Welcome everybody to our uh second common council meeting of the month. Will not be our last. Um but we'll talk about that in a minute. Um but uh uh thank you all for coming. It's always great to see people in the crowd. Um madame clerk, uh will you please read
the adequate notice of compliance statement? Adequate notice of this meeting has been provided by the city clerk's office in preparation of the council annual meeting notice dated December 16th, 2024, which was properly distributed and posted per statutory requirements. Please be advised that
fire exits are to my right, your left, and at the back of the room. The city has a listening system to assist the hearing impaired. If anyone needs hearing assistance, please obtain the system at the day and return it thereafter. Thank you so much. Roll call, please. Mr. Ber, present. Miss
Hamlet here. Miss Camson here. Mr. Pilowski here. Mr. Smallwood. Miss Toe here. Council President McTurn present. All right. At this time, I'd uh like to call on Miss Emily Griffith to lead us
in the pledge of allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Thank you very much, Miss Griffith.
All right. Um, at this time, uh, madam clerk, will you please read the explanatory note regarding closed session and hearings and comment, please? A close session meeting as authorized by state statute was announced and held prior to the start of this meeting, and the known items for discussion were listed on the published
close session agenda. Please be advised that council meetings are broadcast live on Comcast channel 34 and 36 and Verizon channel 30 and rebroadcast on Thursdays and Saturdays on HTTV on Comcast channel 36 and Verizon 33. When invited to
speak, please come to the lectern clearly state your name and address. Spell your last name and speak into the podium microphone so that your comments can be understood by all and properly recorded. Whenever an audience or council member reads from a prepared statement, please give or email a copy
to the city clerk at city clerk@c cityofsummit.org. To help facilitate an orderly meeting and to permit all to be heard, speaker shall limit their comments to three minutes. Unless you are using an electronic device to follow the meeting agenda or need it for professional emergency contact purposes, please turn
it off. Thank you. Thank you. Um, at this time, do I have a motion uh to approve the minutes for regular and close session meetings of June 3rd, 2025? So move. Second. All in favor? I
opposed. Motion carries. 60. Okay. All right. We're on to our report section of our our meeting. U Madame Mayor, uh, do you have a report for us this evening? Of course I do. Awesome. Thank you. Good evening, everyone. Um, please remember that the middle school and high school
graduations are happening tomorrow, June 17th, and Wednesday, June 18th at Tatlock Park. Fingers crossed the rain holds off. Um, heavy traffic and limited parking are expected in the areas surrounding Tatlock Park on both graduations. Please, please abide by all
signage and do not block driveways when parking on the street. And of course, I want to extend a big congratulations to all of our graduates. I hope you have a wonderful summer and best wishes in these exciting new chapters ahead. The city of Summit's annual Junth event will be held this Friday, June 20th on the
Village Green from 4:30 to 8:00 p.m. There will be musical and dancing performances, a flag raising ceremony, food trucks, children's activities, and more. Hope to see you there. Um, earlier this month, we held a swearing in ceremony for our newest police sergeant, Colin Scarpello. He's been a member of
the Summit Police Department since 2018, serving on the patrol and detective bureaus, as well as the Union County uh emergency response team and the Union County SWAT team. I had the privilege of officiating his promotional ceremony, and he's a really incredible, very
impressive guy. Um, and I wish him well in his new role. The next installment of our city newsletter will be arriving in your mailbox very soon with your third quarter estimated taxes. This newsletter highlights recent news and upcoming events including the hundred years of recreation celebration, summer concerts
and movies on the village green and much more. And lastly, but definitely not most importantly actually definitely most importantly, our esteemed clerk is celebrating 46 years of marriage today and she is celebrating here with us.
Happy anniversary Rosie and Frank. Happy anniversary Rosie and Frank. Thank you very much. That's all I have for you. Wow, that's going to be tough. Thanks watching. That's going to be tough to follow. Um, happy anniversary, Frank. Yeah. Um, all right. Um, Miss Baldwin, do you
have a city administrator report? Good evening. I do. Thank you, council president. Good evening, everyone. Um, city offices will be closed this Friday, June 20th. Friday is also a parking holiday and summit with no fees required for on street parking or parking
municipal lots and garages. Trash and recycling collections are not affected by the holiday. So that will proceed as is usual. Um an update with our tier parking garage. As a reminder, the third and fourth levels of the tier parking
garage off of Springfield Avenue and Maple Street are temporarily closed due to a structural inspection. The ground level is still open for shops parking and the first and second levels are still open for permit parking. During this time, we ask you to park in an alternate long-term lot. The parking map
is available on the city website at cityofsummit.org/parking. Uh PSCNG has provided the division of engineering with a schedule for upcoming milling and paving operations on several streets in Summit beginning this Thursday, June 19th, and continuing
through next Wednesday, June 25th, weather permitting, of course. The schedule is available on the homepage of the city website and at cityofsummit.org/construction. And lastly, um we've launched a new initiative to help keep our drains clear
of debris this summer. Residents can adopt a drain and commit to checking on it twice a month and removing leaves and any trash. You can also name your drain and compete for the best drain name. More information is available at
cityofsummit.org/adoptadrain. And that completes my report. Thank you. All right, you're giving me something to think about now. Uh, thank you, uh, Miss Baldwin. All right. Uh, for my council president report, I've got a, uh, two things. One,
um, Mr. Guita has a bigger one of these, but, um, on Thursday, June 26th, uh, we're going to be c the Summit Elks is celebrating a 100red years of excellence in parks and recreation uh, in in our uh, lovely municipality. Um, this is a
fundraiser. Um, it's a $75 ticket at the door at the Elks. It will include dinner and beverages. The proceeds the, as many of you know, the Elks has agreed as part of their mission to support youth as well as they also are big uh supporters
of veterans. Um, they have uh agreed to help uh to raise money and and help us with our uh Tatlock playground improvements. So, um it's a great public private partnership. This is part of what they're doing in order for there uh
to raise money on their own um to help make this happen. So, if you are around on Thursday and want to go to the Elks, it's for a good cause. Um and like I said, you'll have dinner and beverages and a very nice evening to boot. Um the
second part of my uh council president report, I just want to give everybody an update on the neverending saga of our uh round three and round four uh um uh uh commitments for Mount Laurel. Uh we are
drawing very quickly to a close on round three. Round three officially ends on uh Jan uh sorry June 30th. And uh I am told by our legal representatives that um we should have a signed agreement that
we're all set to go uh for round three as of tomorrow morning. I think they met with uh judges last week and everything's been signed off on except for the ink isn't dry yet. So, um, and so just to reiterate as far as our round three components go, uh, we did meet
our, uh, RDP of 36 units for round three. And round three, just for people who are not as immersed in this as, um, others are. Uh, this was a 10-year plan uh, to promote affordable housing in our community. Uh, we're about to enter into
a new 10-year plan that will start on uh, August 1st. So, as part of our 10-year plan just ending, uh we did satisfy the 36 unit RDP. Um we also had in our agreement, uh we
agreed to um facilitate the construction uh as on a best effort basis to get to 50 uh new units of affordable housing. And happily that did happen. Uh so we've got uh we've complied um over to we we
actually did do it not just facilitate it happened. So that's 50 units there and uh and now we're um and now we're so putting that to bed and now starting the round four um for the public. Uh there
was a planning board meeting uh that uh talked about um a couple of proposals that happened. Uh the planning board has put on their website on the 13th. So that was uh three days ago. Um what the
uh the proposal for our round four plan will be. Um that's going to uh be spoken about and voted on at the planning board meeting on the 23rd of this month. So, I would encourage uh everyone who is
interested in that to check the website. Uh it's up there now. Uh there's a 10-day notice period uh for all of that. And based on I think uh we've there's um numbers in there uh RDP numbers what we
think going forward. Um all that will be discussed uh at the planning board. That is the uh public forum for discussion there. So, if you do have uh are interested in this, I encourage you please to go on the website, look at the
numbers, uh reach out if you have questions about them, um and then uh attend the meeting and make your voices heard. This is important. It's going to set the stage for our affordable housing plan for the next 10 years. Once the planning board uh votes on that, we will
have a special council meeting uh the following day on June 24th where we will give a thumbs up or thumbs down on the uh plan. It's 5:00 p.m. It's and that's at 5:00. So, it's a special session. Um that's will be the only thing on the
agenda for that meeting. Um if that gets passed, that will be the plan that gets uh put in with um New Jersey for the our obligation for round four. Um and that I think is my council president report.
Okay. Um do we have uh Councilman Palowski? Do we have a historical minute today? Uh not really, but I could talk about history for about a minute. Um you want picture? No, no. Um, so I have uh
reported in the past about how our local public library has a section online about uh historical summit. It has every yearbook I think through 2018. They may have to uh update
that again shortly. It also has all of the local papers going back to the turn of the last century. Um, so it's fascinating. You can get lost in it for a while. Um, the yearbooks are
especially fun. I found Rosemary. I won't say what year. Um, you have to look for my engagement picture with some of Oh, that'll be next. That'll be next. Um, but that's where where I got the information about
city administrator Baldwin's uh family. And um there are also some great books out there that are out of print, but they're all over eBay. Um, one of them is Summit New Jersey: From Poverty Hill to the Hill City by Edund Rafess.
Another one is 20th Century Summit that somebody up here actually typed from a handwritten manuscript. um for uh Edward Alcott who was a former council president president. There's another one by Robin Little uh
celebrating Summit's 50th anniversary dated 1949. And there are a bunch of others. So if you have an interest in history and you want to learn more about uh the Hill City, there's a lot out there and uh snap them up before I do.
All right. Thank you very very much. Um, okay. We have a couple of presentations uh this evening. Our first presentation um is on our city summer intern program. Uh Megan Champion is going to our human
resource manager has got a lot to say about that. I sure do. Thank you everybody. Um good evening Mayor Fagan, Council President McTurnan, members of Common Council, and everyone joining us this evening. My name is Megan Champney Questate and I have the
privilege of serving as the human resources manager for the city of Summit as well as the coordinator of our summer internship program. Most of you know I have been here for some time. I have been here for 24 years as a city of
Summit staff member and I have tried my very best to instill in our interns how special it is to work here and what an honor it is to work for the city of Summit. Um, while only here for a short time, I hope that they can feel just how special
and what what an honor it is to work for and be part of the City of Summit family. Before I begin, I want to take a moment to acknowledge and sincerely thank those department heads who have provided each of our interns an opportunity within
their department. I would also like to thank our confidential administrative assistant, Debbie Perez Santala. She's here tonight as well. Her dedication and support are instrumental in ensuring that everything in administration and human resources,
including the internship program, runs as smoothly and successfully as possible. This summer, we were thrilled to receive a record number of applications for our internship program. The enthusiasm and interest shown by students and emerging
professionals were both humbling and inspiring. While the number of available projects and placements remains limited, we are incredibly grateful to everyone who expressed their interest and took the time to apply. To those who applied but were not
selected, please don't be discouraged. And to anyone considering applying in the future, we encourage you to submit an application when the 2026 program opens next March. This program continues to grow each year and we are always looking for bright,
motivated individuals eager to learn, contribute and make a meaningful impact within the city operations. This year's interns are each engaged in meaningful projects designed to support city functions, bring fresh perspectives, and enhance the services
we provide to the summit community. Over the past two weeks, they have they have immersed themselves in the workings of local government, bringing their energy, creativity, and passion for public service to every task they've undertaken.
It is a true pleasure to introduce our 2025 summer interns, an exceptional group of individuals who are already making valuable contributions across a range of city departments. Please join me in welcoming Trevor Allen who is supporting a finance focused
initiative within the office of the city administrator and department of finance. Hope Bassimon now in her third year as a human resources intern. And we are delighted to welcome her back and deeply appreciate her ongoing commitment.
Emily Griffith who is collaborating on a cross departmental project with the mayor's office, human resources and communications office. I also used to coach Emily in gymnastics many years ago. Rex Fisk, Erica Jenkins, and Ellie Kyum,
who are each applying their talents to projects within the Department of Community Programs. Each of our interns will now come forward to introduce themselves and provide a brief overview of the work they are doing this summer. Please join me in extending a warm welcome as they continue their
educational and professional journey by observing and participating in tonight's council meeting. Thank you. [Applause] Hello everyone. My name is Trevor Allen.
I am a rising junior at Indiana University and I'm majoring in finance and business analytics. This summer, my project involves utilizing clear gov, a platform used to streamline a town's budget process, as well as Excel to create a published version of the city
of Summit's 2025 municipal budget. Over the past few weeks, I've compiled graphs, charts, and written information about our town to help transform the budget into a format that promotes fiscal transparent, prepar, and community awareness for the residents of
Summit. Additionally, with the future in mind, the 2025 municipal budget will serve as a template for years to come, creating a long-term streamlined process. As a dual major in finance and business analytics, I've thoroughly enjoyed applying the skills I've developed in the classroom to a real
world setting, making a meaningful contribution in my hometown. It has been rewarding to know my efforts are contributing to a community that means so much to me and I look forward to making a continued impact for the city of Summit's residents with my fellow interns over my remaining few few weeks.
Thank you. [Applause] Hi everyone, my name is Hope Asen and I am a rising senior at Lafayette College studying psychology and Asian studies with a minor in organizational studies. This is my third summer as an intern with the city of Summit and I've had the
privilege of working under our human resources manager Megan Tamney Questlate who's been an incredible mentor. My current project is a fun one. As some of you may or may not know, there's been a recent update to the Department of Labor's Fair Labor Standards Act. I've been working on updating our job
descriptions to adhere to these changes. The new law requires the inclusion of overtime exemption status and transparent salary ranges on all job postings, both internally and externally. The exemption status is determined by individual job duties as outlined in each description. I've had
the pleasure of meeting with department heads and employees across the city to make sure that everything is up to date and accurate to remain in compliance. I look forward to learning more about the specifics of the amazing jobs we have here. And if you're interested in working for the city, keep an eye out for some exciting new job openings. I've
loved every minute of working for the city of Summit and I'm so grateful for the experience I have gained and the connections I've made with fellow interns and all staff members. Thank you for your time. [Applause] Hi everyone, my name is Emily Griffith
and I'm an incoming sophomore at Georgetown University majoring in government. I'm currently interning under Mayor Fagan, collaborating with both the human resources department and communications office. My project focuses on improving the city hall experience through signage, wayfinding,
and the lobby environment. I've redesigned the city hall map and directory to make it clearer where to go for various services. Inside the lobby, I've worked on making the space more welcoming by updating directional signs, using the lobby TV, and featuring local artwork. I'm also creating a web page
with short video guides that show how to get to each department from the main entrance, which will be accessible by scanning a QR code near the front door. In addition, I've been working with staff to update the city hall website to include new maps and key information to help reduce confusion before visitors
even arrive. I'm so grateful for this opportunity as I I have had an amazing time working with my fellow interns and it has been incredibly valuable working with everyone in city hall. I'm beyond excited to continue working on this and see the project come to life.
[Applause] Hello, my name is Rex Fisk. I'm a rising sophomore majoring in finance at James Madison University. This summer, I've had an opportunity to work in the community programs department alongside
David Duigita Holy, excuse me. During this time here, I've coordinated with vendors to help reduce the city's spending on the youth programs jerseys and uniforms by nearly 50%. I've also been reviewing ordinances from other municipalities to gather information related to the installation of lights at
Tatlockfield. I'm extremely grateful for this opportunity and I've truly enjoyed my experience so far. Thank you for your time. [Applause] Hi, my name is Erica Jenkins. I'm a rising sophomore at Bates College and plan to double major in sociology and
politics. This past month, I was honored to join the Department of Community Programs as a research intern working on two projects under the leadership of David Guida. The first was researching neighboring towns community programming prices and financial aid availability and comparing them to ours. The initial
data suggests our pricing is competitive and our financial aid is above average. The other project involved researching local nonprofits and gathering contact information to be used for fundraising and possible sponsorship for our upcoming community night in July. We hope to be contacting these nonprofits
soon. It has been a pleasure working with my fellow interns in the teams at city hall in the community center. Thank you. [Applause] Hello everyone. My name is Ellie Kyum. I'm a rising sophomore at Skidmore
College planning to major in psychology. I've been interning for the department of community programs working for assistant director David Guida. I've taken on several projects with the DCP. My first project involved reaching out to local businesses to sponsor the DCP's summer event, specifically the Screen on
the Green movie nights and the hot summer night concert series. Additionally, I've been researching counselor and training programs to determine how we can strengthen our own. And I've contacted neighboring towns to learn more about their CIT programs and comparing them to summits. My latest project involves researching and
applying for grants for the DCP. Uh specifically grants that target organizations that provide services for communities, families, and children. I'm excited to continue these projects for the rest of my internship and to collaborate with my fellow interns and everyone at the DCP. Thank you.
