was it something the township had done >> that the back then because it was years ago the township engineer of the time did it in in coordination with D. Not not that not that [laughter] one. You have a shovel. >> How long ago is that?
>> I'm getting warmer, but Charlie Ryan and Eric Pal were both heavily involved uh when I was working with them. They were town engineers here and we worked uh conjintly with DP in the closure at the time. And um >> early teens or even earlier probably
>> yeah 2010 you said. >> Yeah. Yeah, it was around that time. And so I appreciate it where I know I fired off a whole random list of question. I couldn't answer it. I was like this is the place to find out. >> This is terrific. You gave a great summary. It made a lot more clarity with me and speaking with the mayor as well
uh a few days ago. This this was some of our our questions. I'm still a little bit hung up on the previous work >> where and whatever type of was the work done satisfactory to solid waste department check the box and I don't
want any reopeners once we get this done and we transfer we get regulatory closure. >> I mean that's that that's the point is let's get this done. Let's get the clean up done and get ourselves. >> That's the plan, right? Okay. Um, any questions? >> You have a question back there?
>> Yeah. >> No, we're not taking We're public questions though. Sorry, Jen. >> Yeah. >> Lock and lot. It's not Crown View. >> So, that's why I'd like clarification because the lot walk is not Crown View Court. >> I really want to know. >> I think it's near it. She said adjacent
to or near it. >> Court is on the opposite side of West Mountain. The blocking lot I believe corresponds to the end of Milstone Court >> I know but the one one >> so we didn't talk specifically when you
were describing the location there was nothing about this directly there is no buffer between the lot at the end of Millstone and the residential property the flags from the survey are up So there is no buffer. >> About the trails. >> I don't know. Wait, Laura. Yeah,
>> just clarifying the parcels that were referenced. >> Yeah, your explanation was incredible and very helpful. I just want to make sure we're clear about the property. I have >> No, this this is fine because I know where it is. >> Thank you.
>> Um >> yeah, you're right. It's Milstone. I'm sorry. Crown View is the other one. I apologize. >> Yeah. No, I thought I wrote it down so I got the two mixed up. >> Okay. No, I just wanted to clarify. Yes. >> I want to make sure that everyone's
talking apples. >> Okay. Thank you. So, just to clarify, Laura, that the So, that was just a nomenclature name in terms of what you spoke about. What's in the report, what's in the plans, what's in the resolution, that's all accurate. >> Yes. >> Just to confirm. >> Yes. These were my notes to kind of
explain to you wrong um where the sites were located and and I knew I had another road and it's not here and I put the wrong road with the wrong site. >> Thank you. >> Apologies. Question. >> No. Sorry, Mr. Murphy. We're not taking more questions from the audience. I'm sorry. >> Clarification on her.
>> I still have a question. >> Well, let's from the DA. >> Thank you. Go ahead. Um yeah, Miss Nygard, how many um donations of land to mitigate wetland disturbance have you been involved in over the course of your
career? >> This is the first one. >> The first one >> because it's not the general protocol from D. So usually you have to go through the mitigation blank. First you have to go for on-site then you have to go to a approved mitigation bank then
you need to go to a um creation off-site creation in the same watershed and then you can start looking at land preservation but we had to discount all of those before we got here and this is and green acres I not
Greenacres the wetland mitigation council it was new for them too and that's why they were very interested in what we were doing and why they came out and did a site visit and they were suitably impressed with our choices. Okay. >> And that's why we got this far. But have
you been involved in any way with uh where a town donates land to either the D or New Jersey land trust, meaning you you help advise either the township or someone about here's land we're going to donate and then it gets
turned over the D and uh New Jersey land trust. Has that have you ever done that? I have been involved with a site where we took a private piece of property, did wetland creation, and then turned it
over. >> Okay. >> But not do it directly this way. >> No. Right. I mean, are you generally familiar with um either the New Jersey Land Trust as a
subset of D or D itself where it is now taking ownership of um uh you know either land that's been donated or land that's supposed to be preserved given its habitat and and familiar with whether they preserve it
or not. Are you familiar with that? If you're if you're asking if you preserve land or you give land to one of these agencies that you have any say in how they manage it, that is going to be
something that they will they do in house. And you just you have to understand they're managing it for a reason. And I'm not here to defend them or or say anything, but >> there are times you must manage land. I'm not saying I'm supporting stop the
chop. I I I think that was kind of a fallacy trying to create habitat for species. We no longer had in these locations. Um in these cases though, I don't think you're going to
get any of that. The Weldenbrook um parcel is currently accessed by two trails that are heavily used recreation areas and I don't see them coming in and disturbing that. This is my opinions. I
don't see a state park doing any kind of clearing. they manage for humans but if they do anything it's going to be to enhance the habitat for someone to go hiking and the natural land trust as I said who might have to do management it
is very specific to the species that they're trying to preserve so if you're trying to preserve a bog turtle you can't have it succeed to forest and if you're trying to preserve Indiana and northern long-eared bats you can't clearcut
>> so so any disturbance let's put that in quotes that the New Jersey land trust would do to the land would be actually in further effort to preserve the property for its wildlife habit. Not to disturb it to sell, you know, some
flower that may be in the, you know, >> Oh, no, no, no. They focused very much on threatening endangered species and ecosystems. And what they're trying to do is if they're going to cut something down, it's going to be invasives that have infiltrated the area. And and if
you've gone for any hikes in our woods, that's half of what we have left these days. And those things are really difficult for our wildlife and plant species to deal with. So that's that's the only type of management they will do. And I will say there's very little
of it done because they don't have the staff either. >> Okay. >> But it there will not you will not see any kind of wholesale clearing. I >> and um >> feel very comfortable saying that. >> Okay. And this is probably for manager zeb for property that we own that is on,
you know, natural habitat. Do we we the township go in and try to, you know, as the New Jersey land trust is going to do and try to preserve the habitat, make sure invasive species isn't there? Do we take on that obligation right now? >> No.
