good evening everybody All right This meeting is being held in accordance with the public laws of 1975 chapter 231 An adequate notice of this meeting has been provided by a
notice sent to Star Leisure the local source and posted in the main lobby of the municipal building and on the township website Pled of allegiance led by Carl Austergard Okay Junior Vice Commander
American Legion Post Tutus to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all Please remain standing for our
troops here and abroad Thank you Thank you Roll call Mayor Yuber yes Deputy Mayor Lower present Committeeman Capes here Committeeman Kaiser present
And committeeman Weber is absent All right All right Greenfield 55 plus residence calendar is here for April
2025 Omissible office will be closed Wait a second now Maybe Thursday too All municipal offices will be closed in Good Friday April 18th
Springfield Public Works annual Arbor Day celebration Friday April 25th 12:00 p.m at Veterans Park Veterans Memorial Park Annual planting and seating giveaway Springfield community cleanup
is Sunday April 27th from 11 to 2 Meet at Laurel Park Proclamation Arbor Day oh will be given to the DPW present present presention of
redevelopment plan for okay so forget that part of the ordinance right Easter egg hunt Easter egg hunt is supposed to be Saturday starting at 2:15 If it goes by the forecast it won't
happen Saturday And if it's rained out Saturday it's on Sunday So hopefully we can get it in this weekend Um I wish everyone a happy Passover coming Is it Friday or Saturday starts Saturday night Saturday night
Saturday night I'm learning I'm learning through all these years No Saturday night Have a good Passover All right And public comment on agenda items
only Anyone here open to the public Seeing none closer to the public Um reports Thank you Mr Mayor Vegetated waste will be collected
curbside The service will continue through April 30th Uh after that all residents can utilize a drop off at the recycling center at 44 Marson We also added a book drop bin at the recycling center This is something that we could
not get rid of We couldn't put it in recycle So we've got a separate bin for books only that that is up at the pool Any hardcover book will either be recirculated or properly recycled Uh our other crews have been
working on spring cleanup on the parks and other township property We started mulching Actually today I saw the guys out doing mulching as part of regular maintenance I want to give you an update on PSEG paving because this is a this is a big one Meisel Avenue will be done
curb to curb from Lynen to Mars The milling will be done on the 11th Then the paving is scheduled for the 16th All this work on the county road will be done between 7:00 p.m and 5:00 a.m Rockorn construction will notify all of
the will do all the notifications and all the detours Township roads being paved Brook Street Rose Keeler Salter and Caldwell Here's what we got Brook Street Rose and Keeler is under a moratorum They will be
paved in full Salter will be paved from the intersection of Brook and Salter to Keeler Caldwell is a full pavement We swapped some footage with them So they will pave the entire street We'll do some of the little stubs and the little
side streets So that's better for us The milling and the paving on those streets the milling is April 14th 15th and 16th The paving is scheduled for April 17th This will be performed in regular business hours And the reason that we did this is because that's the week the
school is closed so it won't interfere on Caldwell while we're doing the work Okay Uh again we swapped some footage And again this is all based on the weather As long as the weather's okay we'll be out there Johanna Way pumping station We had a great meeting on the
Johanna pumping station Here's where we are The Westinghouse parts are no longer available as we know Um we have the manufacturer the pumps and the motors are scheduled to arrive in June All the electrical components meaning the panels
the transfer switches have all been delivered JCPNL is scheduled to upgrade the transformers outside the station to meet the demands of the new system construction activities is scheduled to begin late May early June with a ten
tenative completion date in October which is well before what we had planned on the December 31st and all of that money came out of the American Recoveries Act So that worked out extremely well Quick update I think everybody's probably aware our friends
up the street on the Gomes project the gas line last week Little minor inconvenience Uh that was fixed by by uh PSCG They're working on the sidewalks now in front of Marsav What we found out I think I had mentioned before is that
DT is insisting on 5 foot of cement We can't have pavers all the way to the curb So we'll have five foot of cement and then the pavers will be behind that to the building The bumpout is also being worked on on Center Street If you went around the corner we're gonna have
to see if we're going to have to make Center Street a oneway now because with the bumpout started if you have a car coming in car going out one of them's got to wait to pass It's it's getting pretty tight there Uh the lighting has been the footings have been put in for
the lighting along center and Mars also So that should be done in the not too distant future We have a meeting tomorrow with Gomes and our attorney uh here at 3:00 So I have further update on schedule and where we're going to be If
there are any other questions or comments I'd be happy to answer or get you the answer Nope Um I will say that they did send letters out because I'm on Rose and I got a letter Yes about the repaving dates and things like that Good So I