[Applause] You guys want to come up and get a a picture? Don't be shy. Right here. That's okay. [Laughter]
Right. scooching together. Awesome. One, two, three. Thank you. [Applause]
Well, Megan, I must say that is an impressive group of young people. Yeah, that's amazing. Feel good about our future when you see all these great people come up and and we're working hard. So, thank you and thank you all for your hard work this summer. Thank you. Um all right, we have another
presentation. Um this is on our government energy aggregation program. It's next steps for those who've been following it uh over the last nine months or so. Uh the city's been engaging around trying to save our residents money off of their electricity
bills and we're coming up to a bid thing. So, we have we're really happy to have Lisa Hibbs, who's director of sales and project management for the government sector for Concord Energy Services to to give us an update on where we are with this. Thank you so much for the opportunity to um give you
this uh hopefully exciting update about um the potential to to save residents money on their uh JCPNL um electric bills. Um just as a reminder, this is a government energy aggregation program. It is um promulgated by the board of
public utilities has oversight by the board also rateayer advocate and because you joined a cooperative also department of community affairs. So all of your paperwork has been filed your ordinance your resolution
uh your um the purchasing agreement between you and the uh cooperative has been filed with department of community affairs. Everything has been provided um to Rosemary and to Tammy. So everything is filed here um in the city as well as
with um the entities that that I just mentioned. So our next step is to actually go out to auction. So that is um scheduled for tentatively scheduled for uh August 12th. So I say tentatively
because uh between us and August 12th is an auction by our grid operator PJM. PJM holds a capacity auction every year um supposed to be um for um three years of of capacity pricing. Um we have been
delayed. Uh the Federal Energy uh regulatory commission has granted them um some leeway in when they hold their auctions. This is due to supply and demand issues that we are having um on our grid. We participate um in PJM's
grid with 12 other states and Washington DC. So we have um large demand uh for electricity. We've had some retirement from um some energy generation uh and we are not pulling new generation online as
quickly as we need it. So residents may have noticed um or will be noticing that uh effective June 1st, JCPNL's rates went from 11.88 cents per kilowatt hour to over 15 cents. This will go a little bit higher in the
wintertime. Um we're looking at the October uh one date for that. This is all sort of um a result of the past PJM auction, but also just where we're seeing the energy market go. Fortunately, oddly, um that puts us in a
more competitive uh situation for the co-op. Um there that that suppressed um price to compare. The state averages the past three energy auctions here in the state. Um so as as some of those older lower prices roll off, we are more
competitive in this current energy market where we have to play. So, as a reminder, on o on August 12th, if the pricing received is not lower than that 15 cents that JCPNL is currently charging, we cannot accept the bids.
They will all be rejected. We will not make a recommendation to the lead agency, which is the Burrow of Lincoln Park, um, for the cooperative that you joined, which is the Garden Estate Community Energy Co-op. Um, we will not make a recommendation for savings less than 5%. there's just not enough head
space um for when we have reconciliation rates with JCPNL. So once we know the variable that is the PJM auction, we'll have a better idea of what that does um to the potential for success on August 12th. If we're seeing that there's not
potential for success, we'll postpone the auction, but we'll definitely will stay in touch with Rosemary and with Tammy on that as well. So on your agenda this evening is a participation form. I'm going to come here every year and give you an update on where we are with
the energy market, but also ask for your commitment to uh participate or not participate in any auctions held that year. So that way we don't lose sight of where where are we with the energy market um as leadership changes or as
staff changes come through. We don't want there to be a large gap between when we're here talking about an auction and when we're here trying to to decide whether you'd like to participate or not. Want to give you time to make that determination for yourselves. So on that
form there is a yes please include our residents in the upcoming auction. There is also a no thank you. We do not take offense to no thank you. Um it just means we will not include the residents in that round. Um but you can always decide to um call us, send in a a
supplemental form and say, "Oh, gee, you know what? We've changed our minds. Please include us in the next auction um or wait until next year when I come back." And then you can restate your commitment at that time. So I'm happy to answer any questions. You want to have
any questions for Miss Hibs? I have one. Um, so when will residents see So the the price just went up. When will the first bill that they receive reflect that 40 odd% increase in their
electricity costs? I don't think many people understand that that's what's coming, but that's what is happening. Yeah, it it depends on when their meter read is, but if for your June usage, you'll see that on your July bill. So, it is coming. So, no one's seen it yet, but it'll be next month. Yeah, we're
we're two weeks into it. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. Um, so yeah, that's when that hits. And we're asking for the auction. We are asking for a December start. We're also asking, I know this sounds odd, but a March 2026 start. And that
just has to do with shoulder months and carrying sort of the the load um during the summer months versus winter months. It gets you a lower price. So, as a followup, if if the auction is successful and it's uh goes down more
than 5%. When would the first month that our residents would see some relief to the 40 odd% increase in their electricity bills? That all depends on if when we're when we get the bids. We will have to look at is the December
start the most advantageous or is the March start advantageous. It goes based on the lowest price received. So residents may have to wait until March to get that lower price. But uh if we're if we start in December, they'll see the savings on their January bill for their
for their December usage. And similarly, if we start in March, they would see that on their April bill for their March usage. But we will be here. Uh I will work with Rosemary um and Tammy and we'll get the um the information kit together and we'll have town hall style
meetings. We'll have Zoom meetings just so that your residents are well educated about the program, what it does, what it doesn't do, how to opt out. Um there will be an opportunity for residents to opt up into a 100% renewable energy product as well. might cost more, will
likely cost more um than the standard minimum renewable requirement. Um but that option will be there for those that want to take advantage of that and we track all those statistics for you. Great. Thank you. Other questions? All right. Well, thank you very much.
Thank you. Could I just ask one question of Lisa? Sure. On the participation form, there's a yes or no. Yes. So, in in addition to the council considering the the resolution there, they've got to let us know. Or is that incorporated in the
resolution? That's incorporated in the resolution that you're considering and I will hang out for that. Okay. Um just in case there's questions at that pass the resolution, it's automatic. Yes. Perfect. Thank you. Okay, that finishes up our presentation section of our meeting. Uh we're now up
to ordinances for hearing uh which we do have one uh this evening. Uh, madame clerk, will you please read the uh the finance orining ordinance for hearing? Yes. Ordinance number 25-3343, an ordinance to establish the 2025
salaries, wages, or compensations of and for the officers and employees of the city of Summit, County of Union, New Jersey. Thank you so much. Uh, Councilwoman Toe. Thank you, Council President. This annual ordinance sets forth salary
ranges for city employees. Those covered by union contracts will receive the agreed upon cost of living increase. Non-UN employees will receive a 2.75% cost of living increase, which is in line with the more recent union contracts. This ordinance also sets
forth step increases based on an employes date of hire and job performance. I move to open the hearing on this ordinance. Second. Okay. Uh, roll call, please. Well, we want to open the hearing. Oh, we're opening the hearing. Open the
hearing. Okay. Do we have to vote to open the hearing? Yeah. You made a a motion and a second. Now you open the hearing. Oh, okay. It's already open. So, now you can open to the public comment. All right. Um, what would I be? Where would I be without Rosie? Um, so does anyone from the public wish to make
a comment on this ordinance? Well, hearing none, I'll close the public section of this uh hearing. Uh is anyone from council like to comment on this ordinance. Council President. Yes, please. M uh Councilman Ber.
Um in the uh in the packet it mentions performance evaluations, right? Um when how often will they be performed? Is this going to be I guess this question is to the city administrator. Uh is this
going to be twice a year? And if so, are the uh is senior leadership involved in this? Like will there be evaluations of the department heads and even the city manager? Through you, council president. Um the
city staff is has performance evaluations done by their department heads coinciding with their anniversary dates. um which is either the date you got hired or if you have subsequently received a promotion that might change your anniversary date. So it's in January, July, it's once a year. Um
there are also probationary uh performance evaluations. So if there's a new staff member, they typically get a 30, 60, 90, and 120day um evaluation. Um, having just been appointed the city
administrator in January, my plan is to do the department head evaluations at the end of the year to give a fair probably in November um to give a fair evaluation period uh with me in this position and overseeing that and then um
I would very much like my own performance evaluation that would have to be coordinated perhaps through our human resources manager along with the council and um mayor Thank you for that. And uh it it
mentions that uh if there is a uh a a a underperformance, right, they would not get a bonus or they not would not get a raise. Right? Now, in in that situation, would the employee know if they're being evaluated
once a year? Right? do they get a heads up at some point that they're not performing up to standard? So again, through you, council president, when you do the performance evaluation, um there's a range between needs improvement all the way up to excellent.
Um that's kind of distributed among the different tenants of the evaluation. And if you're in grade and you're still in the steps and you're not subject to the COLA, the cost of living increase, you depending on your date of hire, you can
be given uh zero, one or two steps merit increase. Um for those hired before certain date in 2016, um we don't have too many of those anymore. they're they're kind of maxed out at the top and they're receiving the cola, but they were able to receive between zero and
four steps. So those steps are indicative of your performance and you are given feedback. Part of the evaluation process is that as a department head, you sit with those on your staff that you evaluate. You go through the whole performance evaluation
with them. There's an open dialogue. there's room for them to also provide feedback of their own um on that performance evaluation. So everything is very transparent and they're very aware if something occurs outside of the normal performance evaluation cycle that
is also addressed separately. Uh thank you uh city administrator Bowwin. I think um my only suggestion would be that if there is an employee that is is going to get um a less than
favorable rating that they get a heads up prior to their final performance evaluation. So let's say mid year we know that the employee is going to get a poor rating. Um it should be included in there that there is some type of uh
conversation that happens. So, it's not a surprise, you know, that's all. Um, thank you, Council President. That's all I had. Thank you. Other comments or questions from council. All right. I'm going to declare the uh hearing closed then, and we're moving on
to ordinances for final consideration. Uh, Madame Clerk, will you please read the finance ordinance for final consideration? Ordinance number 25-3343, an ordinance to establish the 2025 salaries, wages, or compensations of and for the officers and employees of the
city of Summit County of Union, New Jersey. Thank you so much, uh, Councilwoman Toe. Thank you, Council President. And having just closed the public hearing on this ordinance, I move it for final adoption. Second. Thank you. Okay. Roll call, please.
Mr. Ber, I. Miss Hamlet. Hi. Miss Camson. Hi. Mr. Pilowski. I. Miss Toe. I. Council President. MC. I. U. Motion carries. All right. Uh, we're on to the part of our meeting for ordinances for
introduction. And we do have a few today. Uh, so, uh, Madame Clerk, could you please read the finance ordinance for introduction? ID number 11 1977, an ordinance appropriating funds for school improvements in the city of Summit County of Union, New Jersey, and
authorizing issuance of $12,66,500 of school bonds or notes of the city to meet set appropriation. Thank you very much, uh, Councilwoman Toe. Thank you, Council President. Following the adoption of the school board's budget, the city is to issue
debt on its behalf. the school district repays that debt. This ordinance appropriates funds and authorizes debt issuance of $12,66,500 for capital projects at Brighton and Franklin elementary schools at the Lton C. Johnson Summit Middle School and at
the Summit High School. And of that total, 5,42,600 is refundable from the state commissioner of education. So, the Summit School Board's ultimate cost is $7,563,900. I move to introduce this ordinance.
Second. All right. Uh, roll call, please. Uh, Mr. Ber, I, Miss Hamlet, I, Miss Camson, I. Mr. Powski, I. Miss Toe, I. President McTurn, I. Motion carries.
Okay. On to the second ordinance for introduction. Madam, and uh, announce the hearing date. That's Oh, yeah. I'm sorry. Uh the hearing date for that first ordinance will be July 1st, 2025. Okay. Um Madame Clerk, will you please
read the first safety and health ordinance for introduction? ID number 11 1984, an ordinance amending the code, chapter 2, administration, article 4, departments created. Section 2-15, Department of Police, subsection 2-15.1,
establishment. Thank you very much. Uh, Councilman Ber. Thank you, Council President. Uh, this ordinance 24-3320 proposes two important updates to the city code regarding the structure of the Summit Police Department. First, it increases the number of authorized sworn
personnel from 50 to 52, adjusting the ranks to allow up to nine sergeants and up to 38 police officers. This change reflects the department's evolving staff needs and has already been accounted for in the adopted 2025 municipal budget.
Second, it removes outdated language referencing the auxiliary police unit, which is no longer active. Uh, the ordinance also includes a provision allowing the police department to temporarily exceed staffing limits for
up to 180 days during transitions such as retirements to ensure uh continuality of service. Uh, with that, I move that ordinance 243320 uh
be scheduled for a hearing on July 1st, 2025. Correct. Second. All right. Roll call, please. Mr. Ber, I. Miss Hamlet, I. Miss Camson, I. Mr. Powski, I. Miss Toad, I. President McTurn. I. Motion
carries. All right. Uh, Madame Clerk, would you be kind enough to read uh the second safety and health ordinance for introduction? ID number 11896, an ordinance amending and supplementing the code chapter 10, animal control section 2-14, vicious dogs. Thank you. Uh,
Councilman Ber. Thank you once again, Council President. This is This ordinance 11896 repeals and replaces section 10-2.14 of the city code concerning vicious dogs and creates a new framework for handling cases where a dog has exhibited
aggressive behavior that causes injury or distress but does not meet the state's legal threshold to be declared vicious or potentially dangerous. While New Jersey allows for certain designations and penalties in serious or
repeated cases, this ordinance introduces a local classification, aggressive dog, which allows the municipality, the municipal court, excuse me, to act in situations involving unprovoked attacks that cause bodily injury. It also provides the court with the flexibility to impose
fines, require muzzling and tethering in public and implement other safety measures where needed. Uh this ordinance was developed in response to an increase in resident concerns and helps close the gaps in enforcement, allowing the city
to proactively address unsafe situations before they escalate. With that, I move that ordinance uh 243320 be scheduled for a public hearing at our next regularly scheduled meeting on July 1st, 2025. Second. Okay. Thank you very
much. Uh roll call, please. Mr. Ber, I. Miss Hamlet, I. Miss Camson, I. Mr. Powski, I. Miss Toad, I. President McTinan, I. Motion carries. Okay. Uh moving to our last ordinance for introduction. Madam clerk, will you please read the capital projects and
community service ordinance? ID number 1186, an ordinance of the city of Summit, County of Union, New Jersey, repealing section 2-29, historic preservation commission of the revised general ordinances of the city of Summit and creating a new part five
historic preservation of chapter 35 development regulations. Thank you very much. Uh, Councilwoman Hamlet. Actually, I'm gonna have, uh, Councilman Plasky do this one. Thank you. Um, this is ordinance ID
number 11786 uh, this one's near and dear to me and it requires some background and some explanation. So, uh, bear with me a little bit here. Um, as the winds of development and so-called progress sweep through Summit, you may have noticed our
historic homes are taking a beating. I strongly encourage planning board to take a close look at the development regulations ordinance or DRRO in this regard and to adopt additional zoning to help preserve the historic character of our neighborhoods and city as a whole.