>> Okay. So, if we turn it over, so we don't do that now. We give it to New Jersey Land Trust. Am I right? they'll start doing what we haven't been doing, which is making sure that land stays preserved and the wildlife stays vital. Um, so it actually if it has a better
preserving effect than we're currently under. Would you agree with that? >> Yes, I would. >> Okay, >> great. >> Any other questions? >> Okay, >> thank you. >> All right, great discussion. >> Thank you very, thank you so much for being here. Appreciate it. >> Thank you.
>> Okay. Uh, let's vote on 89. All in favor of resolution 89 say I. >> I. >> Any opposed or abstained. Resolution 89 has passed. Congratulations. >> Yay.
>> A long long journey. So, thank you for those who have been involved so so much. >> Thank you, council. >> Okay. Moving on to resolution 810. [laughter] picture smile. Jenny, we should get you asking questions about it. [laughter] >> Okay. 810. A resolution authorizing the
displaying of commemorative flag on township owned flag poles. This is for the official flag of the city of Sparta in Greece. So, may I have a motion to approve 810? One second. Uh
so moved. >> A second. >> A second. >> Okay. So this is um as many of you know Sparta, Greece and many towns and
municipalities around the world are linked up in a kind of network. And that's been like that for a while. And in fact, there's a resolution dating back, I believe, to 1974, I don't have it in front of me, 69, 1969, that Sparta Township here and Sparta,
Greece were linked up as sister cities and have shared um information and relationship over the years. This has accelerated a few years ago. Um, and this today is a resolution to fly the
flag of Sparta, Greece for 4 days at the end of August as a um recognition of the anniversary of the 1969 partnership. The resolution also goes on to ask that Sparta Greece flies our flag at the same
time, which is August 27th to the 31st of 2026th. and also that they recognize our sister city twinning on their municipal website. Um so it's it's a goodwill um venture and we're trying to um keep
connected with other towns, municipalities, entities in the US called Sparta and also with Sparta Greece. Um so this is uh a resolution to fly the flag as other ones have flown on the same pole down below the other flags
on those four days. Any any comments or questions? >> No. >> Okay. All in favor of resolution 810 say I. >> I. >> Opposed or abstained. Resolution 810 has passed. I'm glad or
else we'd have to change our name. [laughter] Okay. Resolution 811. Resolution appointing municipal clerk Roxan Landy as interim township manager. May I have a motion to approve 811, please? >> So move.
>> May I have a second? >> Second. >> Any questions or comments? >> Just just one question. Um Mr. Dash, I I just wanted to get clarification that um it's it's not about the person, it's about the process that you know how we
got here with the interim position. I just wanted to make sure that the procedures that the process under the procedures that we initiated, we went through um were in fact the the the proper approach of procedures to do this number one or were there any other
alternatives? We just we talked about this offline. I just wanted to get it on the record to give some assurances or some clarification to it. >> So can if you wouldn't mind speak to that. >> Sure. The council spoke among each other, communicated on the process with
each other, followed the precedent that the town has been following the unwritten precedent uh in terms of hiring or I should say appointing an interim manager and there was discussion by and between council members on that
decision that culminates in the decision today, the resolution today. >> Okay. So, you're comfortable with with the way it was handled? >> Yes. All right. Thank you. Congratulations, Roxan, by the way. >> Excellent. >> Of course. >> Congratulations.
>> All right. All in favor of appointing Roxan as our interim township manager, please say I. >> I. >> I. They opposed orained. Okay. Thank you, Roxan. And lastly, resolution 812, a resolution of the Township of Sparta authorizing
the award of an agreement to Phoenix Consulting Group LLC for executive search services for township manager for the amount not to exceed $15,500. May I have a motion to approve? >> So moved.
>> Okay, we'll we'll take Margie for the motion. >> Okay, Mark, your second. Okay, any questions or comments? Okay. All in favor of resolution 812, please say I. >> I. I. >> Any oppose or abstained? All right.