know that's done I know it's been annoying you know with all of the the digging up they've done and the road is bumpy etc etc but we see light at the end of the tunnel So neighboring town is actually Milburn is very very rough Have you It's terrible
It's It's every town Summits like that Every town but the uh they they have really tore up uh the roads So hopefully hopefully with the spring weather we can get some of these repaved That's the schedule Thank you
Minutes none New business ordinance 202508 This ordinance is to establish a cap bank for the calendar year 2025 pursuant to
NJSA48 colon 4-45.14 Have a motion I will make a motion to adopt ordinance 2025-08 as read by madame clerk with publication in the local source on April 17 2025 Second
uh public hearing uh public hearing on anything It's over to the public right now [Music] Seeing none close to the public Roll call Committeeman Kaiser Yes Deputy
Mayor Laugher Yes Mini man Capides Yes Mayor Yuber Yes Uh second reading on ordinance 20259 This ordinance of the township of Springfield County of Union New Jersey is to introduce the redevelopment plan
for 175 Mars Avenue identified as block 810 lot 10 within the township of Springfield You have a motion Mr Mayor I'd like to make a motion to approve ordinance 202509 on second reading as read by
Madame Clerk with publication local source April 17 2025 I'm going to second All right Publication local April 17th
2025 It's open to the public right now on that Anyone one close to the public You want Yes Mr Mayor I just wanted to just to give a quick summary really on where we are
with this is second reading This was introduced last month The ordinance was then uh sent over to the planning board uh for its consistency review and recommendations Uh I believe everyone up here received a copy of the correspondence from the planning board
following their meeting relating to those recommendations and the uh confirmation that it was consistent that the plan is consistent with with the master plan Um and that's the summary where we are
committeeman capes Yes Committeeman Kaiser Uh yeah and and and just to take a a few minutes as I did in the planning board and and and articulate it I'm first off very thankful and very grateful to you know our entire
administration that worked tirelessly on this uh and works tirelessly every day to get a development and redevelopment accomplished in our township that we can be proud of and and and that meets our expectations So you know thank you to
the administration John Michael uh uh uh Craig our redevelopment attorneys every everybody who works hard on this every single day Mike in in in engineering Uh for a very long
time many different township committees have have prioritized probably over the last 30 years of trying to get our downtown in a place that everybody is very happy and passionate about and and can compete with our neighboring
townships of Milbour and Summit and Westfield and and and and we have certainly had a very hard time accomplishing that uh in the past few years I think the the thanks to the administration and and our professionals
we've gotten a number of projects accomplished and are in process of being built Uh uh the redevelopment plan for 175 Morris Avenue continues to to in that direction
of revitalizing an area that has been uh uh dilapitated for lack of a better term for a very long time And that will be a building that not only looks visually attractive but but helps us meet our
affordable housing goals and helps bring in uh a number of new individuals uh of 30some units into our community and revitalize a downtown into a walking corridor into something close to transit
right in in Milbour uh uh and something that we can all be proud of and and fix is something that sat vacant for many many many years and probably would continue to sit vacant So I I I think we're all very happy I know that I'm
satisfied with this redevelopment plan as it's been introduced and uh and without any further changes it balances our needs of meeting our state obligated uh affordable housing meeting a a desire
of this township committee to further revitalize our downtown and and and make it something that we all are proud of So with that I am happy to vote in favor I'll do a roll call Committeeman Capidis Yes Committeeman Kaiser Yes Deputy Mayor
Laugher This one took a minute Yes Mayor Huber Yes Thank you Okay Now we have first reading Ordinance 202510 This ordinance amends certain provisions of the township code at
chapters 12 and 35 to reflect certain conditions for the issuance of certificates of occupancy consistent with the New Jersey Uniform Code and updating the penalties for violations of the township's land use code
I would like to make a motion on ordinance 2025-10 uh with publication in the local source April 17 2025 with final hearing on May 13 2025
Second There we go Uh discussion Craig would you like to give us the top lines here yes sure Uh so two things are happening here One is updating um some of the actually really
codifying what's already in the statutes as it relates to um getting cos issued here Um this helps as as we we codify a lot of things that are already statutory to help um really to help the residents and uh the folks who are trying to apply
uh who may not be u may not have access to the statutes themselves So um we get it right into the code to make it clear what the conditions are for CO The other item is really just really just clarifying um the maximum end of penalties um for certain types of