Even if we do not protect historic homes from demolition, replacing an historic tutor with a McMansion, as nice as that speck house may be, does a disservice to some its past and runs a foul of the spirit of our master plan. Some municipalities
like Milbourne, I believe, have an historic preservation commission with the power to prevent property owners from developing their property as they see fit. And I say property owners instead of residents because many are not residents, they're developers. Such
bodies are judiciary in nature with a lawyer, a budget, and significant control over development. Summit has never had an appetite for converting its historic preservation commission or HPC into a judiciary body. Um, our HPC is
purely advisory body. It doesn't reject or accept proposals. It merely gives recommendations to the zoning and planning boards to help maintain and enforce standards. For example, when the HPC re reviews a zoning application involving uh the partial demolition
and/or addition, it recommends the work be done with an eye towards consistency with the historic nature of the home andor the neighborhood. The zoning board then will in its own discretion use those recommendations in negotiating revisions
to a particular application. What happens though when a property owner seeks to demolish an historic home? Right now they fill out a permit application, pay a fee, and can as soon as 10 days uh later demolish that historic home. The owner may not even
know that the home has any historic significance. For many years, this hole in Summit's DRRO has frustrated the mission of the HPC in accordance with our master plan to minimize and prevent the demolition of designated historic building, structures, and landmarks
where preservation is feasible. For the last 18 months or so, the HPC has worked to create a measure to accomplish two primary objectives. One, to slow down demolition, educate property owners, and give our zoning board information about the homes that
were when applicants inevitably apply for variances on the homes that will be, and two, to avoid doing so through the creation of any significant additional bureaucracy or diminishing the property rights of our residents. I believe the proposed ordinance accomplishes this or
at least takes a step in the right direction. Simply put, it provides the HPC an opportunity for robust comment where there currently is none by adding a step the step of an HPC review to the demolition permitting process. Under the
proposed ordinance, when a property owner applies for a demolition permit to raise an historically significant property, it will go to the HPC for review. The HPC has 7 days to decide whether the referred application warrants an HPC review. If the HPC
declines, the city will issue the requested permit as it would for any non-historically significant property. If the HPC opts to issue a report, it must provide its findings and written recommendations within 30 days of the referral to the city and to the property owner. The property owner may then
proceed if he or she so desires, but with the benefit of the HPC's advice, which will remain with the city property file through any zoning applications. I move to introduce this ordinance.
A second. All right. Uh, roll call, please. Mr. Ber, I. Miss Hamlet, I. Miss Calmanson, I. Mr. Palowski, I. Miss Toth, I. President McTurn. Uh, I uh motion carries. Uh, just for
public knowledge, the uh hearing date for this ordinance is July 29th, 2025. Thank you. Yes. Okay. All right. Um, so that concludes our hearing portion and ordinance portion of our meeting. We're moving on to
resolutions. Um, I just wanted to say for our interns, you guys are young. You probably have fun things to do on a Monday night. Um, if just don't be here on our account, if you do want to take off, feel free. Um, you don't have to.
Uh, you can hang out with us if you'd like, but uh, feel free to leave if you'd like. Um, all right. Uh, we're on to the our resolution section. We have, if you're looking at our packet, quite a few resolutions, uh, this evening. Uh, so let's get right to it. Um, so first
off is safety and health. Councilman Ber, uh, number one, please. Thank you, Council President. Just before the interns, uh, take off, I just I just have to say I was completely impressed. I mean, we got Indiana University, Lafayette, Georgetown, James Madison,
uh, Bates College, and Skidmore. I mean, uh, y'all could have went pretty much anywhere else and he came back to Summit. So, we appreciate that. And like the council president said, uh, the future looks bright. So, thank you. Uh
this is resolution ID number 11966. Uh declared the vacancies for the fire department. Uh three. So that is three vacancies. Uh one will be filled by one
is an existing one and two are the ones that were adopted this year in this year's budget. Um I move this resolution for adoption. Second. All right. Do I have any comments from the public at
this time on this resolution? All right. Comments from council. I'll make a comment then. Um, yeah. So, um, no. Uh, uh, I'll I'll make I'll save my comment for the next one. Um, all right.
No. Any other comments? All right. All in favor? I I opposed. Motion carries. All right. Uh safety and health uh number two, Councilman Ber. Thank you once again, Council President. This is ID number 11967
to appoint two probationary firefighters. Uh which those positions were adopted this year and this year's budget. Uh one is Timothy Digny and the other is Mike Tomich. Uh these two
probationary firefighters were interviewed by the safety committee. Uh they are excellent young men and this actually depletes our volunteer uh weightless. Um so the fire department
needs to go out and get more young volunteers. So uh they wasted no time. Um, the chief has been waiting a long time to to get two additional positions and uh, happy to say that this council was able to do that. So, I move this for
adoption. Second. Comments from the public, comments from council. Councilman Palowski. Yeah, I I would just echo Councilman Ber. I am very happy uh, that we're able to add these
positions. Uh, Chief Evers has been patiently asking for it for years now. So, um, I'm glad that we're able to do it for him. Other comments from council? Yeah. My my one comment is I know he's
he has been asking for a long long time and I know for a long long time I've been one of the people who kind of said maybe next year. Um, so next year's finally arrived for for Chief Evers. I look these guys do an amazing job. Um, a lot of people think firefighters and
they just think when there's a fire, but they're out on Route 78 um with with accidents. They're they respond to gas, all sorts of things. Um, and their call volume certainly warrants uh looking and and u
you know request or I guess responding to their request that's been made kind of on a good faith basis for year in and year out. uh every time we add a person, we talked about this with uh with our our police force, it's a big commitment the city's making. It's a big commitment
for insurance, for health care. Um it's a big uh for pension. So, it's not just a salary. So, I know we've we've talked about this a lot in finance. Do have we plan properly for this? Because it's not just going to affect this year's coming up budget. It's going to affect next
year and hopefully these people are with us for a long long time. So um quite a few years in the future. So uh we don't make these decisions lightly about adding people. You do have to be really really diligent on uh you know adding up all the numbers and I'm happy that we
did this and we have looked at the numbers and we can fit them in. Um and so I'm I'm happy to support this resolution. So all right in favor opposed. Motion carries. All right. on to uh community programs and service and
parking services. Uh Councilman Palowski, thank you. This is resolution ID number 1197 to appoint community programs advisory board member. Uh pending our closed session discussion, I'm happy to
announce the mayor's appointment of Mike Dugan to that advisory uh community programs advisory board. Um, Mike was born and raised in Summit, graduated from Summit High School in 2005 where he excelled at lacrosse, going on to play at Rutgers. He's an expert on Summit
youth sports, having played and or coached them the majority of his years on this earth. Michael make a fine addition. And I move to adopt this resolution. Second. Uh, do I hear any comments from the public?
Comments from councel. All right. All in favor? I I opposed. Motion carries. All right, moving on. We have a law and labor resolution uh this evening. Councilman Palowski. Thank you. This is resolution ID number 11 192 to
authorize execution of a sidebar agreement to the our current contract with the Teamsters Local 469. Pending our closed session discussion. Um I move to adopt this resolution. But
first I will um I'll just note it has to do with the change of a title uh current title of senior transfer station operator is being changed to senior operator. And specifically um the title the current title was too
restrictive suggesting that only those at the trans working at the transfer station are eligible uh to apply for this position ultimately. So changing the name or the title to senior operator solves the problem. So I again move to
adopt this resolution. Second comments from the public. Comments from councel. All in favor? I I opposed. Motion carries. All right.
Got a lot from Capital Projects and Community Services this evening. If you're ready, Councilwoman Hamlet, why don't you start with number one? Thank you, Council President. Yes, Bear with me. This is one of, I think, 11. Uh the first one is Capital Projects ID
1899. Uh this is a resolution of the city of Summit County of Union authorizing the mayor to execute the memorandum of understanding between the city of Summit, the United Methodist Church of Summit and Bergen County United Way for the creation of affordable senior rental units. Whereas the church approached the city to
inquire if its former education building located at 17 Kent Place Boulevard, City of Summit, block 1911, lot 5, which is now underutilized, could be repurposed for a small 100% affordable senior rental project. And whereas after the
meeting with the city, the church began working with Bergen County United Way to determine whether their building, their education building could be adapted and renovated for that purpose. and Bergen County United Way has determined that a project of up to 12 senior rental units could be created out of that building.
Whereas the city is supportive of the creation of affordable senior rental units that this proposed project will create, allowing uh very low and moderate income seniors to live in Summit with walkable access to the downtown train station. I would like to
move this resolution. Second. Comments from the public, comments from council. Councilman Boyer, I you know, real real quick, Council President, I just wanted to say that the uh United Methodist
Church uh stepped up and this is uh this is excellent. This is they had the land. uh their commissioners got together and they decided to put their best foot forward and say, "Hey, let's help with
affordable housing." Uh I mean, this is how you do it. It doesn't necessarily always have to fall on the government, which seems to be the case these days. Um people, residents get together and they make a change. And as you can see
with the partnership with the city, we help out. And I mean, this is a perfect example of how to make these things work. So, um, I I really like seeing this. Thank you, Council President. Thank you. Other comments? Uh,
Councilwoman Hamlet. Uh, I would like to agree with Councilman Buer. This is exciting. This is something that the entire community should be proud of. Uh, this is 100% affordable project. Uh, 12 units, walk to town, and, uh, I'm just really proud of everybody for working so hard. Mayor, thank you for facilitating.
and uh Bergen County United Way. I think this is really good stuff and I'm proud of uh the leadership and the community for for getting this done. Uh this is a very old church and I I know that some of these churches now are are underfunded, so it's a win-win for everybody and uh just great great stuff.
So, thank you. Thank you, uh Madame Mayor. Um I just want to point out that um the pastor Lara um has been phenomenal. super grateful to her and to her um board of trustees. They've been fantastic um to through this process and
they're really excited about it and I think um we should be as a community be very grateful. Agreed. Uh other comments from council. All right. Uh all in favor I opposed. Motion carries. All right. Capital
projects uh number two. Councilman Councilwoman Hamlet. Thank you, Council President. This is resolution ID 11994. I just want to give a brief ex explanation before I go down uh and explain this resolution. Um this is for maybe playground and we're going to reject the bids. There were seven bids
uh that came in over budget, but I wanted to give a little bit of background. Um one of the reasons that these numbers are a little bit higher uh and D if we have further questions, David can come up here and give an explanation. um are because when we took money from the Jake's Law Grant and Green Acres, there were there were
several different requirements that increased those costs. So, for example, um there had to be 20% shade for the project. Uh there had to be x number of trees for shade. Uh there had to be certain uh drainage requirements. So, there was along with grants and great
things come uh also some requirements which um which made those costs go a little bit higher. So, uh, we've been looking at this for, geez, the last couple of years, but specifically today, um, our priority is to get this this playground done as soon as possible. So,
and I will move on with the resolution. Uh, so this is resolution ID1994, reject bids and authorize new bid advertisement, maybe playground improvements, whereas seven bids were received by the purchasing agent for the 2025 maybe playground improvements on
Tuesday, May 13th, 2025. Whereas the lowest bid substantially exceeds the city's appropriation for the improvements and whereas the director of department of community services requests permission to readvertise for 2025 maybe playground improvements. I would like to move this resolution.
Second comments from the public comments from council. Just one comment I guess make uh and just for matters of in order to educate the public once we go out to bid again if we again get bids that are higher we can then negotiate with those
contractors. So for this bid specifically um we're going to Director Shreger I'm going to put you on the spot. What's the word for um we're going to take out some of those and bid them separately. Right. Yes. You council president we're going to make alternate bids. Alternate bids.
So we're going to make alternate bids though. Yeah. Uh, I think that was it. Great. Uh, just I had one question. Uh, you just so the public um, how much did we get for grants for this project? David, do you want to I don't have it
off time. I had 750 for Jake's Law and then Go ahead, David. You can Yeah, Mr. Guida. Through you, Council President. So, we did have 750,000 from the Jake Law grant. There was also another 175 from local reimbursement grants. So that's
the money that is being referred to as not on hand. So we can't certify the funds. And to council member Hamlet's point, um the reason why they're being done as alternates is once we receive the funding from the reimbursement, we'll then be able to go back and do these pieces. So it's not necessarily
that we don't have the funding secured, we just don't have the cash on hand. So doing this in a more phased pro phased way will allow us to get the project done completely. Very good. Okay. Thank you. Other comments or questions from council.
All right. Um all in favor? I opposed. Motion carries. All right. Uh capital projects number three. Councilwoman Hamlet. Thank you, Council President. I will have Director Sugar just give a brief uh background of this as well. It's a complicated one. uh resolution
11979. Whereas the DCS director, city engineer has advised that on Friday, May 17th, pump number one at the Constantine pump station failed. And whereas without both pumps and operational, an increased flow event could result in a sewage overflow creating a health and safety hazard. Uh
whereas pursuant to NJSA uh 4A11-6 and corresponding rules uh the DCS director of city engineer requests authorization for an emergency contract to PCS Pump and Process Inc. uh in an amount estimated not to exceed $90,000
which is in excess of the city's $44,000 bid threshold. Uh I would like to move this resolution, but I would ask that Director Shreger just give a quick history of what happened on that day to cause that pump failure. Yes. to you, council president, just do the motion in the second. Um, yeah. Do I
have a uh second? Okay. Thank you. Yes. Yes. First, when your sewer operator calls you at 6:30 in the morning, it's never to say hello. I wish it was, but uh on that Friday, our Constantine pump station did fill up with 12 ft of of sewage. Uh the result was one of our pumps had a catastrophic failure, which
we believe was a result of a seal that failed. And then those massive pumps as they just get a little bit out of plum will cause the impeller to essentially snap and then it shut down the uh facility. We declared an emergency later that day which allowed us to actually already proceed with the ordering
because these like most mechanical parts nowadays are about a 22 week lead time. So we are in the queue already and now we're just doing the contract to to formally uh approve the contract that we need to to get the pump. So, I mean, once it's in, we do, you know, accidentally wind up with a new pump for
a, you know, aging station. Uh, but our sewer operator is able to install it. So, this should be the the only cost relative to the emergency. Thank you. All right. Um, any uh comments from the public?