Resolution 812 has been approved. And now we're moving on to our second open to the public segment for tonight. This is for items not on the agenda. Please state and spell your name for the record. Each speaker is limited to one
comment of no more than five minutes. Good evening, mayor, council members, and fellow residents. U Kenneth Collins, C L I N, Andover Township. Um, those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety
deserve neither liberty nor safety. Benjamin Franklin. Those words are just as relevant today as they were nearly 300 years ago. When Sparta approved flock safety safety cameras, many people believed they were simply approving a modern tool to help
local police. But today, we know much more than we did then. Across the country, communities are reconsidering these systems because of growing concerns about mass surveillance, data sharing, transparency, accountability, misuse of access, and the role private companies play in collecting and
managing sensitive information about the public. Perhaps the most important development here in Sparta is that a former mayor has personally acknowledged to me that he regrets voting to approve the flock system. He said he misunderstood what the council was voting on at the time. He believed it
was simply replacing the license plate readers already installed in patrol vehicles. And today he says he would not vote for the flock cameras. And he made this remarkable statement to me in quotes. In no way was the council informed of this this being part of a
private for-profit data collection network. Whether you supported the cameras originally or not, that statement should give every member of this council pause. If elected officials believe they were approving one thing, but later discovered they had approved something
substantially different, then the public deserves a fresh conversation based on complete information, not assumptions made years ago. This debate is not about whether we support law enforcement. We do. Our police officers have solved crimes for generations without relying
on a privately operated network of fixed cameras that continuously records the movements of ordinary motorists going in and out of their own driveways. and Sparta's police department's reputation reflects that. Supporting law enforcement and protecting civil liberties are not mutually exclusive. In
fact, they go hand in hand. The question is whether Sparta needs to remain part of a private for-profit surveillance network when there are other investigative tools available that do not collect information on every vehicle passing through our community. Technology changes, contracts change,
corporate policies change, but once a surveillance system is established, history teaches us that it rarely shrinks on its own. Surveillance has a tendency to expand unless elected officials deliberately establish clear limits. Communities throughout the country are asking hard questions about
these systems. They're questioning who has access to the data, how it's shared, how long it's retained, what safeguards exist against misuse, and whether the long-term consequences for privacy outweigh the benefits. Those are reasonable questions, and they deserve honest public discussion. That is why I
have drafted a proposed ordinance to prohibit the use of fixed automated license plate reader systems such as flock safety in Sparta Township. I emailed a copy of that proposed ordinance to every member of this council for your consideration prior to this meeting. The ordinance is intended
to provide a constructive path forward. It recognizes the importance of public safety while establishing a policy that fixed privatelyworked license plate reader systems are not the right fit for Sparta. If adopted, it would direct the township to discontinue participation in these systems while preserving the
ability of law enforcement to use lawful investigative techniques that respect both public safety and constitutional liberties. I respect I respectfully ask each of you to review that ordinance carefully, discuss it publicly, and consider introducing it for formal
consideration. Even if you ultimately wish to amend portions of it, I hope it serves as the beginning of an open conversation about the future of surveillance in our community. Tonight, I ask this council to do what good government should always do. Reconsider a decision when significant new
information comes to light. Listen to the residents. Listen to those who now regret supporting the cameras. Listen to those who believe that constitutional rights deserve the benefit of the doubt. Leadership is not about defending every decision that has already been made. Leadership is having the courage to
admit when circumstances have changed, to listen to the public, and to choose a better path. If you agree that Sparta should end its contract with flock safety, residents can sign the petition at change.org/banssparta flock. You can also join the community
campaign at facebook.com/bansspartenj where residents are organizing a peaceful boycott of Sparta until the township ends its participation in the flock camera network. And if you'd like to work with residents throughout the region on this issue, please join the DFlock Sussex County Facebook group.
This conversation is not going away. I respect I respectfully urge you to review the ordinance I've submitted and end your contract with flock. remove the cameras and demonstrate that you're willing to place privacy and freedom of your citizens first. Thank you.
>> Thank you. >> We'd like to uh would like to add a note onto this. Um Mr. Collins, after you had emailed all of us with your um your um comments about your conversation with the previous mayor and councilman, I reached out to him to ask for
clarification and he did confirm that he made it clear in no way that he does he believe that the chief or anyone else misrepresented the program to him and it was not a deception or a bait and switch. It's just that now his understanding has changed. Um and he did add that he trusts our own police
department implicitly in their handling of this data and this facility and that uh in fact he was just admitting that his viewpoint has changed. Uh he's uh regretting his vote at that time. Now he has more information. So just wanted to clarify that to get that out there.
I I reserve comments uh for new business about flock hammers myself. Hello. Uh, Luke Castle. Um, we are in a day and age where change will be necessary for townships to continue to benefit and suit the town's folk for who want to ensure Sparta's
prosperity. I do not believe we are taking the right path in which everyone will benefit. While the flock cameras are a serious decision, we need to focus on how we further prevent these situations from arising. While we do need development, it very much depends on how and um on why on how it's done
and why. Um I do believe that there are ways that we can make this town better. Um I don't support a lot of hyperindustrialization that we're seeing around our town and other towns. We have the warehouses, we have data centers, we have flock cameras. We need to find ways
to get more income into this community to allow people to prosper. and I am worried about the decisions that the town council is doing currently. So, um I hope you will consider what I'm saying
and um decide what you think is best. >> Thank you. >> Hello everyone and thank you for taking us. Uh my name is Jared Shello. I'm here speaking hopefully to uh build on the conversation that Collins and uh Mr. Gasper Markle have uh touched on so far.