violations use code which again it's also statutory just it up to the top limit um for those special situations where the municipal court judge deems it necessary to impose higher funds So question is this codifying the the
new inspection guidelines not no of a CO or is it just are they different building regulations it's just these are these have been in place for years These are those just updates Yeah Really more just general conditions for
the issuance of a CO that didn't previously exist in the code but existed in the statute Sounds good Roll call Roll Okay Um Deputy Mayor Lurer Yes Minimman Kaiser Yes
Committeeman Capides Yes Mayor Yuber Yes Okay Ordinance 202511 This bond ordinance is to authorize the making of various public improvements and the acquisition of new additional or replacement equipment and machinery new
communication and signal systems equipment and machinery new information technology equipment and new automotive vehicles including original apparatus and equipment in by and for the township of Springfield Union County New Jersey
to appropriate the son of 2,756 $6,000 to pay the cost thereof to make a down payment to authorize the issuance of bonds to finance such appropriation and to provide for the issuance of bond anticipation notes in
anticipation of the issuance of such bonds I'll make a motion to adopt the the ordinance 2025-11 as read by madam clerk with the publication in the local source on April 10th 2025 with a final hearing on April
2022 2025 second discussion Um just to put it in right we we over the last six years we've done a number of bond ordinances uh uh that you know kind of
routine and we go out to ensure there's some things that we just don't have the capital on cash in hand to do right and that's make improvements on on a number of our buildings over the number of years It's buying equipment that uh to replace equipment that is outdated Uh uh
we try to be as prudent as possible Trust me there's a lot of things that doesn't get on this bond list every single year Um but at the end of the day we try to we try to do the bare minimum that meets our uh uh expectations up here that that ensures that we continue
to make the right and critical investments needed to ensure the functioning uh of our township and making the necessary improvements that we all require so things don't start to fall apart and we get into a issue down
the road where we're in a catastrophe So taking out a a a small bond each uh each year uh uh to make sure that we continue to make our commitments is uh I think the
financially prudent thing to do So uh uh and I'm sure we'll talk more about this during our presentation and our budget presentation where we'll go into more detail down the line and highlight some of this stuff Uh with that I would encourage everybody to uh uh vote yes
Okay Committeeman Kaiser Yes Deputy Mayor Lurer Yes Committee deputies Yes Mayor Yub Yes Okay Resolutions Let me know if you want one poll Resolution is 2025
110 1112 113 114 115 116 117 Pull this please [Music] uh
202518 Paul 17 and 18 I have a Sure Mr Mayor I'd like to make a motion to approve resolutions 2025 1110 through 2025
1116 Do I have a second second Committeeman Capid Yes Committeeman Kaiser Yes Deputy Mayor Laer Yes Mayor Yuber Yes Okay Resolution 2025 1117 This resolution introduces and approves the
proposed 2025 budget for the Springfield Community Partnership and provides for public hearing and final adoption Um want to want to ask a point of clarification
here So typically when we when we uh when we uh approve the proposed uh bid budget which is the Springfield Community Partnership we have a public hearing so we can ask uh and exercise
our our our oversight over how we spend our money Will this public hearing happen next meeting or are we skipping this public hearing the presentation Correct Presentation you could either have tonight or we gonna have at the
next meeting Well we have to have it at the next meeting We So so I I mean and I want to be very particular on this because the resolution says uh approves the proposed budget So it's not approved We still have to approve it a second
time Correct Okay And you'll get a presentation at the next meeting on Jay start your allocution classes so you can really present No we can't Just checking All right Thank you
Um I'll make a mo Did we make a motion or not i'll make a motion to adopt resolution 2025-17 We should have done that first Mr Laugher Well I appreciate your parliamentary advice Alex Second Okay Roll call Committeeman Kaiser Yes
Deputy Mayor Laer Yes Capid Yes Mayor Yubert Yes Resolution 2025 1118 This resolution of the township committee of the township of Springfield commits to fourth round present and prospective need affordable
housing obligations via a settlement I will make a motion to adopt resolution 2025-118 Second Second All right The uh the the reason I pulled it is you know there's a lot of stuff that we do
up here of consequence but probably nothing more consequential uh that puts before us than than than our housing obligation Uh uh we I know it's in the media it's in the news every single day
and it affects a lot of suburban communities right we have a fourth round uh uh before us Uh our courts and now our governor and legislature have have have sent a clear message time and time again that towns must meet their
obligation this process changed through legislation and once it changed uh the really really really smart people not us got to work uh and that's a credit to John and Mike and our professionals
there's no one else uh Mike I'll be completely honest you've been a pleasure to work with since we got you in in this position and you've helped us out immensely uh and John your tireless work on this is something to be commended