Comments from council? Council President. Yes, Councilman Boyer. Uh, Director Shrader, just to be clear, because I know the the public is is hearing sewage overflow. Um, the backup pump did work and there was no sewage
that was mixed in with our or stream water or, you know, and no one has to worry about turning on the water in their kitchen and not smelling so good. So, can you uh talk about that real quick, please? Yes. through through you,
council president. Again, uh though the station did shut down fully because at that point the the surge of the sewage um you know the the station had to be isolated before the other pump could be utilized and then obviously cleaned. But the Constantine pump station does have a built-in overflow. So when the station
does reach capacity, it then goes down Payic to our Chattam Road pump station. So, not that you want to have emergencies ever, but if you were to have a pump filler, you want to have it at Constantine because then uh we don't wind up discharging somewhere. We don't impact the the sewage system other than
um sending it down the road a little further. So, thank you. Yeah. Thank you. Thank you, Council President. Just so the residents know, we got backup. you know, stuff fails, but you know, our our uh
our city engineer, you know, we got backup for stuff when it fails. So, we're we're fortunate to be a to be a city like this. So, and in this case, the station was probably down for for less than half a day that we could just clean it out and then just put the the
one pump on because right now it's functioning with just the one pump. So, and and Director Shagger, how old was the pump that failed? uh between 30 and 40 years. So, wow. But you you can get good life out of them if if you maintain them, which we do, but
just sometimes this this happens. Yeah. Council President. Uh yes, Councilwoman. Um Director Shreger, I remember the day you called me about this and other than being exacerbated. It was it was a stressful situation. I think you handled it really well. So, I just want to say thank you. But correct me if I'm wrong. We had a ton of water that day, didn't
we? We have a ton of rain that day. I did that to do with it. recall just because this spring has always been raining so it's all kind of just bled together. I couldn't remember but I but there was rain that week. There was rain around then but it was a big it was a pretty bad day that day. So thank you
for being on top of that. Other comments from council? Yes, Councilman Palowski. It's more of a question um for director Shrager. my understanding that some um some municipalities have privatized their um
sewer utility, I guess. Um and um some have gotten pretty big payouts initially and and it results usually though in increasing the uh annual bill to uh residents. Um, I was wondering if you
know whether these have been successes, uh, towns that have done it and whether, uh, whether you've ever put together maybe like pros and cons of doing this or if that's something that we should consider so that we're not, you know, considering $90,000 repairs. Um, it
might not be, you know, a cost feasible measure for the city, but maybe it is. So, I was wondering if you could hum a few bars on that if you know. Yes. Again to you council president about every half decade typically in this area it's New Jersey American water um that would
make the approach about you know acquiring the city's sewer utility. Uh and it has been explored in the past. in the past when they generally see our sewer rates so low. Uh what will happen is one those will go up rather quickly but two they will probably give a lower
offer um just because they know they're going to have to make it up um somewhere else as they slowly raise uh the rates. So when we have explored it in the past it never went too far because we do have a very low fee. Um but it is something that they've they've come back around recently. So we will, you know, meet
with them and just share our information. In terms of success, there's definitely some, it's a function of how you maintain your infrastructure, and ours is is generally pretty good. It is older. I mean, there's parts that are still 100 years old, the pipes. Um, so some towns that do have a massive
success is basically they've almost gone too far um down with their infrastructure that it almost makes sense just to walk away and let someone else take over it. There are some that have not been happy with it. So I'd say it's 50/50. So, it's kind of, you know, it's no one-sizefits-all. It would be up to the specific municipality, but it is
so something that we um have had contact with them recently, and when we kind of get some free moments, we'll we'll get them information and see if it goes somewhere. Yeah. Thank you. Yeah. Just a follow-up question. Has um has any town in the joint meeting ever done this,
gone gone to sell their their product? Not that I'm aware of, but that is a good question and something we could poke around. And I know as of five or six years ago, there were none. I can check at the meeting. I can ask. Yeah. Yeah. I don't think I' have, but have any explored it, you know, you know,
other than just a fleeting thought. So that's something we could ask through council member Hamlet even there, but I'm not aware of it. So, but I know big ones like Hoboken has like they switched over at some point. And you'll read in municipalities magazine, there's a couple in the Gloucester County region that have and uh it seemed to be a
pretty big windfall for them. Um but other towns not so much. Yeah. Just for the public, we are a uh one of is it 13 municipalities? One of 13 municipalities that own equity in our
uh our sewer system. So we're we receive stuff from New Providence, but we're pretty much one end of it. And then the proverbial flows downhill uh and ends up um down uh right near the Gothals
Bridge. That's our sewage treatment plant um right there as the uh Poseic enters into the bay there. Um this has been around for over a hund about a hundred years I think. Um you couldn't recreate this today.
uh Elizabeth was having financial problems while this was being built and uh so they they became a customer of the joint meeting and I know there have been many times where they've tried to buy in because they're also the largest customer of the joint meeting.
Elizabeth's a big city and they just can't afford it because the the infrastructure and the plant is so wellrun. It's it's one reason, as Director Shger alluded to, our sewage rates are so low. Uh it's a phenomenal system. It's really really
wellmaintained. I can see why people would like to buy it. Um probably not at the price we'd be willing to sell it for, I would think, but again, I think it's worth always talking to people. Council President. Yes. And also the the council member that serves on this board
gets gets paid right now. Yes. Right. and and and but but it was it was city administrators Bowwin's great great great grandfather that made it so that any sitting council person will never
get a dime for anything that they do. This is this is this council has the highest integrity in Summit. So that money that the council member gets they have to donate it to charity. That's right. That is true. God bless. Mhm.
Okay. Um, other uh other comments from council. All right. All in favor? Opposed? Motion carries. All right. Capital projects number four. Councilwoman Hamlet. We're only on four. Okay. So, this is resolution ID 1 1813.
Uh, before I go on, I just want to give a a quick description um of the Saltbrook area because a lot of people are asking exactly where is the Saltbrook. So, I just want to be very specific. Uh the saltbrook serves as a large drainage tributary that is centrally located within the city. The drainage area is predominantly a system
of underground pipes until it becomes an open channel in front of the cornog building at Memorial Field. It then enters a culvert where it flows under Brighton School and discharges to an open stream at Ashlin Road where it flows north towards Springfield Avenue before heading west where it leaves the city at Division Avenue as it travels
towards the Payic River where it ultimately discharges. Over time, the volume and flow of water has caused erosion to the stream banks, which has resulted in property loss as the stream meanders and deposits sediment. In some areas, head walls from various streets have been impacted due to erosion,
causing them to fail or topple over fully, which further exacerbates the erosion and condition of the stream. one area at the rear of 722 Springfield 720 722 uh and a few other areas right around there have suffered more severe erosion as their storm as the uh county
uh pipe has toppled over. The county is not able to repair the pipe until the banks are stabilized but have agreed to do so if a project is undertaken. So I wanted to give a little bit of history uh in regards to where the saltbrook is. Uh so this is resolution ID 11813
uh which is supporting stream bank stabilization project Saltbrook Saltbrook whereas the whereas the Saltbrook serves as a large drainage tributary that is centrally located within the city and I just mentioned everything else so I'm going to skip all of that. Um, capital projects and
community services has advised that any project to address the entire stream is a major task that is well beyond the ability for one property owner to take on. And CAPS has recommended the city implement various strategies to address the ongoing conditions associated with the Saltbrook in effort to protect
property in the city and the health and safety of city residents. Whereas it has been determined by the common council that is in the best interest of the residents and property owners of the city to implement the strategies recommended by CAPS. I would like to move this resolution.
Second. All right. Comments from the public. Good evening. Adriana Allercon, Springfield Avenue. Great step forward that the stabilization of Salt Brook is on tonight's agenda. Thank you. I want to begin by thanking you all for
acknowledging this issue and I sincerely hope that the town continues to monitor a major contributor to this the ongoing overdevelopment that is negatively impacting some of its land and properties. Last year I paved my driveway. It's a shared space with my
neighbor. We carefully coordinated our plans and applied for permits together. To our surprise, my neighbor's application was denied due to what was described as excess pavement coverage. even though the ex existing pavement had been there for over a hundred years.
As a result, my neighbor was not allowed to repave their half. Meanwhile, across the street at 609 Springfield Avenue, a large lot, formerly mo formerly mostly green space was torn down and replaced by two larger homes with garages and
extensive paving with virtually no green space left. This overdevelopment has dramatically increased runoff which is either pouring into the drain further overwhelming the broken county pipe that I've reported many times or flowing directly into Saltbrook both
accelerating erosion. To make matters worse, there is now a natural runoff channel that has formed. It's cut through the land exposing the underlying rock. I've sent video evidence to this to to the council. The heavy rainfall over the last few months have worsened
the land loss and destabilization. not only on my property but extending further along the brook in both directions. The infrastructure neglect combined with overdevelopment is a dangerous mix. This stabilization plan must move forward immediately along with
a long-term strategy to manage runoff and enforce balanced development. I'm grateful to see action starting. My neighbors and I are willing to help. I've already attempted to assist through forwarding information for capable contractors willing to take on the project, one local and another one that
has experience working with Union County. All I have to offer is my help and my hope that something is done before it's too late. Thank you. I'll email this. Thank you. Other comments? Hi, Shantel Landman, Beakman Road. I
want to address this resolution which proposes the city allocate taxpayer dollars and city resources to fix damage caused by the saltbrook on a single property. An issue that is both incredibly unfortunate and reflects a much larger problem that affects many
residents. When one resident experiences damage, especially from flooding or shifting terrain, it often signals a broader systemic issue. Whether it's faulty infrastructure or inadequate storm water management, these are not one home problems. Fixing the issue on
one property may bring temporary hopefully temporary relief to that home, but it won't address the root cause. Instead, we should take this issue as a wakeup call. Our infrastructure needs a comprehensive upgrade. Residents deserve transparency. What is the plan to fix
the underlying issue and what will that cost? Certainly a lot more than $50,000. Have Union County, federal, and state agencies agreed to coordinate with us on the work outlined in the resolution, including the comprehensive project outlined? If they have not, and we act
too narrowly, as we've heard from our engineers, we risk risk wasting money on band-aids and patchwork solutions while the larger problem persists or worsens. Even more concerning, this resolution sets a precedent that could become
financially unsustainable for the city. Is the city negligent and/or contributing to the damage? Will future requests from home homeowners receive the same level of intervention? Residents from Lynen Place and Tulip Street have come to council over the years to raise concerns about the
Saltbrook flooding and property damage. And over the past couple of months, I'm hearing from residents along the Saltbrook and elsewhere in the city asking if these city-f funed repairs are common and wondering how they can avail themselves of similar funding and DPW
resources. The city budget simply cannot support this model, nor is it an appropriate or effective use of our taxpayer dollars. I feel for this family on Springfield. We all do. I have compassion for what they are going through. Let's be comprehensive
and strategic and work on solving the actual problem, not just the symptom. And let's do that now so that no other families along the Saltbrook have this experience in the future. Thank you. Thank you very much. Just email your comments to the clerk. Thank you. Other
comments from the public. Hi, Lisa Allen. Um, 27 Plain Street. Um, thank you, Council President. through you. I just actually had a quick question. Um, one of the residents, uh, Audriana had stated that there were two homes that were built across the street
and, um, my question would be, um, through you for zoning, um, for Director Shrager. Um, as part of that bigger plan, was there, um, any storm water management considerations? Um, so when the houses went up, we know
that the storm water drain is right across the street and the pipe that's owned by the county is falling apart. So potentially, was there any consideration for that? And um I I just want to say that in terms of symptoms and flooding
and and issues like that, um I do feel as though the symptom is overdevelopment. And I think we all it's like this unstated thing. I mean, we're kind of stating it most of the time, but we're not really saying um truly that as a
community, we really need to start thinking about how does overdevelopment affect our community? Because there's more rain, there's more extreme weather. And if our storm water drains can't handle all the water that's being
produced, um, and we just keep adding homes, our sewage can't handle it. It's constantly, this is actually the third time I think that um Constantine, I could be wrong, but I feel like it's the um sewer. This is the third time over several years that it has failed. Um and
so it was just interesting uh Councilwoman Hamlet that you had asked if it was because of the rain. So, um I'm just curious about the storm water and um just wanted to say that overdevelopment is a huge concern. Thank you. Other comments from the public?
All right. Uh, comments from council. Uh, go ahead, Councilman Palowski. So, I agree. development and overdevelopment um is a big problem. And and
to put it simply, when we, you know, continue to overdevelop, build big bigger houses than the town was designed for, um we're adding roof area, and we're we're losing permeable ground. The result is more and
more and more water goes into our storm sewage system. Um and and it it's it overt taxes our our storm sewers and you know one of the results has been the deterioration of the salt brook. Now if you go down to the salt brook and and
walk up and down it you can see on both sides of it you know the roots for all these trees and fallen trees um the brook itself is um washing away land and something absolutely has to be done about that. Um, I think that's more of a
Army Corps of Engineer, state county issue, but what's happening at the resident that residence that we're talking about tonight is the result of a broken county pipe. And that pipe keeps breaking more and more. And every time
it breaks, this the surges of storm water that come through it um break away uh land. And um then when the when the um when the sewer when the when the saltbrook overflows which and I've talked to many residents who live on the
saltbrook and they have confirmed that over the past 30 years uh the levels uh continue to rise more and more of this dirt walk uh washes away. Now the particular residence that we're talking about here has lost 50 out of 75 feet of
their backyard something like that. And um you know the county is refusing to fix their pipe until we stabilize the land. And you know if we don't you know in 10 years her house will be in there and then it'll be Springfield
A. But even once we do stabilize it she's not going to get most of her property back and that's a shame and and uh that that that breaks our hearts. Um but we do have to and and I don't know if I'd call this a band-aid. I think I'd call it a tourniquet. Um we we have to
we have to stop this now. And then we also do have to do something as we continue to develop. And there are other big developments uh proposed for that side of the street. And that's where the storm water goes. It goes right into the salt um instead of into the ground uh
where most of it's going now. So uh I support this and I just wish we could have done it sooner. Councilwoman Hamlet. Uh thank you, Council President. Uh, I would say that this is something none of us take lightly. Uh, I'm sure the headlines tomorrow will be that the the city
council is helping an individual property owner. Uh, the good news is we have an excellent city solicitor who always uh seems to lead us in the right direction and the uh the legal advice as well that we've been given as a council. Some may argue that Saltbrook
stabilization is about fixing private property. But New Jersey law, especially the Supreme Court's decision in Posie versus Bordertown, Bordontown sewage authority, makes it very clear that if a dangerous condition starts on public land or with, as we can see in this
case, the um the storm pipe from the county, uh makes a dangerous condition, starts on public land, and foreseeably harms private property, the city can still be held liable. In other words, we can't ignore erosion or collapse just because it crosses a property line. If we know that municipal stream banks are
failing and doing nothing leads to damage, that's a legal risk that we have to take on. It's smart stewardship and it's good risks mitigation. I would further say uh Director Shreger, you can um educate the public a little bit on the other aspects of what we're about to fix uh with the covert. So, the county
is fixing a few things and then we're potentially fixing a few more things and we're obviously in discussion with with the state and uh D and everybody else around this. Yes, you council president. So, I don't
recall if it was a year or two years ago, but there was two unowned parcels of land um between uh Tulip um I'm sorry, it was it goes alongside Tulip, but it starts at Ashlin and goes through Lynon and Oakland. Uh which the city did, I'll use the word inherit, but it was just basically when it's a defunct
owner, uh we took ownership of those properties, which essentially just the only thing on the property is the Salt Brook. So in that area itself uh we do we are currently permitting just to get those uh get d snagged to repair the
walls that are in there just to um basically extend the life of of the covert and assault in that location for the first two blocks. Um so that is being looked at right now. Uh otherwise downstream, you know, we do have plans at the Division Avenue Bridge, which is more just to stop trash from Well, it's
trash rack, but it's really just to stop some of the vegetative debris that winds up down there uh after a storm. So, we do have that permitted. We're working with the county. Um otherwise, the property up along the stream, we only have one small parcel which we've removed some trees from, but that is all
we've done there. Thank you. Other comments from Council President? Yes, Councilman Ber. So, I don't know if folks understand the magnitude of this, but let me um give an
illustration. If it was fourth and goal, I'd kick a field goal. That's how much land Mrs. Alakone's lost. I mean, it is it is dramatic and it is scary. However,
as much as I feel for the resident and yeah, you know what? I'm concerned about residents. I I am I'm actually elected to represent them. Um and by doing so, I'm also here to
represent the city and make sure that the city uh doesn't have liability. Now, when we talk about the stream and this issue, uh this issue was here three
years ago. I mean, I remember when I was running for council and I came up here and I was saying the same thing to the council members up here and nothing happened. Um, and even years before that, I'm hearing the stories about how
this was an issue. And this is when uh the resident had 20 more yards in her backyard, right? And now it's like at a point where um something's going to happen. And I don't want to be the one sitting up here talking about, man, we should have did something when the when
the house falls in the creek. Who wants to who wants to be sitting up there explaining that? Now, as much as I care about Adriana uh and her family and um her the the
backyard, this is not about that. When we talk about the county pipe, people are saying a pipe, there is no pipe there. We're talking about a pipe that doesn't exist at all. It's upstream. It's like
20 yards upstream. It's not even there. So, the water just comes out and it just floods. And actually, the last storm I seen a video, it creates a swirl. I mean, it had to be like five feet, right? So imagine a little kid and kids
play in that salt brook. I grew up here. I used to play in a salt brook, right? Imagine a little kid get swept away in a storm or something like that. Then we'd be up here talking about a different story. While the city is not currently liable
under tort claims act, it risks liability if its infrastructure contributes to ongoing damage. if we knowingly ignore a danger or if it blocks necessary repairs
which which if we don't pass this could because the county is saying we're not going to fix the pipe until you stabilize that area. So, I know people will say, "Yeah, we're concerned about the the resident's property." Has
nothing to do with that. Actually, it has something to do with the liability that the city will incur if we block the necessary repairs that need to happen, which is the county pipe. This is our
responsibility to protect the city and we shouldn't make it anything else about that because if it is, it's politics. Let's not always be political. This is something that we need to do. And I've been raising the flag about
this for almost two years now. Let's say three almost. And again, I don't want to be up here talking about, "Man, we should have did something when the house falls into the creek. Man, we should have did something when the kid drowns."