Um I'd like to say that I think there's a false choice and a false premise that's being put forth in this conversation where there seems to be this you know are we going to have a flock system or are we going to have a system from the stone age and I believe
that is a false choice. Uh the flock system is basically a cloud service and quite frankly especially with the way things are modernizing there's no reason why we couldn't be able to run that within inhouse and run that services on our own computers. I there are a lot of
risks with having a mass surveillance and a massive contractor. I know many people on this dice are very familiar with when a town does not change or when a loophole is open or a new problem opens itself up that a large contractor
will step in and offer a solution that appears to just be uh benign, but there is a selfish benefit to the contractor that is within the fine print here. And I think that it should be kind of inherently obvious that a mass surveillance network of where everyone
every citizen is at all times and where their daily habits and traffic are has many uh fears and flaws. Um not only that, but simply from a costbenefit analysis, there's risks with having our security systems shared with a larger
network that would be the target of uh many other people seeking to profit or attack even the US as a larger network. But you get the point. And also simply the fact that from a costbenefit analysis of once we are dependent on this flock system and once every town is
dependent on the flock system, well this is a for-profit company, they're going to do what Uber and Netflix did, they're going to cook up the price and we're going to be the frog in the pot while the costs get higher and higher. Um, I do believe that this is the start of a new conversation. I don't believe that this is a movement that is pro this,
anti- this. I think this is a new conversation. How are we going to modernize our surveillance and security system? That's a very valid question. We've been asking it for a long time as Benjamin Franklin has been dealing with this and I think that quote will live forever. We have had a constitution that
has preserved our rights as technology has developed and as privacy laws have modernized and changed and they've been threatened and they've been modernized and they've been you get the point. I don't want to repeat myself, but the point is we have options available. You
can we can have our own cameras. We could look into it. We could potentially run this software. I've seen people run many of these advanced intelligence softwares on personal computers. I'm sure we could I'm not an expert in this. I'll leave that to you. I I thank you for considering us and for hearing this
new start of this new conversation and I hope you will consider everything that's been said here previously. >> Thank you, >> Joanne Scally. Um, I just want to um welcome you back and congratulate you on inter manager and I want to congratulate
you on your um retirement. Even though it wasn't your own terms, I'm sure you're going to enjoy it. Um, on the flock cameras, I see a lot of information that's false. Um, and I believe the uh
rewards outdo the risk of um cameras. There's I read many stories where children were returned to their parents because of flock camera. I read where seniors get lost and they were down because of flock cameras. I read about
cars being stolen, returned because of flock cameras. The um persons were arrested. I read about homes being burglarized. That happens a lot in Sparta. And I believe that all the flock cameras are on the exits to Sparta so that they can see where um
these cars are, where people are, and it does outweigh it. And I believe a lot of falsehoods, like I said, are going on. I know Mr. Collins was called out on one of his things that were wrong about um things that happened in Warden, New Jersey, a dispensary, and he still
didn't apologize or remove that um post even though he was called out on and there's posts showing that the U ordinance for Warden. So, I wish you would keep the um flock cameras. They do a lot of good and like
I said, it outweighs the risks. Thank you. Hi, Jenny Derek's tapping to Sparta. Um, I'm following up. Oh, two things. Uh, re-evaluation of town. We're supposed to have a re reaval. Are we going to do are
we are is that in the works or do we have >> It will be in the works. I'll probably be making an announcement on in uh August on that. >> Okay. >> But um you're you're correct. The county has directed us to um uh you know conduct a re-evaluation.
>> Do you anticipate doing it on a rolling basis or do you expect to do the whole thing or should I just wait till August? >> Yeah, I it's a pretty good chance that that is going to happen, but it's going to be a council decision when uh all the information is is presented. >> Thank you. Um, and then just following
up also on 809 West Mountain. Um, do we have any has the town taken any further steps? Uh, it's been almost two years that they've been, uh, required to have permits that still haven't been applied for, at least as my last OPER request
from last month. Um, has there been any movement on the town to to work to reinforce that? My engineer's been sitting patiently here to for that exact question. >> Okay. [laughter] >> Jenny, you want you want to finish and
then >> Yeah. Just because there I have been um I've had a couple people in the town uh reach out about having been recently fined for um smaller infractions on their property. Not to say that any
infraction shouldn't be um met with um the proper enforcement, but to have this egregious one hanging open for two years uh really doesn't seem fair. So, thank you.
>> Thank you, >> Cory. The mic's yours. >> Okay, this is the 809 West Mountain Road ongoing saga. Um uh the I guess the short answer is we still have not received the permit applications from
the the land owners. Um they had an LSRP um you know do report on their um when the quality of the soil fill that was brought to the site. The LSRP report uh illustrated that the soil was clean. Uh
there is a D um um uh notice or D uh case open right now. That information is being reviewed by the D. They've asked for additional information because there was some millings milling material that was on the surface and was mixed in. So they they've asked for additional
information regarding that issue. That's not really a that's not really the township issue that Mr. Erica is asking about. Um but the um that that is in the in the background. We've been told every month that we're getting the uh the
applications coming in for the soil. The only application we truly have right now is a soil fill application that is due to the township. Um there's a soil conservation district approval um that is required as well from upper Delaware. Um we've started the the process because we have not seen that. We're we um we
turn it over to the the Sparta code enforcement officer. he's in a process of preparing new notices uh to the property owner and then um and move that forward. We tried to do it with the property owner, you know, you know, working with them um to get us the the
soil testing in the permit applications, but we have not received it. So, um working with Jim, um we decided to turn it over to the um the code enforcement officer and he's working on that now. >> Okay, sounds great. Thank you very much. Appreciate it. >> Gordon, can you explain that? Are we
talking about that soil being removed or a permit to add to that soil? >> Not not to add to it, but they have to provide um um what their use what their use is going to be u um for that area.