uh the the the through DCA at the state level they put out a a a mandate of 284 units that we were supposed to meet in our fourth round settlement right over a 10 years span 284 affordable units Now
it's not just 284 units For every affordable unit there's probably four marketplace units So that's a pretty large number And through their hard work and tenacity it got our settlement down to 262 affordable units And and that's
takes a lot of work and and and a lot of negotiation and and I think that's a reasonable number to live with Is it perfect by no means no But 262 is certainly a manageable number in my mind and something that we do have to meet We
do have an obligation We have a housing crisis in this country and for anybody to say otherwise you know you're just not seeing it We had a presidential election where both presidents stood up and talked about uh the affordability crisis and the housing crisis our nation
sees Our country never recovered from the great recession in the housing that wasn't built And a lot of smarter people than me and the Times and and actuaries that look into this say that we'll probably never
catch up to what the housing demands in our country need And especially in our area in an area that is not that is desirable to live in right the jobs are here They're not out in Nebraska They're here And people want to live here to get
to the city and what we support So we need to make sure that it's not also just the wealthiest or the wealthiest that to live here but a community that takes it First year firemen can't maybe afford to live in here Well they get to live in the community and have a right
to live in this community And that's thanks to affordable housing The police officer who's just starting out the teacher who's just starting out all have a right to live in our communities And and and that is what this affordable housing obligation means Thanks to the
work of negotiating it out of of looking at all the vacant land and and what could be there we got the number to 262 and that's a credit to Mike to John to everybody else who worked on it and and appreciated and and and then we get to do the fun things of envisioning uh new
buildings and and and a brighter future for for for Springfield and our state So thank you Okay Committeeman Kaiser Yes Deputy Mayor Lower Yes Committeeman Capes Yes Mayor yes
All right Discussion action items Mr Mayor I'd like to approve the request received from Mrs Mallet to wave the board of adjustment special meeting fee to install a generator for health reasons at two juniper way Uh and we understand this is an emergency situation that could not wait for
regular scheduled meeting Uh yeah Second Second Sorry Committeeman Capis Yes Committeeman Kaiser Yes Deputy Mayor Laugher Yes Mayor Yuber Yes All right Correspondents
Finance Finance Got finance I'm sorry We got pay some bills I I'll I'll make a motion to adopt payroll and invoices for the period of March 26 2025 through April 8th 2025 in the amount of 1,442,33916
I'll second Okay Committeeman Kaiser Yes Committee Capid Yes Deputy Mayor Ler Yes Mayor yes All right Correspondence B of Kennaworth planning board notice of
hearing April 10th at 7 p.m Cool That was a fascinating reading Mr Mayor that you gave me All right Um public comment on any governmentmental issue anything you want Anybody from the
public seeing none close to the public Can I make a comment before we I was going to make a comment I just wanted to respond something you know that that Committeeman Kaiser brought up on our fair share housing I think it's a
credit to to the five of you that we settled this because what I hope the residents understand is that the natural reaction would be to fight this and we could have went to court to fight it but you have to understand the consequences We were looking at probably in excess of
$100,000 in legal bills We were basically guaranteed to lose and this committee took a stance that we were going to make an effort to settle it rather than going to court and spending taxpayers money when really at the end of the day it was a no-win situation The
judge basically had told us and and Mike you can you can attest to this we would have ended up at least at the 284 So there was we weren't going anywhere with it So as unpleasant as it was it was the right thing to do to settle this So
thank you for all your help so that we were able to settle it Thank you Uh my comment uh John if we can post one more time for the Springfield Budget Residence Review Committee on social media um that would
be appreciated um two and tomorrow night is our inaugural meeting of the 250th anniversary committee for the township of Springfield Um very excited Um and I think I'll see
some people uh who are here tonight there as well So I just wanted to make those two announcements before we go into closed Um yeah that's all I got Okay Okay We'll go into close session
and there will be no action No action following close session Resolution 4825 Whereas article six of the open public meetings act provides that a public body may hold a close session and whereas the township committee will
during this meeting enter into discussion of the following matters Attorney client privilege and personnel attorney client privilege and contract negotiations Whereas matters to be discussed in close session are to remain in the strictest of confidence by all
township committee members in furtherance of their fiduciary duties to the township Now therefore be it resolved matters discussed at this meeting will be released to the public when reasons for discussing and acting upon them in close session no longer
exist So moved Second All in favor i