That's not the conversations that I want to have for $50,000. Thank you, Council President. Thank you. Other comments? Uh, just very brief, Councilwoman Toe. Thank you, Council President. Um,
I am very concerned about the optics of looking like we're doing something for one resident, but because of the potential liability, I feel compelled to to support this resolution. Thank you. Other comments, Councilwoman, would it be okay to have our city solicitor just opine on this topic
briefly? If you'd like to. Sure. Would you mind just talking a little bit about the city's liability? Um, well, you there's an easement that runs across this property. Oh, I'm sorry. There's an easement that runs across this property
that the county has a pipe and the pipe takes runoff from uh county roads that you have to get that water off the road to make sure that the roadways are safe. If road if water accumulates on roads, you can
either have ponding which is dangerous for cars or even more dangerous in the winter ice. dangerous for pedestrians and automotives. So the the pipe which is taking water runoff off your roadways into the saltbrook that has to be
repaired. The only way you can repair it is by stabilizing this one portion of the bank where the pipe runs into. though what you what the city is doing in conjunction with the county is to repair a current county pipe easement
that takes runoff off of city property that all residents and visitors enjoy. So to do nothing puts the the city and the county in harm's way. Um because you we have to get the water off of it into
a a stream that then dumps into a river. So it's our recommendation that you guys do go forward working with the county to merely stabilize it. The actual repair of the pipe, that's the county's responsibility. Thank you. Thank you. Other comments, Council President. Real
quick. Yes, Councilman Ber, Councilwoman Hamlet, um just so that everybody knows and maybe you can do this uh a couple of meetings from now. Um the the we need to stabilize the entire Salt Brook. I mean,
we've had conversations even a year ago with, you know, New Providence, with our congressmen, I mean, with the Army Corps of Engineers. It's not like um we're just focused on this one area, right?
This is a this is this is a long, you know, process which we know that, you know, we need to get involved in, right? I think um Director Shger, can you tell us the last time when our our watersheds were surveyed? It had to have been how long ago?
Probably over 50 something. No, through you, Council President. So we have I mean just just to kind of shed light on the Saltbrook is the drainage area is approximately one square mile which means basically one6 of the city does
convey its storm water through there. Um so we have some idea and concept that we've drawn up of what the wersheds actually are. Um and in this case it it is you know serving as a system for the city's storm water runoff. uh which is why it is generally you know a
fast-hitting event that happens there. I mean people who live in the sal would tell you it comes up very quickly. If you go the next day it's right back to being a trickle. Uh unlike you know Payic and Rockaway rivers where it's you know 12 hours 24 hours later that it hits peak. This basically hits peak as the peak rain is hitting and then it
goes down very quickly. As a result though you have a high velocity which does result in more prone to erosion and and bank uh impact. So um that's just kind of sums up the wershed that this is in. So it is it is a large wershed. It's the the city's largest that does go to
the stream. Um we have pursued you know army corps has been out unfortunately with the army corps. Is it work they do? Absolutely. Is it work they'd be excited to do? Absolutely. You're competing with 50 other states as well as our territories um where the problems might
be more significant or impact um lives and houses more readily or more quickly. Uh so nothing has trickled down from there but we do reach out when we can and and they have been out when when they can. So so that's kind of the challenges that we are up against. Yeah.
Thank you. Yeah. Other comments? And my my only big comment on this would be um you know I do share concerns and optics around as as sad it is and I went
and saw um uh the backyard u Miss Alakans and it it it's disturbing. It's a lot of erosion. Um but I do think you know it's a slippery slope. one that I don't think the city should go down
around, you know, fixing erosion problems on private property. This is different though. It just is. There is a county pipe. This is about this is about public infrastructure. That's why this is different. Um the
county can't do anything. And as our uh attorney pointed out that that pipe services, you know, water runoff for public roads, that entire area, um if that if we can't get the bank stabilized, they can't do that work.
That's why this is different. This is an investment in public infrastructure. It's not an investment. As much as I'd love to help out private residents with erosion, it's not an investment in in private property erosion mitigation,
that is not the city's business. City's business is to facilitate public infrastructure improvements and such. And um and that's why I I do support this. We need to do that. Um, I think the benefit of it will be to help that
poor resident because it is sad to see all that that uh erosion happen and um, no one it's it's horrible to go through when you own your property and that happens. But so there's a there's a huge benefit from that, but we do have to make sure
that we're focused on our infrastructure and and this does do that. So I I do support the resolution. All right. All in favor? Opposed? Motion carries. All right. Um, next
capital projects uh, resolution number five. Councilwoman Hamlet. Actually, we're going to have Councilman Buer do this one, right, Jamal? I wasn't prepared. I thought I'm sorry. I thought you were doing three and one. And, you know, No, I'm just I thought you wanted to do it. No, it's all right.
Um, we were initially going to take it off, but now we find that we can change it. So, Well, do me a favor. Why don't you Why don't you read it because I want to make an amendment. Okay, fair enough.
Okay. Resolution ID 111962. Whereas in a memo date in a memo May 29th, 2025, the director of division of engineering and public works states that due to the success of the original dog park which was established in 2022 at the transfer station, the city is exploring the
possibility of installing permanent dog parks at other locations, which could offer residents in other parts of town easier access and longer hours. Whereas the director recommends setting up temporary dog parks at Memorial Field near the parking lot by the tennis courts on July
11th and 12th, 2025 and at the southeast quadrant of the village green on July 25th and 26th, 2025 to evaluate public interest in the same. Whereas the director will seek feedback from users of the temporary dog parks to assist in determining future uh decisions.
I would like to move this resolution and then we're going to amend it. Council President, I need a second first. Do I second before motion? Yes. Second. Thank you. Okay. Um,
do you want to make a motion now? Yes. Okay. Uh, Council President, I move to amend the resolution. And just to explain uh taking into consideration of Councilman Smallwood who who said, you know what, I
I support this. However, having it 48 hours is just such a short period of time. And also, um I don't necessarily agree with where was going to be placed in the Village
Green or in memorial uh field. So I this is where this amendment or move motion to amend comes from. So I move to amend the resolution to modify the event duration and location details so that
the event may be held for up to two weeks with a designated location to be determined at Memorial Field and the village green. Uh the original fixed dates and locations was July 11th, 12th, 2025 at Memorial Field near the parking
lot by the tennis court and July 25th through the 26, 2025 at the souththeast quadrant of the village green would be replacing that accordingly. So, just to recap,
I'm making a motion to amend the resolution to modify the event duration and location details so that it's up to two weeks and with a designated location to be
determined at Memorial Field and the Village Green. I second your motion to extend the time and allow for greater flexibility in the specific location at those two general locations.
[Music] The only thing I would say is is it the director who will make the determination for um where these things would end up? Well, I I think we say the director
because um our city engineer is, you know, uh the theme of it, but I think the the council would like to um uh put their two cents in here to say, "Hey, we we think this spot may be
good or or not." Um, now, council president, are you alluding to the fact that we should say that the director will work with council officials to determine a designation or Well, I think the public
should know where how these decisions are being made, right? I mean, right now, the public knows these were where they would be. Um, we're not going to h we're not going to have another meeting about this just to talk about where these go, right? I mean, I think if it
would to say that the director working with the CAPS committee Yep. um will, you know, determine the location that that works. Councilwoman H. Now, I was just going to say just to to clarify, we identified
the time issue in committee, but we didn't have time to change it by the time the public uh packet was fac uh came out. So, we quickly identified that one day would not be nearly enough to engage uh with public feedback. So, um it's going to be a lot better to give
feedback for a couple weeks. All right. So, I think what what we'll vote on is just this motion to amend the resolution and then we would vote on whether to adopt it. Is that right? Yes, madam clerk. Okay. So, um all in favor of
amending the resolution? I I opposed. All right. So, we're going to Okay. So, now I'm going to ask the public, do you have any comments you'd like to make on the amended resolution? All right. Uh, council comments on the
amended resolution, Councilman Ber, just so Summit is a pet friendly town. I mean, this may be anecdotal, but like 80% of people in Summit have dogs or a cat.
Um, this is a no-brainer. And the master plan calls for our village green to be a place where we commune, where we get together. What better area to walk your dog and get a cup of coffee
and sit on a bench and talk to your neighbors while your kids are playing in the playground. This is Summit here. this will bring people to our town, for our local businesses and um I mean this this is such a great
great thing for this town and you know I support this um wholeheartedly um and hopefully we can get the uh dog waste dispensers going up at some point too, right? The mayor is probably laughing at me right now. Um, but yeah,
this is I I think this is a great thing for our residents to get together and meet each other um and meet people you've never spoken to before because who doesn't like talking about what kind of dog you got? What kind of dog is that, right? Like Yeah. You know, so
yes. Uh, thank you, Council President. Other comments from council? Councilman Palowski? Thank you. Um, right now we have a dog park down at the dump and it's a great dog park and
there's never anybody there. Um, I really only ever get to go on Saturdays um because it opens too late to go before work during the week and it closes too early to go after work during the week and it's not open on Sundays.
So, uh, I don't know if we can spare the space, um, in the middle of town, but, um, I think this is a great idea to give it a shot. Um, you know, another spot that I've been eyeing for a dog park is, um, by the train station where that
gigantic hunk of metal is. Forgive me if anybody loves that piece of art, but I'm ready to get rid of it and put a dog park right there. So, um, I'm looking forward to seeing how this works out. Other comments? Madame Mayor, I would just
would just like to make sure that when this happens that we get feedback. So, public residents who use the dog park, please let us know how you like it. Um, and definitely try both locations so you can weigh in on which one's better.
Thank you. Yeah, I I would just say similarly, I think extending the time from two days up to a couple of weeks, you need data. These are pop-ups for a reason. There doesn't they're not supposed to be permanent. If people love them and they work out and I'm sure there might be some people concerned
with animals on the green and such like that. We'll we'll we'll see. That's why you do a you do it for a little bit. Um it but in addition I think um one my wife does use the dog park at the dump. She she really likes it with her we have
two dogs. Um, so that's one thing. And secondly, the Memorial Field one, there's kind of an informal dog doggy playd date there every morning already. So, uh, I think it this will be nice, uh, nice thing for the people around there as well. Um, so yeah, I'm all for
it. Councilwoman Toe. Thank you, Council President. Um, we are all dog lovers here and dog, as we've noted, dog parks allow for great community engagement. However, I don't think they're appropriate everywhere. And specifically, I'm concerned about dog
parks close to playgrounds where there are young children who are often afraid of dogs. Um, our existing dog park was located at the transfer station specifically so that it didn't interfere with other recreational activities. Um,
we have other places in town that fit those characteristics. I'm thinking of the four vacant lots um at the cityowned lots at the corner of Oakley and Springfield Avenue where there's woods,
there's pads. Um and so I think that if we want to test popup dog parks, we should seek out locations that aren't really close to very young children. Um, and so I support the concept, but I don't think that I can support this
resolution as it's currently drafted and amended. Thank you, Councilwoman H. Um, the only thing I would mention there, Council Member Toth, is that location is right next to a school on uh the playgrounds right near a school where you're suggesting.
Yeah, I I guess that had occurred to me when it was only a two-day. Oh, right. Okay. Um, so, okay, other comments and council president. Yes, Councilman Ber, I I can
100% agree and assert that um at the city dump there are no other recreational things happening there. So, you're absolutely right, Councilwoman Toth. All right. All in favor? I I opposed.
Nay. Okay. Motion carries. All right. Capital projects number six, Councilwoman Hamlet. Thank you, Council President. I'm going to ask to bundle 11933, 111 1932, 111931, 11930, and ask Director Shreger to give
a brief um today. We spent a lot of time going over these projects and he did it with his computer and I thought it would be really helpful for the public uh to hear it from him rather than me reading four resolutions. So, uh, would that be okay, Council President? Yeah. Just, uh, so for the public, these are all, uh,
about, uh, submission for, uh, grant applications. Is that correct? Correct. Yes. Yeah. So, Director Shaker, thank you. Through you, Council President. So, the state of New Jersey through NJ DOT does solicit grant
applications at this time. They're all due July 1st. Unfortunately, our council meeting is July 1st. So, we have to do them at this meeting to get the resolutions for the projects we want. Uh it is not just a cart blanch sort of wish list that you can pick. They have to be projects that meet the
requirements of the program. Uh and specifically, so there's um let me just see the order. So, we'll go in order is the first one is safe streets to transit program where that specifically details that it's within a certain radius of
your transit hub. um or it could be a a bus stop. So um for us in the past we have done projects that uh center around our train station um which also overlaps then with our transit village and uh program which is separate. So but this
year what we are seeking is what we have called the it is the safe streets the river road corridor bus access connectivity project. use a lot of words. Hopefully, it gets some appeal from DOT. But the intent is on the north side of River
Road, you do have two bus stops. Uh, one has an actual bus shelter. It's usually behind the overgrown elephant grass that is over there, but access to them is limited, but it also highlights that Chattam Road itself, there's been, you know, much request for sidewalks there.
It's kind of chopped up going down to DPW. So for this grant here is really just looking for ways to calm traffic on River Road, increase the sidewalk network, and provide access to those bus stops. Um so that would be the first grant application. Um the second
application is the transit village program, which the city center is a designated transit village. This is somewhat competitive. I believe there's only a million dollars available for the don't quote me it's 14 or 18 um municipalities that are transit village
designated uh summit happens to be one of them we have received grants before to improve the village green with the four phases being done there we'll take another shot at what we're calling the transit village uh the accessibility and mobility enhancement project around the village green so what we have here is
we're we're doing the maybe playground which is fully inclusive however we don't have any you know accessible parking spaces adjacent to it. So, we'd be looking to increase um you know, ADA accessibility throughout the souththeast um quadrant, which is where the maybe
playground is, as well as in the YMCA and library, which need some ADA upgrades. And all these projects at the Village Green didn't focus much on the perimeter sidewalks, the larger ones. Um some of those are nearing their life and need to be replaced. So, we will
incorporate that as well as, you know, additional pedestrian safety measures. And we're also going to, you know, lump in the bike shelter, which should be open shortly, uh, just to improve accessibility there even because we're utilizing the existing sidewalk network there. So, it could be, uh, a little
tricky to get access to it, but as that grows in popularity, we hope to increase that through this grant. And then the final two are their standard local aid grant submissions which the DOT continues to as of last Wednesday always recommend that you apply for two and you
prioritize them. Uh in our history and other colleagues I have in other towns they've never awarded two to your um I'll say smaller towns but outside the 100,000 um population cities. So, we do always apply for two. For these grants, though, the projects generally need to
be uh a little more have traffic volume. So, you're not going to just do a routine paving program. You'd look for roads that connect to other county roads, uh service schools, businesses, um you parks. So, you know, it does reduce the list we have. So, we don't
typically apply for the worst streets we have because it just may not qualify. So this year we do have as a priority one is Bryant Parkway uh and that neighborhood we would do Edison and me whose pavement is coming up um on the uh
its life is is nearing its end. Uh so we'll try to get ahead of it there. There has been you know requests and discussions of sidewalks and traffic calming measures on Brian Parkway. And then as a number two would be Deforest Avenue. Uh again, that's pushing over 10 years since it's been paved, but now we
have, you know, renewed interest in potentially bike lanes and other traffic um calming and pedestrian safety measures that we would put there. Um as I said, we typically apply for two. We've never gotten more than one and 90% of the time we get our priority one. So, I think that's a brief summary of the
four grants we have. Great. That was excellent. Yes. Thank you, Director Shreger. Okay. Um you have anything else to say? Uh no, I would just like to thank uh Director Shreger and his team. When I sat down in the last week or so to to inquire about these projects, uh just the knowledge that he has around
what else needs to be fixed in in Summit is is phenomenal. And he makes a great point. We're we're making maybe ADA accessible, but the perimeter sidewalks aren't accessible, and we don't have enough ADA spaces at the library. Um, and if you look at down near River Road
and Chadam, one woman, I think, was killed last year down in that area. That Cadam Road area, there's a lot of businesses and there's no sidewalks. And I just want to give kudos to you and your team for just identifying what really is needed because it would have taken all of us, you know, a longer
time. So, you know, great job with with all these. And I would say um city administrator Baldman I we would just have to highly motivate Millennium to make a really good sales pitch for these because these are really exciting projects that I think we really need. So thank you. So that being said
I am bundling these are resolutions 11 933 11 932 11 931 11 930. I'd like to bundle those council president and move for resolution. Do I have a second? Second. All right.