>> That's what the purpose that is. >> They brought the soil in. There's nothing it my opinion right now so far for the information I've received that they haven't shown that the there's nothing shown that the soil is contaminated other than the milling the millings that are on on the surface. The
um they possibly could leave the soil there, but it has to be stabilized. It's got to you have the proper soil soil um um uh uh the soil um soil stabilization upper Delaware. It's got to approve a a permit for it. And we're still we're
actually, you know, before we close this out, whatever that it looks like in the future, we want the D to give their their final notification. Now, the D last month, they provided a letter to the property owner stating that they had received the copy of the LSRP report and
they had um uh uh they had some objection to the report because it did not address the millings that were on on the pro on the on the soil. Uh I believe the millings have to do with the fact that they once they brought the fill in they put a layer of millings on top and they haven't you know properly addressed
that. So that that issue is still open as well. >> Thank you. Yes ma'am. >> Can I ask you something? >> Yeah. I don't want to get into a big Q&A with on a private thing but >> No, I just wanted to know is there a a statue of how far down they have to
test, how many inches, feet and how many places? >> I was present. I had another represent my office when they did do the testing. They dug through the entire pile down to the existing ground. So in some, you know, depending on it's on the side of a hill slope, some are, you know, several feet, some were over 10, 12 feet, you
know, deep. So they went down through all the material, >> but like in several different places >> at 10 10 different test holes that were created. >> There weren't 10. There were only nine. >> Okay. >> Yeah, there was >> there was 10 that were laid out that >> the property manager
dug the holes and the day before. >> Okay. I I don't want to get into a whole trial here, folks. Sorry. You know, the facts are good and you know, we we can handle offline. We're happy to talk offline. I just >> There was there was nine of them. The 10th one of the machine broke down. >> Okay. >> Thank you very much. >> Thank you. >> Thank you.
>> It is a private matter. Thank you. >> Okay. Seeing none, we'll get back to our regularly scheduled program number 10. So, now let's do some council leazison updates. I'll start at my far right. Uh, Councilman Clark,
>> can I make one more comment though about public comment? You know, I understand that people are understandably upset about these flock cameras, but to stand or or to grandstand and put on on on social media that people should be
banning private businesses in Sparta is not appropriate. We had an intelligent and a brief conversation here. There's no need to penalize the businesses of Sparta
to promote your thesis statement. And I think that we should all talk about this issue, but there's no reason to penalize the business of Sparta. >> Okay. >> Thank you. >> Thank you,
>> Councilman Clark. >> Uh, Council Leazison updates. Um, we had to move the meeting with the board of ed. Uh, I think probably given the weather and other things. So, I think we're going to Mike, we're going to probably figure out a time to meet again
at some point. >> Um, and we have a meeting of the trails committee tomorrow. Um, uh, the beautifification committee, uh, we had to move the meeting. Um, so I haven't had that one yet. wreck is not meeting
until the fall and the uh beautifification will meet uh probably in the next week or so. So I really haven't had uh many meetings uh in July uh given everyone's committee members uh travel schedules etc. So that's all I
have. Uh oh no I do have an update with respect to the movie uh uh group. Uh, one is, uh, people may recall, I guess now it's almost two summers ago. Uh, there was filming done in Sparta by, uh,
and it was led by folks in the film committee. Um, and thankfully, you know, the owners of Burger and Butcher were helpful, the police were helpful, and, you know, we did some shots at Station Park. So, that was to create what's called a reel. A real is what you do and
you have like a a short that you use to then um try to entice um streaming platforms or movie studios to then bankroll a um a series. And so they
finally finished uh the post-p production in that and they are having an opening at the Barammore Theater in Manhattan um for that series uh in probably about two weeks or so and then
I know I've spoken with some of the um members of the committee. The idea is to then have an opening here in Sparta so residents can see because obviously people don't want to ship all the way to the Barmore Theater in New York. for the fact that the Bearemore Theater wants to screen uh this particular production. Uh
just kudos to our members of that committee who put that together and did a lot of work. And again, that was done almost exclusively by uh either Sparta residents or Sussex County residents from you know the uh grips to the camera
person to the um script editor etc. It was all kind of local people. So kudos to them. Thank you. Thank you, Council. >> Uh, Rev 250, we've not had a meeting for July. Senior advisory, we've not had a
meeting for July. And, uh, we'll resume hopefully again next month. And Lake Mohawk, the uh, Northshore and West Shore Trail closures have been have not been decided the dates yet. So, that's
all I have. >> Okay. Thank you. the uh just speak about the master plan subcommittee. Um the early July meeting was cancelled, but we are we've collected dates to accelerate that process and meet more than once a
month. Um there's a meeting scheduled for tomorrow night actually and then we're going to be filling in uh more as we go to keep the process going in the midst of summer, you know, calendaring and vacationing schedules. More to come on that. >> All right. Yeah, just real quick the um
update from the last planning board. Um the planning board voted to have their attorney draft up an ordinance to establish a historic zone for Lake Mohawk Country Club specifically. The planning board will review and approve either hand over to the master planning subcommittee or send it to council as
recommendation for council's consideration and uh just to make note um hopefully our video and audio we were having video audio problems that night. So, I just wanted to, you know, give [clears throat] an update of what happened at last meeting. I'm glad we're not having any glitches tonight. So, and
just real quick, I attended the mushball game. I went down to the fields the other day, attended the mushball game and the concert. Terrific. It was fantastic game. The mushball games were very competitive. VFW was playing, so I was rooting for those guys. And um the
concert was really well attended and really enjoyable to hang out and watch. So, good job pulling that together. So that's all. >> Uh okay. Business development committee did not meet this past year this past
month. Um this weekend as as uh Chief Perrick has said this weekend is the 12th annual changing the face of addiction walk. It's in Franklin at 9:00 a.m. If you'd like additional information, we'll be posting that on the website. Uh I will be there.
