Welcome to our first uh summit council meeting of the month. It's nice to see a lot of people here. Means people care, which is awesome. Um so I'm looking forward to a great meeting. Uh with that, let's get our meeting started. Uh madame clerk, 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 stated 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 deis and return it thereafter. Fantastic. Thank you. Uh, roll call, please. Mr. Ber, present. Miss Hamlet, here. Miss
Celmanson here. Mr. Pilowski here. Mr. Smallwood here. Miss Toad here. President McTurn present. Um All right. At this time, I'd like to call on one of our um residents, Joseph Brown, to lead us in the pledge of 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, Joseph. All right. Um, Madame Clerk, will you
please read the explanatory note regarding close session and hearings and comments, 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 tonight's council
meeting will be broadcast live on Verizon channels 30 and 33 and the city's YouTube channel. This meeting will not be broadcast this evening on Comcast channels 36 and 34 as we are currently experiencing technical difficulties. The meetings the meeting
will be re rebroadcast on Thursdays and Saturdays on HGTV on Comcast 36 and Verizon 33. When invited to speak, please come to the lect turn 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 cityclark cityofsummit.org or 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 commer emergency contact purposes, please turn it off. Thank you. Thank you very much. Um at this time, do I have a motion to approve the minutes for regular and closed session on of May 20th, 2025?
So moved. Um excuse me, C. Did we get the minutes for the regular session for May? We sent them immediately after the close session. Okay. I missed those. Sorry. Second. Um all in favor? I I opposed.
All right. Um at this time, we're into our report section of our meeting. Um as always, Madame Mayor, can you lead us out? Thank you. Good evening, everyone. Um thank you to everyone who came out for the Memorial Day parade and ceremony. It was a meaningful opportunity to honor and remember those
who gave everything to protect our country. We had a great turnout, beautiful music from the Summit High School marching band and incredible effort by the Department of Community Programs and student volunteers, including Dileia Hamlet's daughter who gave a moving reading of the Gettysburg
Address. Congratulations to Dillia for her award as well. Um, looking ahead, this weekend brings the Summit Has Pride event on the Village Green taking place on June 7th. The event will feature live music, activities, and more. On June 20th, we will have our Junth celebration
also on the Village Green. There will be great performances and speakers for all to enjoy. You should be soon receiving the summer events calendar. It will include everything from our summer concert series and Screen on the Green to the Fourth of July celebration and
more. Keep your eye out for it so you can take full advantage of all of the great things happening in Summit this summer. I want to recognize Captain Mike Triber, who has retired after 25 years of dedicated service with the Summit Police Department. Throughout his career, Captain Triber has played a pivotal role
in ensuring the safety and security of our community. We are thankful for his unwavering commitment to keeping Summit a safe place for all residents and visitors, and we wish him all the best as he embarks on the exciting new chapter in his life. I think he was on a tractor today or something, so seems to
be figuring it out. Um, before we close, I want to take a moment to speak about the importance of community, especially in light of the egregious and deeply disturbing attacks targeting Jewish individuals in Washington DC and Colorado. Summit is a diverse community
and we pride ourselves on being neighbors first. We celebrate our differences, learn from one another, and when we disagree, we do so with dignity and respect. To any of our Jewish neighbors who may be feeling unsettled or unsafe, please know my door is always open. And if
anyone experiences or witnesses a hate crime, I urge you to contact our police department immediately. Let's remember what truly matters, being neighbors, and friends, regardless of our backgrounds, religions, or points of view. Thank you.