Uh comments from the public on those resolutions. Comments from council. Councilman Boyer. Briefly. Uh one of the keys to these grants is that there are no matching funds. Uh right. And that that is that is a
huge thing. So, these are all 100% coming from uh the grants. The city does not have to match these funds. Um the forest I think is in need for some traffic calming uh measures. So, I look
forward to that. Pake Avenue, as Councilwoman Hamlet uh uh intimated, is needs some sidewalks. There have been residents uh dating back, you know, a year ago that says, "Listen, I can't cross the
street because the sidewalks are not connecting. There are strips of Payic Avenue where there are no sidewalks and it's it's definitely dangerous." Um, Bryant Parkway, uh, another good one. So, this is to
Councilwoman Hamlet's point, you know, I I really hope that we we get these grants. They would be really helpful for our town. Thank you, council president. Thank you. Other comments from council. All right. All in favor? I opposed.
Motion carries. All right. We're moving on to capital projects resolution number 10. Councilwoman Hamlet. Okay. I think this might be my last one, so hold your breath. Um, real quick, Council President, I just wanted to discuss this resolution or explain it.
It's a little complicated uh for a couple different reasons. This is 11882. Uh this is regarding the recreational open space inventory. Uh this is a foundational document required by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and Green Acres Program. Uh
so it basically lists all the lands within a municipality or nonprofit's inventory that are preserved for uh recreation and conservation purposes. Um, what I will say about this specific recreational open space inventory, when we received the funds for maybe
playground, uh, which are greenacres funds, $750,000, we're required to update our recreational open space inventory, which we updated last year. Uh, however, to further complicate it, Tatlock and Martinsbrook Park after four weeks of
discussion are one parcel on the tax map. So, in order to be compliant with uh green acres, we have to include block uh was it 401, which is all of
Martinsbrook and all of Tatlock on the recreational open space inventory. So, that will go to the planning board. Uh there are other uh parcels which I really think need to be on here, but in order to get the funding from maybe playground, we had to update at least this piece. So, it took a while to get
this right. Um, but there's a reason why we're doing it this way. It would be really expensive to subdivide that lot right now and uh it would just be be uh be very comp be very complex. I also just wanted to note that in the memo
here there is a scrier's error which I just wanted to point out in the last sentence. It says Greenacres has confirmed that the improvements currently being considered at Tatlock would be impacted by this change. And uh after speaking with director sharer today, we both agreed there should be a knot in there would not be impacted. So
um because these because all of those funds are not going to be encumbered by uh green acres because they weren't funding the tatlock piece. So I hope I was clear. I wasn't. For the record though, that language is not in the resolution. Correct. You're voting on the resolution. Yes, I know. I just want
to say for the I just want to correct the record for the memo. Okay. So with that being said, this is resolution 11882. Whereas in a memo from the director of division of engineering and public works, he advises that the summit recreation and open space inventory, the Rosi was previously revised by the
department of community programs on February 20th, 2024. Whereas it was discovered by NJD Green Acres that the area of Martinsbrook Park, the map currently appears as including only 5 acres of the park and should actually reflect the entire area which is closer to 30 acres. Uh therefore resolved by
the common council of the city of summit the Rossi list be uh reflect the full acreage of Martinsbrook Park which is closer to 30 acres. Uh the mayor has certified authorized to sign the certification confirming that the Rossi list has been updated and will be sent to the planning board for review and
signature. I'd like to move the last resolution. Second. All right. Comments from the public, comments from council. Councilman Ber, Director Shrager, I'd like to since this Rossi expands the
coverage of potentially uh the um the New Jersey Department of Protection, their authority would would we have to get uh NJ involved if we wanted to, let's
say, build a tatlock or do anything at Tatlock, parking or any kind of modifications down there. Will this kind of prevent us from doing things without oversight of the government? Well, through you, council president, it it's
uh you know, we have confirmed through them that a lot of the uses that have been proposed um well, actually all of the uses have been proposed, whether it's uh you know, field restoration or a new concession stand or parking lots, uh all support the purpose of recreation
and and the uses uses that are approved through the Green Acres program. Uh the caveat would be if you're actually accepting funding from Green Acres, there might be some different rules and regulations put on the things you build, but they have confirmed, you know, verbally and in writing. So any of those
improvements that have been kicked around for the last, you know, 20 years at the facility from fieldhouse, etc., uh can still be proceed as as planned. So yeah, that is excellent. Um, and although I know a couple members of the
of uh NJ DP, um, they were they came right down to the Saltbrook to take a look at it and and they were like, "Yeah, we'll give you permits." I know how difficult it could be if you wanted to do something and you know, they were involved and once again
NJ D, I love you. I'm not saying that, you know, I'm going to I'm just throwing it out there. Thank you. If I could just to follow up is there. You wouldn't need permits. You might still need permits depending on what you do. There is the Martinsburg there, but you wouldn't need an actual permit to do work on on Green
Acres land. Um you would just need to follow the rules and guidelines of Green Acres. So, yeah. Perfect. Other comments? Councilwoman Hamlet. Uh just one quick one. I just want to thank David Guida. Um I think I might might have sent him 50 questions about about the Rossi in the last couple of weeks.
Um so, thank you for for dealing with all of our questions. We really appreciate you did a great job. Just we really just wanted to double check and make sure that there weren't any unintended consequences of putting something um in the Rossi that we weren't aware of. And thanks to our uh city solicitor and his team for giving
us that feedback as well. And I would say thanks to Director Trigger. We actually went in and looked at all of the tax maps today or a few of them. It was really interesting to see how old they are. Um so thanks for for going through that. Was really cool. Thank you. Other comments? All right. All in
favor? I opposed. Motion carries. All right. Uh, capital projects number 11. Councilwoman Hamlet. I'm going to have Jamal do this one. Thank you, Councilwoman Hamlet. I'm I am honored to read this one. This is ID number 11990.
Uh, appointing a housing authority member. Uh, I am honored to recommend Geette Barnes for appointment as commissioner to the housing authority. Miss Barnes brings an extraordinary
blend of financial expertise, executive leadership, and deeprooted community service. Precisely the qualities needed for principal and effective housing governance.
uh with over four decades of experience in banking and currently serving as the vice president of retail private uh banker at PPAC. Thank you, Councilwoman To. PAC private bank and trust. Miss Barnes
has demonstrated a uh unwavering commitment to ethical leadership and customer trust and her distinguished career in banking management uh will definitely spill over to housing
oversight and her qualifications, this is key, extend well beyond the private sector. For the past 13 years, Mrs. Barnes has volunteered as executive director of Premier Community
Development Corp. a nonprofit uh working under the housing authority of Planefield. So, this role has placed her at the heart of housing advocacy, neighborhood uh revitalization, and public
accountability. And this is key because now she can offer firsthand insight into the structural and social challenges confronting the residents and administration alike.
Um, on a personal note, and I didn't know this until I actually spoke to Mrs. Barnes, she said, "Jamal, I remember you when you were a kid. your sister used to come over to my house down on Russell
Place and she says I know your your mama Edna and I said and your sister Simone I was like oh you know my family um so you know it's always it's a three circle uh 360 circle and um she is a graduate of
Summit High School and has been a pillar of this community for a long time. So, I enthusiastically uh move this for adoption. Do I have a second? Second. Comments
from the public. Comments from council. All in favor? I opposed. Motion carries. All right. Well done, Councilwoman Hamlet. Uh we're moving on to finance. Uh Councilwoman Toth has a few tonight
as well. Okay. I'll start with number one. Well, thank you. And before I get going, interns, if you thought that was fun, it gets worse. Please go home. You should watch from your couch. I
mean, okay. Um, this is resolution ID 1165 and this resolution rolls over existing bond anticipation notes that are coming due. Um, city administrator Baldwin and
finance director Kobliska plan to join them to the recently approved 2025 capital projects and create one long-term bond issuance so that we can obtain the best terms possible. Um, but in the meantime, the city must pay off
13,430,100 of notes coming due. And this resolution just does does just that for the short term. I move to adopt this resolution. Second. All right. Comments from the public.
Comments from council. All right. All in favor? I opposed. Motion carries. Finance number two, Councilwoman Toth. Thank you, Council President. And we're going to bundle resolutions 11937
um and 11 N911. I type too many numbers. Type too many numbers in there. Um but these bundled resolutions follow our recently adopted salary ordinance. And the first one um 11 1937 provides for salary increases
for long-term non-union employees who have topped out on their step increases. And the second 1191 authorizes salary increases for employees due to step andor longevity increases as of July 1st. I move to
adopt these bend bundled resolutions. Second comments from the public. comments from council. All right. I would just say on the effective January 1st, so this will be like back pay, right? Because there's calendar year. So because we don't adopt
our budget until was it May this year? Beginning of May. Um these employees are all owed some back pay. So be a nice little summer present for them. Um all right. Uh all in favor? I opposed. Motion carries. All right. Finance
number four, Councilwoman Toth. Thank you, Council President. This is resolution ID 11970. And earlier this evening, we heard the presentation from Lisa Hibbs on the government energy aggregation program. Um, and we have previously passed an
ordinance to join the Garden State Community Energy Cooperative, the entity through which we hope to bring our residents lower electricity costs. And the next request for proposals is being prepared. Um, as Miss Hibs described, to
join in this round, we must complete and return a participation form by June 20th. That's Friday. So, joining in the RFP doesn't require us to accept the results, and we're only going to do so if there's a savings to our residents of
at least 5%. Um, so this resolution will authorize us to participate in the RFP. I move to adopt this resolution. Second. Comments from the public. Good evening. Uh Tom Zeber, 768 Springfield Avenue. Uh first and
foremost to Council President McTurnin and Councilman Palowski Ber and Smallwood. Um I hope you all had a wonderful father's day and I just wanted to say I think it's really terrific to have local leaders who set an example not only in their roles behind the deis but as parents too and that of course
applies to our other council members and mayor as well. Um I just like to commend and thank the council for its decision to establish an energy aggregation program and join the Garden State Community Energy Cooperative back in March. One of the things I've admired most about this council is its
commitment to putting residents first, and these measures do exactly that by providing for potential savings on utility costs at a time when they're rising statewide. Uh there's a lot of pressing issues in our city regarding affordable housing, proposals for new development projects, and public safety.
And it would have been uh easy for something like this to fall through the cracks, but I'm hopeful that council will move forward with authorizing the completion of the particip participation form to Concord Energy Services indicating Summit's intent to be included in the cooperative's upcoming energy auction. Um as a resident, I
truly appreciate all your hard work in connection with this initiative. Thank you. Thank you. Other comments from the public? All right. Uh comments from council. Councilman Palowski. Yeah, I I do think
this is a good uh a good idea and I just wanted to Councilman Smallwood's not here today, but he was the driving force behind this, so I wanted to just thank him if he's watching out there somewhere. Great. Other comments? Yeah, I I would also like to thank
Councilman Smallwood. He pushed this. I know this came up several years ago and um when I was first on council and it the numbers didn't make much sense uh after a little while. Um but yeah, I think this is great and these are the
things that um I think I I will commend the state legislature for passing this. This is a while back, a dozen years ago or so. Um it is a way that municipalities can aggregate and have buying power and um so this was a very
very good idea to put some municipalities on par with our utilities. Um so I support this because um life is expensive and when we can save some money it's it's worth doing. So okay. All right. All in favor? I
opposed. Motion carries. All right. Um finance number five. Councilwoman Toth. Thank you, Council President. This is resolution ID 11973. Um, and Summit Downtown, Inc. has historically been a party to Summit's
insurance coverage for its downtown events. And in the past few years, Summit's risk management requirements have become burdensome for S SDI. Um, specifically, our risk manager has begun requiring certificates of insurance from
all performers and other vendors at least two weeks before an event takes place. And although SDI does obtain those certificates, getting them two weeks in advance is a challenge. Um, for instance, some of the the cars that
showed up yesterday at Cars of Croissants, they drove in with the insurance certificate. Um, and so to that end, SDI has purchased its own insurance for events, naming the city as an additional insured. And this solution eases the burden on SDI staff while
still meeting Summit's riskmanagement requirements. And because of this change, Summit is removing SDI from its own insurance coverage. This will not increase our financial risk. I move to adopt this resolution. Second comments
from the public. Comments from council. All right. All in favor? I opposed. Motion carries. All right. Last one. Finance number six. Councilwoman Toth. Thank you, Council President. This is resolution ID 111992.
Um, Civic Plus LLC provides Summit with multiple technology products for which we pay more than $17,500 each year. So adding to that total annual payment requires a council resolution.
Social media archiving services will allow Summit to retrieve all versions of a social media post by the city or a council member um in response to an open public records act request. This is more efficient than reaching out to
individual council members or former former council members to ask them to produce all versions of a post. And further, because the city's responsible for accurate retrieval, it should manage the process. The cost for this service is $3,487
per year and the funds are available. I move to adopt this resolution. Second. Comments from the public. Lisa Allen, 27 Plain Street um through you council president. I'm just curious when you said um a council member's post
would be retrieved if that is from their personal Facebook page andor would it be oftent times council members will set up or establish a council page. So which Facebook pages or would it be Instagram, Facebook,
um Tik Tok, I don't know. So which social media sites and what do you qualify as archavable when it comes to council and elected officials? Thank you. Other comments. All right. Uh comments or question or
questions from council? Well, I was going to say perhaps um city administrator Baldwin can do a better job of answering responding to some of that than I can. I I know we had this discussion last week in finance. We did and through you council president. I
actually if Jenny Hoff, our communications director, doesn't mind weighing in. She has attended some lengthy seminars and I think she's better qualified to answer than I about these questions with the social media
archiving. Do you mind, Jenny? Sure. All right. So, specifically, what would you like to know about the social media? Like why it's necessary? because we talked a little bit about it at the committee. Well, I believe we had discussed that it was both individual pages if city business was discussed and
council pages. Yes. So, it would include public council pages that are used for council purposes to talk about city issues and also for our inter for our own pages both through police and city and the li uh department of community
programs. Yeah. So all of those if if a council person has a separate personal social media platform where they don't they they talk about their dogs and stuff. Yeah. No, that doesn't fall. No,
this is just for the public facing pages on our city website, right, Jen? No, this is for city council members their own public pages when they're under and when they're in office where they put city information out there as well. It's all it's all public information once
it's put out there. If you discuss city businesses and you're elected official, but it would also include Instagram and other social media. Yeah. All the ones that they have access to. So, I believe it's Twitter, Instagram, and um Facebook.