There'll be food trucks, there'll be games, and there'll be a a onem casual walk um to show our support against addiction. Against addiction, I think you know, you
know what I mean. Thanks, >> Mark. Can you do your microphone? >> That's it. Okay, >> that's it [laughter] >> for the for the BDC for for Mike and Mark. Is there other things going on? I know the website was underway. What are there other initiatives or projects that
are happening with BDC? >> The the purchase orders in the finance department >> or the BDC website? >> Yeah. Waiting. >> Good. Yeah. I mean, besides the website, are there other things that the committee has? >> Right. We we've been trying to bring on new committee members. I think one or two other people have volunteered since
and wanted to get involved. So, that's good. But not much. No, >> we're in discussions to put together meet and greet meet and greets out at indust ind industry for the small businesses in town >> and we're working on that. We'll have announcements in the next month or so.
Thank you. >> We're kind of in summer. >> Okay. Okay. I just know the sooner the better with attracting, you know, fostering the business community. >> Okay. Uh let's start with unfinished and new business. Uh, as a reminder, this is specifically intended
for council business, for unfinished council business, new business that discussions, considerations, future follow-ups. Um, okay, Councilman, >> I'm going to pass but reserve the right to come back. Okay, >> mayor. >> I'm going to pass and reserve the right
to come [laughter] back, >> guys. >> What's going on here? All right. Okay. I have a few items. one is I'd like to um recognize a student for a a uh community service project that he completed u not
too long ago. Uh it came to my attention and I just wanted to uh acknowledge and publicly highlight the impressive accomplishments of this uh young man, a local student, Drew Shapolski.
Drew is a junior at Pope John and he recently collected more than 200 pieces of baseball equipment with an estimated uh value of almost $13,000 for children in underserved communities who might not
otherwise have access to the sport. Uh over the course of the school year, Drew worked with local baseball facilities and members of the county community here in Sussex County to organize collection sites, encouraged families to donate equipment for uh that their kids had outgrown and the
equipment was donated to an organization called Pitch In for baseball and softball. It's a nonprofit. Uh they provide baseball and softball equipment to youth in need. And um baseball has has taught Drew teamwork, perseverance,
responsibility, and resilience. And he wanted to provide that to other people and give them the opportunity to uh appreciate the same lessons that he had learned um in his life from sport. So, um, there's been a couple articles on him, so you might have seen that already in the news, but it's always
heartwarming to hear stories about young people who are focused on not themselves, but enriching lives of others and especially maybe people who don't have opportunities that he have has and had. So, I just hope his impressment, his impressive u community service project encourages other young
people now, maybe next year as they're thinking about their community service just to do more and to get involved and think of others. And I wanted to [snorts] thank uh Rob Fuches from an organization called Stand Out for College for bringing this to my attention and getting in touch with me to share um Drew's achievements. So I
just want to congratulate him publicly. Second is I I wanted to share a comment or two on flock cameras and uh I have some questions and I'd like to learn more about access and sharing to our data. And first to be clear, I I totally
trust our own police department, our employees. This is more about the overall principle and about the broader potential use of our data and about the vendor itself. So I feel we just need to gather a little bit more facts in order to
provide intelligent answers and make uh prudent decisions and make sure we're on the right course. I'm not implying that we're not, but we need the information to know that. Um, so I I do have some questions I put together. I've shared with council and um we'll be we'll be looking into these to get some answers
um around sharing. There are things like what's our sharing policy and what's our setting right now because different users and clients, municipalities can have different sharing settings. Who sets the policy for sharing in Sparta? You know, can our data be accessed by
other jurisdictions, nationwide databases, other clients of Flock? Um and believe me, it's not just Flock. There's we have Flock here, but there's probably almost a dozen other companies like Flock. Um, so if sharing is permissible, what's the policy around that?