Well spoken, Madame Mayor. Um, and it sounds like June is going to be a fun month. Yeah, which is great. Um, okay. uh our city administrator report. Miss Baldwin. Thank you, Council President. Uh first of all, we're pretty excited to share the news that our 2025 summer
internship program received a record-breaking number of applications this year. Unfortunately, we can't take them all, but um it does reflect a growing interest in the opportunities that we offer here in the city of Summit. After a competitive selection process, eight talented individuals from
town were were extended internship offers. We're pleased to report that seven of those offers were accepted. Six of our interns began their journey with us yesterday, and we're eagerly anticipating the arrival of our seventh intern who'll be joining the team in
July. Over the next several weeks, each intern will contribute to a dedicated project aligned with their interests and our organizational goals. And these projects are designed to provide hands-on experience while adding meaningful contributions and value to
the work that we do here in the city of Summit. We're looking forward to a productive and inspiring month ahead. And we plan to invite the interns to our next council meeting where they'll have the opportunity to come up to the podium and present updates on their projects
and share insights from their time with us thus far. Also, Summit Free Market. The June Summit Free Market events will be held on Saturday, June 14th from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. and on Friday, June 27th from
12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the transfer station. Summit residents with a parking disposal permit can attend and browse donated items and take what they want for free. Donation guidelines are available at cityofsummit.org/freearket. Early voting for the June 10th primary
election began today at specified locations throughout Union County. Now through Sunday, June 8th, registered voters can vote early at any of the included locations. You can go to our website or the county board of elections website to view the early voting sites
and get more election information. And lastly, Wednesday, uh we have Wednesday's fitness on the green. So, our fitness on the village green series continues this month on Wednesdays from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. Each
week features a different type of fitness class. It's a great way to spend time outside, meet neighbors, and get in a great workout. So, the schedule is available on the city website if anyone would like to join. And that concludes my report. Thank you so much. Wow,
that's like almost a challenge to go to that workout. Um, all right. Um, for my council president report, um, I thought I would just update the public on, um, where we
are on our affordable housing process. There was a planning board meeting uh, is it last week? Last week um, where uh, two develop there were two uh, potential developments that were presented. one by one our city planner
and then um another by uh representative of Onyx who presented a proposal that they were looking to have included into our plan. So just I just want to give a little uh for people who are new to this or just watching from home. Uh affordable housing has not is nothing
new in Summit. Uh affordable Summit's been engaged in creating affordable housing for over 60 years. Uh so it's it's something that predates state mandates uh anything having to do with legislative laws or anything like that.
Um so Summit has been a an advocate and a leader in building and providing affordable housing for our residents for uh literally now generations which is great to see. Um we are now though uh in
a in the the Mount Laurel era. So, Mount Laurel, for people who don't know, is was a it was it's a town in New Jersey that was sued by a developer um be uh in
order to build a large development uh to provide affordable housing. There zoning didn't um allow it. They went to court and because the state constitution has this requirement to provide affordable housing, the uh the builder won. And
this created uh whole series of laws in order to uh allow communities to manage their affordable housing obligations without having to result in lawsuits constantly from builders. And that became what is called the Mount Laurel
doctrine. Um, we are finishing round three of Mount Laurel. These things have lasted for 10 years. So, the first one supposedly began in 2015, but it wasn't really finished and negotiated until
2016 or 17, I can't remember. Um, that ends on June 30th. We had a um our agreement was that we would pro uh provide best effort opportunities to construct 50 affordable units. Um I'm happy to say in the last
10 years I think our number is 62. Um so we're very proud of of of that effort and we um so we we're looking to have that ratified sometime this week just to sign off that round three is the books are closed on that. Round four is
beginning and uh there was a um a law that was passed last year about almost a full year ago that was dictating how round four would work. There's a lot of calculations in the numbers. It's new. Round three process was all an
adversarial process that went through the courts. Every town had to get sued, have a court hearing, and make a a court settlement. This is supposed to uh be a little less court- ccentric. Um we'll see how that all plans out, but