Council President, uh I one question. So, so currently uh and then Yeah. uh currently. So the way it would work now since we don't have the service if we have something that's opred that would then the clerk would reach out to the council member and then would have to
then retrieve all that information. Is that how we're doing? That's how it works. Yeah. And so this will all be this will all be automated then. Yes. Automated. Um, and it was if somebody changes their comment later, even somebody who comments on your page that they go back and edit it, the original
comment is still accessible through the search, which is important because right now through the normal archiving system from the social media, if somebody changes a comment that they made on your page, you can't find it later. So, it would give you kind of a second by- second snapshot of everything that's on
there. Yes, Councilman Ber, that that was actually my question. Um, do you also archive the comments? Not just the elected officials, but also the public. Everything that's on that page, it's like this meeting here kind of considered. So any comments that we make
here or anything, it's now public record. I will say I think I put in the quote um was an add-on which would save you a lot of time which is it would be a publicfacing kind of portal on our website so people could just search for it themselves through the archive
system. So if they wanted to find something, they could actually just find it themselves. Council President, may I? Yes, please. So Jenny, do do the council members have to have the link on the homepage in order to be archived? How do they connect? What
they'll do is they'll connect it to the administrator of each page and that email has to give them the right to be monitoring the back end of that social media page. So can I ask a quick clarifying question? So, um, like Lisa Allen asked
a question about whether something on your personal page, if on your, uh, council president's personal page, not his council president page, he discusses a city issue, then does that then become archable? No, it won't be archived under
this. So, we wouldn't archive your personal pages, but I would recommend not doing that. Okay. Thank you. I would just Yes, Councilwoman Hamlet. I just make one recommendation. I've been thinking about this for a long time. Um, a lot of times we create or at least
elected officials create their council page whether when they start running for office typically. We may want to think about starting those pages within the city because once we're off council, I don't know how that works. I don't know how often it but I I would think we might want to rethink that like once we
get elected then maybe the city takes on that Facebook page as an umbrella underneath the cities because otherwise no I don't think necessarily you will have your page if you have a page where you just discuss city issues like hey we passed this bill and people make comments and stuff like that it's fine as long as it's archived people just
have to be able to access it has to be public it has to be open to the people um if I'm even doing the city's page you know, it's not like I'm not protected necessarily. I'm also held liable to make sure that what I'm putting on there
is um is searchable and fightable later. So, it's all the public forums. So, I wouldn't necessarily mean that we would have to run it. It's just that it's your public page while you're in office. When you're not in office, it's not archived anymore. Perfect. Thanks. And Councilman Buer, please. Because then you're an
independent citizen. Yeah, I I agree with all this because like going back and trying to find stuff is, you know, everybody's got time for that, right? But um if but if I give my admin rights to the
city, it's just what? So explain that. I'm not You wouldn't give your admin rights to the city. Okay. So, it's a So, this just covers elected officials and protects them and their pages when they're elected officials because you're held to a different standard than a private
citizen. A private citizen can talk about what they want on the city all they want and and public policy and they can delete comments and hide comments and change comments. But when you're an elected official and it's a public page and you're talking about city issues that you will vote on, then it becomes a public forum. Completely understand
that. But you made a comment that said that an email will go to the administrator of the account just to let them monitor your page for you. They won't do anything on your page and I won't do anything on your page except it will be able to take snapshots of everything happening on your page as it
happens in real time so that it's searchable later. Understood. But does that still give the city like let's say someone wants to make a post in the city does that admin access give you the access to do that now I'm not saying
that somebody wants to do it right what do you mean so the administrator account right would I would I be giving the city administrative access to my account.
Okay, good question. Yeah. No, you wouldn't. And so I this access wouldn't even be coming to me. It would be through archive social. They would basically send an email to whoever whatever email is linked to that account and say, do you give permission to archive social to be tracking this? Not
even your personal messages. It's just everything that's public there. So that if comments, so I would have nothing to do with it. I They can't post on your behalf. They can't do anything except monitor it. Got it. That's it. Okay. Yeah, it would be exactly as you do it now. It would just be that everything is
tracked so that if somebody comes and makes a comment and then that person wants to run for office later and they delete their comment, it's still part of the it's still searchable. Completely understand. Just don't want to fall into the with cyber events and everything else. We're all public elected officials. Don't want to fall into the
uh to the issue where, you know, something gets posted, we didn't do it, and there's all this confusion about who did what. I mean, that would be a nightmare. Yeah. they wouldn't have the rights to they wouldn't be even have the access to do that. Thank you. Other comments, Councilman Palowski. Yes. So, as I understand it,
this is really just to make our lives easier if we're ever called upon to provide something. So, right now, I can access every version of every post that I've ever made and I can produce them if I need to. But with this, somebody this
system will be monitoring me and everybody else along the way so that I won't have to go through that, right? And also you what you can't monitor is comments that other people make on your posts and if they change it or delete it later, that doesn't show up in your
archive system, but it is still public information because it was put on your page. So that's where the biggest benefit and legislators have like basically voted you have to have that archiving capability. Um that is all searchable. It's like if you come to a council meeting if people get up and
talk we couldn't like delete those comments later. Right. Other comments. Okay. Thank you Jenny. Um no problem. All right. Uh all in favor I opposed. Motion carries.
All right, we're on to our consent agenda. Um, do I have a motion uh to approve the consent agenda as presented? Second. All right. Uh, comments from the public on our consent agenda.
Comments from council. All right. All in favor? I opposed. Consent agenda passes. All right. So, at this stage, I'll um our city uh officials, you guys want to head
home. Thank you for staying as late as you have. Appreciate. Much appreciated. Thank you, Council President. Before uh the director of finance leaves, I just want You almost got out here. Wow. So close.
Director Koblishka, I just want to thank you for your service and know and for you to know that uh we know what you've been doing and all the hard work that you've been putting in. Um we talk about
you and and we and we recognize the help that you've been providing uh in the finance department and we appreciate you. So, thank you. Thank you. Yes. Thank you. Good comments. Now run. Now go. Now get out of here. Yeah. Howard's like, "Come on." Thanks, Aaron. Thanks,
Jeff. Thank you, guys. Thank you, guys. Thank you. Wow. The interns won't leave. They really are interested. Goodness gracious. Um, all right. We are on to our uh public comment
section of our meeting. This is an opportunity for the public uh to make any comments on things that were not on the the budget. Um I would just ask that as you approach the dis you state your name your address and please limit your comments to three minutes so we can get
through everyone's so anyone from the public like to comment tonight. Good evening Jacqueline Laserina. I'm a resident of Summit. I'm here to ask a few questions about public safety. The police protect the community and we are
so fortunate to have a truly excellent police force here in town. The police protect and city leadership and the council communicate. They communicate to residents about public safety matters. Uh I believe it's the case that in the
last month or so we've had three home invasions, Ashlin, Sunset, and Learned in addition to some number of attempted home invasions and car thefts. I feel the community needs more information so we can make better decisions about how
to protect our homes. I respectfully ask that council please share the following information and more if available um from the last year and this information should of course be anonymized and aggregated. At what times of day are the home invasions and car thefts occurring? Are
the criminals entering through back doors, windows, garages? Do the homes have alarm systems and are the alarm systems turned on at the time? Do the homes have security cameras that are capturing images that are helpful to the police? Where cars are stolen or
attempted stolen? Did the homes have key fobs in a Faraday box and where were the cars parked? Separate but related, it's been about a month almost since the incident at Walnut Street. um would appreciate knowing when the community can expect an update on the results of the internal
investigation. Uh and respectfully, the the large piece of metal uh near to the train station is called Louie. It was created by friend of summit Dit Godfrey. Uh I think actually Madame Mayor Fagan. You may have generously sponsored uh
Louie at the uh Summit Public Art Gala a few years ago. It is it is brought to us. that is made possible by the dedicated volunteers and generous sponsors of Summit Public Art, of which I am a member myself, full disclosure. Uh, and I would encourage everyone to go and check it out. Thank you. Thank you
very much. All right, other comments from the public. Okay, first off, uh, you're not getting my name. You're not getting my address. I love that the youngsters hung around for this. You guys are going to learn something today. I don't like how you encourage them to leave to not see the
public portion. I think that's disturbing to say the least. The reason why you don't have to give your name is because we have freedom of speech. So when I come in here and I protect my fourth amendment right by not sharing my privacy, where I live, what my name is,
that's covered under the Fourth Amendment. The reason why it's covered under the first amendment is because you can't force me to give my name or my address because we have freedom of speech. Okay. So, remember these people work for you. Address the council. Absolutely.
Um, and I do want to say I think it's very I don't like how you always look at the clock. It's three minutes to speak. It's not enough time. 6 minutes per month for the public to speak is not enough time. And after 2 minutes, well, the clock is not even on now. So, we've messed that up. But you we have you have
to start it at at three. I need to have three minutes. You'll get your three minutes. No, I understand. But the problem is you I set it at 3. Okay. But after 2 minutes when you look at the clock it's subconsciously like rushing the speaker. I'm trying to keep It's my time to talk. Please my time to talk.
Sorry. Um but I need to see how much time I have. And now it's at zero. So who's keeping track of the clock? Your time is up. My time is up now. I think it's Oh, wow. My time is up. We have to start the clock at 3 minutes.
Please add two minutes. two. Okay. And this is why they wanted you guys to leave because they don't want to see this. They don't want you guys to see this. That's ridiculous. Oh god. Housekeeping here. I'm telling you this. What a boring meeting, too. I almost fell asleep. And thank god the ordinance wasn't passed when Councilman
Ber and Councilman Blowski voted on the napping ordinance, the sleeping ordinance, cuz then the chief could have arrested me for falling asleep at this boring meeting. Wow. So, you know, if you guys have looked into me, you know who I am. Hopefully, you've checked me
out and you should. You should do your homework. I don't come here. I don't come to towns whether it's not about polit. I don't do left and right politics. I do right and wrong. Okay? I was in uh Lavallet filming a meeting as I'm doing right here. They asked for
advanced notice. I gave it to them. What they w up doing? Arresting me. And you know who arrested me? The mayor. The mayor gave the order to have me arrested. You know who arrested me? His son who's the sergeant. The other son is the chief of police. I'm talking
about I don't care if you care. It is my time to talk. You are not allowed to disrupt me. Robert's rules of order. Please, Council President. It's my time to talk. I'm trying to make a point that I am trying to No, I can talk about whatever I want. It's not about left and right. I don't care if it's a full
Republican council or full Democratic council. I've been to Edison, all Democrats. I'm known for bringing props to meetings. You know what they did in in Edison? They banned the American flag because of me. They banned props because I like to bring props. So, after hearing
the stuff that you said last time, we're free to say whatever we want. That means we're free to say whatever we don't want. It was very disrespectful what you said last time. So, I have a prop here and this is a artificial intelligent
uh magic eight-ball. I'm going to ask you right now, does council president Mike McTurn understand the constitutional core issue surrounding this? Got to give it a shake. Mike McDan is unable to understand constitutional protections. Thank you.
Your time loves to give long precise answers. However, the answer in simple terms is no. Thank you. Your time is up. intelligence believes you don't understand concept. Well, that's awesome. Thank you for your comments. Do better. Do better. Come back next time. Oh, I will. Awesome. Any other comments
from the public? Don't cut me off. Lisa Allen, 27 Plain Street. Um, I just wanted to say that through you, Council President. Um, thank you. I heard a
comment about public safety and the concern about public safety. Home breakins and car thefts are one of your most important jobs and keeping this community safe is job number one. And I
know how hard it is to make legislation at a municipal level that keeps a community safe. And so I'm glad that we're all in agreement in this room that we should have ordinances and various strategies
to hopefully figure out how our homes don't get broken into. It is my ice turned, you know, my blood turned to ice the other day when Tulip had another breakin. So I want to say thank you for continuing to keep your eye on this. Um I want to say
thank you even though I shouldn't for the 12 affordable units in the church. They put their money where their mouth is and that is phenomenal and that's the kind of creative thinking that we need to keep think focusing on and keeping at the forefront. And thank you to the interns for being here. Thank the city
for you supporting them being here. You're going to learn a ton and I think this is absolutely the beginning of whatever career that you want. Public service is one of the most important things you'll ever do in your life. So, thank you to the city for allowing this
opportunity. Thanks. Thank you. Other comments from the public. Okay, we'll close the public comment section of our meeting and go on to council member comments and new business. Who would like to start?
Councilman Boyer. Uh, shout out to Mr. Anonymous. Um, listen, I watch uh audit the auditor like all the time. Um, because listen, I I
believe I believe in people's rights. I, you know, they're important. I had um I don't know if there's anybody up here that's taken more abuse than me in the last, you know, year and a half. But, you know what? You know, you listen to people and uh, you know,
it it is what it is. we folks have a right to to make their opinions heard. Um, in regards to uh law enforcement, you know, I leave it to the chief and his expertise. Uh, right, you want to listen to the
professionals and our police chief is highly trained individual. There's something called um OBSC, right? Operational security. The thing is when you post certain things on social media, and I do this like every day. I'm a
cyber guy, right? Uh the criminals read stuff too. So they use that information against you, right? Who's got security cameras? Where are they located?
Where most of the crimes are being committed, all that good stuff. You know, I love a good criminal because I fight them like every day at work, right? Um, so you have to be absolutely careful about that. That's why we leave
it to the professionals to post stuff about crime because they understand operational security. It's very important. Lastly, uh I am extremely
happy to see Glenwood VA gala and Weaver Street on our affordable housing plan. Uh it listen I I know it's going to How do we get there to rehabilitate and and
fix our current affordable housing that we have in Summit that is in dire need of repair. It should be our number one focus. However, we seem to always be focused about building things. But we have structures here in town that we've
built that we've built, excuse me, and just walked away from it. And it's like, well, how the council president made a great point. It's like, we build affordable housing, but there's no plan to keep affordable housing. I'm talking about low-income housing. Sorry, there's
distinctions, but there's no plan to keep it updated. So folks live in apartments that haven't been updated for 30, 40 years. That I mean that's a shame
as a community. We should be up in arms about this, but we're so focused about building stuff, right? But we have affordable housing here in Summit that we're not paying attention to. There should be more people coming
in here saying, "What's up with Glennwood and Weaver Street and our folks that we see every day?" Last but not least, the Summit Police Department is hiring. If you know somebody who is interested in a wonderful career as a police
officer, please tell them to apply. We have one of the most diverse police departments in the state of New Jersey. And I'm talking about diversity in terms of where they've came from. Irvington,
Newark, Patterson. These folks have come here with some good experience and good leadership here by our chief. Uh, thank you, Council President. Thank you. Other comments from council? Councilman
Palowski? Thank you. Um, so it is um the graduation time of year when you all get to hear my favorite letter uh from some professors written in August of 2017. It's titled some thoughts and advice for
our students and all students. We are scholars and teachers at Princeton, Harvard, and Yale who have some thoughts to share and advice to offer students who are headed off to colleges around the country. Our advice can be distilled to three words. Think
for yourself. Now, that might sound easy, but you will find, as you may have discovered already in high school, that thinking for yourself can be a challenge. It always demands self-discipline and these days can require courage. In today's climate, it's all too easy to allow your views
and outlook to be shaped by dominant opinion on your campus or in the broader academic culture. The danger any student or faculty member faces today is falling into the vice of conformism, yielding to group think. At many colleges and
universities, what's John Stewart Mill called the tyranny of public opinion does more than merely discourage students from dissenting from prevailing views on moral, political, and other types of questions. It leads them to suppose that the dominant views are so obviously correct that only a bigot or a
crank could question them. Since no one wants to be or be thought of as a bigot or a crank, the easy lazy way to proceed is simply by falling into line with campus orthodoxies. Don't do that. Think
for yourself. Thinking for yourself means questioning dominant ideas even when others insist they're being treated as unquestionable. It means deciding that one believes not by conforming to fashionable opinions, but by taking the trouble to learn and
honestly consider the strongest arguments to be advanced on both or all sides of questions, including arguments for positions that others revile and want to stigmatize and against positions others seek to immunize from critical scrutiny. The love of truth and the
desire to attain it should motivate you to think for yourself. The central point of a college education is to seek the truth and learn the skills and acquire the virtues necessary to be a lifelong truth seeker. Open-mindedness, critical thinking, and debate are essential to
discovering the truth. Moreover, they are the best antidotes to bigotry. Marian Webster's first definition of the word bigot is a person who obsely or intolerantly who is obstinately or intolerantly devoted to his or her own
opinions or prejudices. The only people who need to fear open-minded inquiry and robust debate are the actual bigots, including those on campuses or in the broader society who seek to protect the hedgemony of their opinions by claiming that to question those opinions is
itself bigotry. So don't be tyrannized by public opinion. Don't get trapped in an echo chamber. Whether you in the end reject or embrace a view, make sure you decide where you stand by critically assessing the arguments for the competing positions. Think for yourself
and good luck in college. Um, I got more graduation parking. Tomorrow is the middle school graduation, which is going to be down at Tatlock, and the day after is the high school graduation. Um, I ask
that everybody please uh follow the um parking directives that are down there. There will be additional signs in place. We don't park on top of stop signs. We don't park on top of corners and we don't park in front of other people's driveways. Um I will call the police
myself and ask them to ticket you if you do. So plan ahead and um and be um courteous to our neighbors. Finally, um, oh no, two more things. I want to agree with Jamalo whole wholeheartedly about
the Summit Housing Authority. Um, we need to do everything that we can to help them get money to renovate. It's hard when we have these threats of builder remedy lawsuits and fair share housing all over us to remember what's
really important which is taking care of the people who we have here right now in our public housing who need our help rather than developing some gigantic building so that a small portion of it can be affordable and thanks for reminding us of that always Jamal. Um,
finally, I want to congratulate the boys and girls lacrosse teams. Uh, the girls are done for the year. They are group three uh, champions defeating Morstown uh, by scoring a goal with 1 second left. I was there in the
pouring rain. It was a pretty good crowd and lots of fun. Uh the boys won as well, but the boys are continuing on in the cursed cup, which is the privatized tournament of champions uh that coach Davidson and coach Flynn and some others
put together after the NJ SIAA got rid of uh the tournament of champions. So, Summit will play its maybe arch rival Westfield uh at least in Union County uh tomorrow at Kain
University 4:30 I believe. Um we're one and one against them this year, but they got us in the Union County Finals. So, uh they're ahead of the game right now. So, hopefully we can take them take them tomorrow. So, come on out and see them.