What cases is it allowed? And are there parameters and limits on those others who might be accessing our data? And then around access itself, you know, who has access? We've heard some of this before from the chief in other meetings, but I think we need to kind of have a holistic look at this. Um, does the data
stored by Flock belong exclusively to us? Is it our data and what's the retention policy, the deletion policy? I think we have some answers, but I just would like to get a holistic view on this. And then finally around the guard rails. I know there's audits um things
like that in place to um prevent inappropriate outside use. So, um I think we just want to I know I want to I know some others do just want to gather some more information. >> Would you like some of those answers now? >> Uh why don't we hold off and we can come back to the public and >> I have them all for you. So, let me
know. Um we'd like to >> Sure. >> Sure. [laughter] >> So uh sharing policy um all the data that these cameras and Flock just just so everybody understands Flock is just one vendor. Um there's several different
vendors out there. Um Flock is the vendor that we chose. Um the data that that comes in is owned by us. Um it's not owned by the vendor. They don't they do not have access to it. um municipalities or or um police
departments within New Jersey do have access uh to the reads that Flock has to provide through uh New Jersey State Police backrace system. Okay. So that information is searched through
Backrace. Um the safeguards on that are training. Anybody who uses that system has to have several different trainings. Um I believe there is three um right off the bat. There has to be policy um and obviously the uh attorney general's uh
directive I believe is 2022 um which gives a real if anybody wants to look at the policy um on Alpars uh the directive from the attorney general really gives a good uh synopsis of everything. retention period is three
years that was that was moved in 2022 from five years to three years. Um and then the data has to be uh um discontinued. Um what other questions you have? I'm sorry. [clears throat] >> Do we have uh so our setting for our
town if I could just >> We don't share with so we don't share that data with jurisdictions outside of New Jersey. >> Okay. Um if there is a request we can but it has to be for a legit legitimate law enforcement purpose and we would
provide that data to them. Um but we would not um give them access to uh to our system itself. >> Okay. So if they if they contact us because they're investing in a certain crime or certain case and they believe this data is uh critical to that case
then we can on a case- by case basis grant access to that data. >> Correct. And sometimes jurisdictions outside of the state uh will will provide us with a subpoena for that information too. >> Okay. Okay. >> So Flock itself does not have access to
our data. >> No. >> Okay. So that that therefore means they're not >> Flock stores our data >> selling it. They're not marketing it some other way. They're not leveraging it in any way. Okay. They're just storing it. >> Um and for us to use I think you chief you
said this in the past again. It's not people shouldn't be worried about browsing the data. It's when there's a specific case or something that you have a number for that you're going in specifically to access our data for. Is that correct? >> Yes. So, we have to if we're going to access the data, you have to provide a
case number. Uh case number has to be for a legitimate law enforcement purpose um to access that data. Um and then with some of the safeguards, you're talking about audits. So, uh, there's annual audits done by our department, by the
prosecutor's office, county prosecutor's office, and also by, uh, the state. Every department, um, who would have these type of devices have to have a coordinator. Um, and there's also a county coordinator and a state
coordinator. >> They're the ones who conduct the audits. >> Okay. And just to be clear, within our township, the only people that have access to it are in your department, >> correct? >> Correct. Okay. >> And that's only officers that are trained. Um obviously everybody has to
review the policy no matter what. Um but any officer has to go through all the training that is that is set forth in the AG directive. >> Okay. Okay. >> And another question that came up was um how many how often is it used? How many criminal cases have Sparta's cameras
been used for? I couldn't tell you that off hand. I I I don't know. >> Okay. >> I mean, can you estimate? Is it single digit? >> I can't estimate. No. >> Okay. That was what I had on my list for the ones that I compiled. I'm not sure if others while we're on the topic have any ones for now. Any questions about
the cameras for tonight? I mean, I have a comment about it, but I don't have a I think uh Chief McCarrick was very indulgent with his time uh over his vacation to answer a lot of the questions that you
had that I had. So, I don't >> I I really would refer if to anybody to read the AG attorney general's directive 2022-12. Okay. >> Yeah. 2022-12. >> Okay. And that's publicly available if folks want to go on there and find it.
Okay. >> Yes. >> Okay. >> And if anybody has questions, they can contact me via email. >> J mccerrickspartd.org. >> Okay. Appreciate it, Chief. Thank you. I wasn't expecting you to answer tonight. So, uh, appreciate your flexibility.
>> I'm well verssed in this. Um, take great pride in public safety in our town. These cameras are used for public safety purposes. Um, and that's it. Okay, >> mayor. I just want to add I I think I heard during the public comment period a statement that I just want to correct. I
heard that the quote homes are burglarized a lot in Sparta. I think I think the chief would agree with me that's not an accurate statement. In fact, we have some of the lowest burglary rates in the state. >> I agree with that. >> Thank you. >> Thank you.
>> Thank you. Okay. My my last uh piece of unfinished business is uh a couple points of clarification. Over over the last few weeks or almost a month now, uh I've received several questions about the final budget that was passed at our last meeting and a couple misperceptions
that need to be clarified. Um so f items, one is uh been asked a number of times surplus and we went through this last time. What was the size of the surplus or the reserves at the end of 2025 coming into 2026? And the answer is just
under 2.5 million. To be exact, 2 million 462,523 and 98. So I've been asked a lot of times. I don't know why it keeps coming up. So let's put that to bed. That's the facts. All right. Just under 2.5 million
coming into 2026. Second topic. Um, how long was the period of time from the when the council and when everybody started working on the budget when all the council members provided input and could impact the budget and talk about tax increases and
all that? Okay. Well, the working session was on Saturday, March 7th, and then the council members had over three and a half months to make their impact, contribute, um, fine-tune and get to the meeting we had at the end of June. So, I've been asked that a few times like
what's happening with the time frame? the people have a chance to input. So, I wanted to get that out there and just clarify that. And that's all I have for new business, unfinished business. Councilwoman, >> I have nothing else to add.
>> Uh, sure. Since you brought up the the block hammers, I I wanted to say that um I'm not unsympathetic to your cause here. I understand um what you know the concern is um not with respect to our
law enforcement using it prop. I completely trust they will for profofit companies. Yeah, I've dedicated my entire professional career going after corporations for um all matter and sunundry of fraud and antitrust abuse
and everything. So I'm dubious at best. Um, so I I approached that issue with that kind of view, right? Um, and so that's why I had a lot of conversations about what Flock could do with the data. And I found out, well, wait a minute,
they don't even own the data. We own it. They're not an authorized user. And so if they were to take and somehow use our data for their own proprietary purposes, be a breach of the contract. And probably that would be my first phone
call would be probably to Anen and say I think we have a very good class action here uh on behalf of municipalities who use flock and they're now using the data for their own proprietary purposes. Um and so far as I know and based on my research that hasn't happened yet. Um
and so I feel like in this situation, I feel a lot the way Judge Davis did and um Northern and um uh Northern District of Virginia who had the case the constitutional case involving um lock cameras and uh Alpar
and in that case um I mean he specifically said they found that they were constitutional you know and it's and he said federal and state courts analyzing in Alpar claims have almost uniformly concluded that neither taking photos of the
license plate of a vehicle on a public roadway nor maintaining and querying a database of Alpar photos constitutes a warrantless search. Um and so as a but there's a caveat there and the
judge made the caveat which is where that line is we don't know yet right we don't know for the facts that were presented to that court there there wasn't a constitutional violation and I feel like we're in that same situation here which
we I I'm not seeing it I'm not seeing flock having used our data inappropriately I'm not seeing our law enforcement using it inappropriately. The safeguards I do, I read through the entire um attorney general law enforcement um directive on this. I do
it, you know, there's very specific guidelines on even how you can do searches on here. You can't just randomly do searches just because you feel like it. I mean, there has to be um so there's when it's non-alert data, there has to be a bolo query. There has to either a crime scene or crime trend
analysis. it's very limited in what you do. Um, and then another followup I did is, you know, I said, well, have there been any kind of motions to suppress, right? This is what happens if you gather evidence that you got uh by a violation of constitutional rights. What
a defense attorney does, they try to suppress the evidence at trial. So, what did I do? called up, you know, our Sussex County prosecutor's office and said, "Have you seen any motions to suppress related to evidence obtained via an ALPAR?" Not at all. And in fact,
I think there may I don't think there's really any cases so far on that. And part of it is um my understanding is Alpar is just one little piece when you're trying to investigate and re and find out whether you have reasonable suspicion to stop someone or there the
crime is getting committed or trying to make out a probable cause warrant. Um there's a whole bunch of other things. And so um I did, you know, really kind of dig down in here to see if, you know, there was evidence here that, you know, Flock was using inappropriately or
there's such an error rate with Alpar that people are getting stopped, you know, um indiscriminately. Um I don't think the chief is that hasn't happened in Sparta or anywhere else where they've gotten an Alpar hit and then they've stopped someone and they shouldn't have stopped them. That hasn't happened. So,
we're just not there yet. And um and then when I take on one side there, I haven't seen evidence of the unlaw improper use of this or an unconstitutional use compared with the good part. I have seen kids getting found, robbery, um uh gangs being busted
because of Alpar. um it's a legitimate law enforcement and until I see otherwise where it's these abuses and you know look if you look at Flock's business model it really is based on subscription and getting people to sign up. Um you know I I think that
data does have probably some uh some value if they were to sell it to corporations who may want to have that kind of information. sure that I think it does have value um that way, but Flock can't do that. They're not allowed
to do that. If they did, they're they're opening themselves up to a heck of a lot of liability risk. So, I don't think that um that militates toward, you know, them not doing it. But I get your concerns. I I I understand that. I just don't think we're there yet to a point
where I I need to go tell, you know, we need to tell the chief, hey, this legitimate law enforcement tool that has saved lives, uh, stopped robberies, found missing children, uh, you need to, you know, get rid of it. And so, I just don't think we're there yet. So, that's,
you know, my kind of approach to this. But I do appreciate, uh, Ken and others for bringing this to attention. Um I do share that hey let's don't penalize small businesses in Sparta for something they have no control over. Um so I would
encourage people um to continue these to go to these businesses um who probably have you know cameras themselves thankfully because they that can also be helpful in solving crimes. Um then on to another this is old business.
Um I know that we had we had introduced um a while and I thought it was a decent idea was uh the investigate before you legislate uh ordinance about um and it would pertain only to land use ordinances and I didn't know where that was because I had made some suggestions
and one suggestion I made to that is uh if we are going to do that um because this issue has come up um here it's come up in other townships that if we're introducing a land use ordinance uh which has been requested by a developer
um that that would be disclosed to the public before we introduce it. And so the public would know that a developer has asked for this and we'd have to disclose that at the introduction of the ordinance. Um and part and parcel of that would also be a recommendation that
if the township um has signed any kind of non-disclosure agreement uh related to say a development that would be affected by this introduced ordinance, we'd also have to disclose that. So, those are some changes I made. I haven't seen if we're going to do anything with
it, but I know it um I did recommend that. So, I don't know if it's now on ice, but um so I think, you know, since we were talking about it and then it kind of went nowhere, um what's the status of that one? Well, Councilman Clark, I appreciate you bringing that up
tonight, and I mean, I don't know if this is a place to put a put it out for a motion to vote on it, but I really appreciate you carrying the ball and trying to work it through our our fellow council members here. And in light of all these recent discussions time and
time again that type of approach would apply to some of the topics where we've been hearing and discussing whether it's [clears throat] the landfill whether it's this there's a lot of information gathering and pros and cons or alternative arguments or
positions on things and I think it's just a a healthy way of opening up constructive dialogue. So I appreciate you bringing that up tonight. Hey, no problem. And I have no other new business or old existing business.
>> Thank go. >> Okay. With that being said, it's time to head home. So, may I have a motion to adjourn? >> So moved. >> I have a second. >> Second. >> All right. Time is 9:35. Everyone have a
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