Thank you. Other comments from councel mad I would like to ask Chief Peters to come up and just address the the resident's question please. Thank you chief I think she actually left already. So uh um just to provide some context uh
on May 23rd 2025 at approximately 1320 hours two Summit police officers received an alert on their mobile license plate reader advising them that a stolen vehicle had just driven past them on Broad Street. Uh, in an attempt to locate the vehicle, the officers returned to the area the vehicle was last seen and located it. Prior to
initiating a felony stop, the officers relayed the license plate to our regional dispatch center who confirmed it was entered in the system as stolen and actively wanted, which is a felony offense under New Jersey law. I understand the presence of multiple officers and drawn weapons can be unsettling to the driver and witnesses,
especially in a residential neighborhood. However, when dealing with felony level offenses involving stolen vehicles, there are inherent safety risks to both officers and the public. Officers responded based on information available to them at the time. Once the driver was secured and the scene was
deemed safe, it was determined that the vehicle, which had actually been previously stolen, had been recovered by another police department and returned to the registered owner owner who was a family member of the driver. Unfortunately, the police department where the vehicle was located never
executed the removal of its stolen status in the system. As a result, the driver was ultimately released without charges. Now, in alignment with our commitment to professional accreditation standards and continuous improvement, all critical incidents, particularly those involving potential use of force
or heightened public concern, are subject to a comprehensive internal command review. This review process includes a thorough examination of body warn and dash cameras, uh, officer reports, communication logs, and adherence to departmental policies and procedures. Supervisory staff assess
actions taken to determine whether protocols were followed appropriately, identify any areas for improvement, and implement corrective measures or additional training if necessary. These reviews are an essential part of maintaining public trust and ensuring that our officers uphold the highest
standards of conduct and accountability. Following the internal review of what took place on May 23rd, it is the determination of all reviewing supervisors, including myself, that officers acted in accordance with all laws, regulations, directives, and guidelines issued by the attorney
general and county prosecutor, as well as agency policy and procedures for what was considered a potentially dangerous uh and serious situation. I do want to take this time to compend our commend officers. They did a great job in reviewing all the body worn camera footage and uh motor vehicle recordings.
Um, I I got to be honest, it's it's a video that you could probably show in the police academy. That's how great of a job uh they did. Obviously, our heart goes out to the driver. Found himself in an unfortunate situation. Uh, that's never um our intent to expose anybody to that, but it was an unfortunate
circumstance. In response to the other inquiries, um, I provided Councilman Ber prior to last meeting. So, these statistics only go through May, unfortunately. They're a little out of date. Uh but we are seeing burglaries and attempted burglaries to motor vehicles trending downward since 2023.
At this point in time in 23 we had 30. Um in 2024 we had 10 and then again till through the end of May which has increased uh during the month of June we were only at three. Um I do uh want to echo some of uh Councilman Ber's sentiments regarding operational
security. Uh that being said uh one of the things I can say is we have seen a variety of different approaches. Um, you know, you ask law enforcement 5 years ago, how do you solve the problem of stolen cars? We'd say, remove your key, fob, and lock your doors. We saw a transition um into a little bit more
brazen approach. Once our residents got really good at that, they started entering uh residential dwellings. Obviously, the city of Summit is not alone in this um revision to the process, to the criminal process. Um, which is why we've implemented uh several security measures. One being the
fixed license plate readers. We also have mobile license plate readers. uh we utilize our technology, our drones um implement uh additional uh resources to the road when when we deem necessary based on data. Um but one thing I can tell you in analyzing this data, you
know, the time of day might not be narrowed down the day of the week or the approach to doing it. Um we have seen, you know, a target specific to the Range Rovers, Land Rovers, and BMW specific X series. So, if you do own those vehicles, we do highly recommend that you take the extra measures, not only to
contact us for a home security assessment, um, but in securing them, if you can secure them in your garage, uh, secure your belongings, secure your key fobs in in an area that are not in plain view to maybe an exterior window or door. Um because oftent time these
burglars are entering the house with the intent of obtaining the key fobs to get the vehicles that are in the driveway and are typically um you know kind of spooked for lack of another word with any intervention. We've had residents yell, we've had residents turn on lights, we've had alarms sound and then
they pretty much kind of beat feet. So um anybody who has any questions on how to better protect themselves, feel free to reach out to us anytime. Like I said, uh we do have the home security assessment program and we are uh you know as transparent as we can be whenever these incidents do come in. We don't try to sugarcoat them. We give as
much information as possible so people can then better protect them take that information and better protect themselves and their families. Uh I'll open myself up for any questions from council if you have any. Yeah, Chief, one question. um your home safety
assessments on average roughly ballpark. How many of those do you do a a month for? So we hit the ground running when we first launched the program. I want to say we did roughly 60 in the first three months. Um which was a heavy lift for officers. We had six that initially got certified. Um all they work all
different shifts. Obviously our primary um resource would be our off uh officer Dave Gatiga. He's in our community policing unit. He's during regular business hours. But we did certify officers that work both nights and weekends. So whatever we want to make it as convenient for the residents as possible. Uh but on average now we we
tend to revisit it through social media posts. It is one of the top posts if you go to our Instagram and our Facebook that you will see you know anywhere between three and six I would say a month. I'd like to see more um because I think overall we've we've probably just cracked maybe about a hundred. Uh and from what I understand that's a very
small percentage of houses that are in town. though and I do understand that there's a financial liability to some of the recommendations. You know, that's not our intent to create any additional financial burden. Um, but it is good to kind of create kind of a list of of areas or hierarchy maybe for um areas
you want to address in and around your property that maybe you might not have thought of without our intervention. So, thank you. Anybody else? Questions? Okay, council. Hey, I was just going to say, Chief, thank thanks for everything you do. Um it it doesn't go unnoticed.
Um we see so many patrols and you're all working so hard and we thank you for putting your lives on the line every day for all of us. We don't take it lightly. Uh and we're just just proud to have you as chief. Appreciate that. Thank you. And I just and I just want to say thank you um for your presentation just now,
but also mention that I had my own home security assessment done. Um Officer Kotiga came and I got a puppy out of it. So, dogs are a good deterrent. Dogs are a good deterren number one on the list. And I was trying to find a way to pressure my husband into getting a new
dog. So, I can tell you a barking dog is a good deterrent. And motion lights are a very good deterrent as well. And they're not super expensive. Yep. The dog may be the lights. The dog. Uh, other comments? Uh, Councilman Ber, Chief Peters, uh, last year, this may be
a tough question. I'm not sure, but last year, Chief Zagorski was asked the question of how does Summit compare to the surrounding towns? And last year around this time, Chief Zagorski said that um, he he was always uh, he was
always cautious. He always gave me that look like I said, "Knock on wood, Councilman Boyer." But he said, "We we are we are doing way better than surrounding towns." And he said, "Be cautious because it could
go up, you know, at any moment." Um, but is that still the case today? You're getting I'm going to give you the same look that retired Chief Sigorski probably gave you last year. Uh, I can't comment on the statistics for other towns, not knowing them, and I I don't want to, you know, make a a blanket
statement. What I can tell you is that we're doing everything we can uh to mitigate this problem. Like I like I said earlier, we're we're utilizing technology. We're bringing in an extra resources. We're participating. If you saw our news uh post uh within the last two weeks, the county prosecutor's office any you know investigations that
they're bringing uh pools of officers together to support them. um information sharing, um you know, data analysis, everything we can be doing, expanding upon our um our resources and our manpower. Uh so we have more rubber hitting the road. Um and our guys are
out there. Uh I go over our our calls for service every Monday with the mayor during our brief. And you know, I can't tell you how many times I've come across calls for service where officers are just driving, you know, residential streets through the night and they'll see an Ajar rear uh door, you know,
liftgate on an SUV or passenger side door or even a garage door. And it's unfortunate because nine times out of 10, it's it's an accident by the resident. We wake them up in the middle middle of the night, advise them of their um you know where where they kind of fell short. And uh for me myself uh I
also live in an area that's tend to tends to be uh more targeted for the autotheft and the home burglaries. And I just have a nightly routine. I know these things can happen anytime during the day, but at 9:00, even if we're already settling in for bed, because that's usually around my bedtime, right after the kids go down, um I make it a
point to go downstairs, make sure I lock my doors, wife's, you know, car doors are locked, the interior door to the garage is locked, and that all the exterior doors are locked as well. um you know you don't we don't want to certainly don't want to create easy targets for these for these individuals.
So one more thing to say and it's a just to say you know to commend our detective bureau and our police department. Um we have recovered a lot of vehicles. We've caught a lot of the car thieves. I feel like that should be shouted. So, we do
have a few um a few press releases um kind of on the back burner that should be coming shortly with some of long-term investigations that have kind of come to fruition, which have been great. Uh I do want to, you know, echo that the mayor's remarks. Our detective detective bureau has been firing on all cylinders. They're doing a great job. Very
motivated young group of guys. Um and you know, to the mayor's point, the vast majority of these cars that do get stolen out of out of the houses in town are recovered within 24 48 hours. If they're not, they tend to be shipped off and in a container heading somewhere else. U but our detectives are they make
it very known that if you're going to steal a car out of the city of Summit, we are going to make our way down to Essex County or where these cars are last seen through the license plate readers and we're going to do everything we can to recover them in a very short period of time. not only to make it less convenient for the homeowner or the car owner, but also to send a message that,
hey, we're just going to not allow you to if every time you come to the city of Summit and you take a car, it gets recovered within the next 6 to 12 hours, then maybe we just, you know, I hate to say it, move on to another town because, you know, we're very proactive. I know there's a lot of chiefs that don't authorize their officers to pursue uh
due to the risk of liability. There's a lot of chiefs that don't authorize their detective bureaus to go down to Essex County because it does, you know, kind of raise a level of danger for them as well. Um but we're doing it like can't you know can't not justify doing it um because we got to do everything we can. So thank you. Yeah I would just say you
know one home burglary is one too many. Um but I was not fully aware of those statistics on the trends until you mentioned them. And I want to say thank you to you and all your officers. Um you
guys are doing a hell of a job. And I know things can change and things go up and they go go down. So yeah, touch wood. Yeah. Um uh but fantastic job and and I do think it is it is important uh you have to have an attitude of
vigilance and what you just said really rings true um chief because you know you don't want to accept this and showing that you're not sends a signal to would be criminals like go go do your
business somewhere else. This is not We are not going to tolerate business as usual. This is not, oh, it's New Jersey, stuff happens. No, not in our town. And yeah, does that not mean there's going to be zero crime? Of course not. But um
I applaud your attitude and I know that filters through the entire force and you guys are doing a heck of a job. So, thank you. We appreciate it. Thank you. Last thing, Council President. Yes. And I and I know I know but this is important because I I think the public doesn't know this about the law change,
right? Um uh means justifying the ends. Last year, last summer, the legislature passed a bill where if you burglarize a home, it doesn't matter if people are upstairs sleeping or if they're it doesn't matter if you come into contact
with them, it becomes a firstderee felony. That's a big deal. And once people start getting these minimum 10-year sentences, they're going to say, "Do I need to go in that house to get that car key and spend 10 years in state
prison?" I mean, I I think I think we'll we'll and the fact that you go down there and get the car and do an investigation, which sometimes leads to an arrest where somebody can get 10 years, pe people will start weighing it out and saying maybe there's some other
different crime I want to do than go in somebody's house. So, so that that new charge was was one of of I think a dozen charges that we had on one of the individuals that was involved in the Greenbryer home burglary back in February. So, that first degree charge did stick on that. So, great. Well done.
Thank you. Thank you, Chief. All right. Uh, other comments uh from council. I'll be quick. I promise. You heard enough from me today. I just want to thank all the interns for sitting through this long meeting. Um, great job and good luck with all your projects. I would say
use this opportunity to ask any of us questions. If you don't understand something or something's not clear, there's there's no dumb question. The city staff will tell you I I probably ask how many questions did I ask you today, Tammy? Like 50 a day. 50 a day. Um asked the most questions. But you
know, I would say that you should ask questions to the point where if you don't understand what I always say to Tammy is, I know you're right, but I still don't understand it. So I'm going to keep asking you until I understand it. So use this as an opportunity to to engage with the elected officials. We're
here as a resource. You can even ask us how we would deal with Mr. are anonymous or if you were in that spot. How would you have dealt with them? Like use this as a as a learning experience and and really challenge yourself during the week to ask questions. You can ask David how crazy I drove him today about asking him questions. Um but you know, welcome
to summit for those who are coming back. Megan, great job uh with all these folks. And please, I'm going to hold you accountable for asking questions. Okay. Uh lastly, uh I would say we are, as council president said, we're very
hopeful that we will be uh ending round three uh this week and projects like tonight with the Methodist church. Uh just prove that we're really working hard to uh have development but have it within the scale and the character of Summit and do it right. Uh we didn't
have to do Broad Street West. We didn't have to put the Wells Fargo plan in our fair share plan, right? We can always amend that. Um, we're doing it right in Summit and as as Councilman Ber said, we have our own Summit Housing Authority residents that we we have to make a priority and uh we we take it very
seriously. There's a lot of meetings you'll see at the end of your packet tonight. I think there's four this week. There's Milbour, Chattamboroough. Uh there's a lot of planning board meetings coming up in the next, you know, pay attention. Go to the meetings and engage your your local neighboring towns because uh all of that development is
going to impact Summit as well. and they they are this week and they're in the back of your council packet. So, I just wanted to uh to mention that and just want to say thank you to the city staff uh for all you do, Rosie. I'm sure this is the last thing you want to be doing on your your wedding anniversary. Um but thanks for Frank for lending us our wonderful Rosie. So, that's it. Thank
you. Other comments? Yeah, I would just say uh I'd echo everyone's congratulations to our graduates from the middle school and uh the high school. Uh, graduation is a time of new opportunities, new beginnings. It's it's a great time to
reflect, but it's a great time to look forward and um uh everyone should be proud of that and I know their parents should be proud of that because uh they put a lot of effort into um creating an environment that their kids can succeed
in as well. I will say enjoy it, but enjoy it responsibly. Okay. Um and uh uh and that's all I have for this evening. Okay. Do I have a motion to adjurnn? So moved. I'll second. All right. All in
favor? I opposed. We are adjourned. Thank you everyone. Good night.