we're our our obligation. We were told what our u our obligation was around affordable units in February. This was a a a math exercise that's created in the legislation. And it ended up that Summit
was told we uh had a um a need of 345 units uh affordable units in town. Um the traditional way a lot of these units have been created is through uh builders building these things. Uh they usually
do a set aside. So it's usually 15% for rentals, 20% for uh for sale units. So, if it was 15 units, that would mean that we'd have to create over 2,000 uh new units. If it was all done through
um developers, um now you could do some 100% inclus uh um affordable that would lessen that need, but it's a big number. Um the reality is for Summit, we just we uh round three, we argued that we're a builtout community. Anyone who's driven
around Summit, it's pretty obvious there's not a lot of spare land floating around. We don't have a lot of farms and orchards and things like that that the city can control. Um so we'll we will look to amend that number going into uh
the end of this month. We have an obligation to uh present a plan by June 30th. Um right now we have been engaging with developers over the last couple of months who have pro uh proposed some
different developments. Uh some have been rejected out of hand as being too dense. There's been some negotiation back and forth on a couple of other ones. Um but ultimately it's the planning board that gets to decide this. There is a very small window unfortunately
uh for public input. the public sadly because these negotiations are um predisvery. They're um they are uh legally you're not allowed to talk about them. That ended at the planning board
and u and so I would encourage uh everyone who has interest in this to go look at the documents that are on the planning board's website. Uh get involved please. I'm reach out to me, other members of council with your thoughts. Planning board members, um
they are going to have a hearing on this on June 23rd, which will be open to the public. Um that's when they will adopt a plan. That plan will then go to us, common council, for approval on the
24th. Um by that time though, we don't really have much choice. we have to put a plan in by June 30th or we will be open to these builder lawsuits just like what happened in Mount Laurel and then we can't control what goes in our um in
our town. So that's the process and as I said um you know we've been following the legislation uh there it it is frustrating to not have the ability to kind of engage with the community on different options and
things like that. Um, I am very very happy that that time has finally arrived and I know it's frustratingly narrow, but I I encourage and please, if you care about our community, as I know we all
do, take a moment to look and have an opinion, talk to elected officials about it so that we can get as much public input into this very narrow window as we can. And that is my public comment or not my public comment that's my my uh my
council uh president report. Okay. So we are we have some an ordinance for intro. Is there a historic minute? Oh yeah we have an historic minute. I almost forgot about that. I apologize. Councilman Palowski. That's quite all right. Yeah. So um a
historical minute. Councilman Powski. So, I have a historical minute and on mount on the Mount Laurel doctrine, low-income housing and summit. Some of this may be a little bit duplicative of what council president just said, but it's still pretty short. So, I think uh
if you guys bear with me, we'll get through it just fine. The Supreme Court of New Jersey says Summit, like all municipalities, has a constitutional duty not to exclude viable opportunities to construct affordable housing. The
legislature took this Mount Laurel doctrine, or Mount Laurel, as it's often called, a step further in the Fair Housing Act. The act essentially requires each municipality to facilitate its fair share of affordable housing decade after decade. Each decade
referred to as a round. The spirit of Mount Laurel is to promote economic diversity throughout New Jersey while still allowing municipalities like Summit to choose realistic options to create and/or maintain affordable housing that work
optimally for that municipality. The latter being the concept of home rule. Of course, this is nothing new for Summit. Economic diversity has always been a hallmark of the Hill City, which was once known as Poverty Hill. So, when housing on Glenwood Place, uh, home to
lower income families in Summit, became wolffully substandard in the 1960s, Common Council and Hill Citizens jumped into action. The council pledged to match private donations to fund the Glenwood Place rehabilitation program,
which is the 40unit housing development we see there today. Our residents raised over 360 uh $632,000 through private donations and not through taxes in the late
1960s. Let's put that in perspective for a minute. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, that $632,000 is equivalent to $6.1 million today. The city never did need to match the number since federal funding
ultimately covered the balance. Uh, according to a May 20th, 1971 Summit Herald article, the same article notes, Summit opted to build the development right on Glenwood Place, quote, to keep dislocations to an absolute minimum. and
because of a marked scarcity of vacant land elsewhere. I note that over half a century later, Summit still has a marked scarcity of vacant land. Two more developments followed at Weaver Street and the Veto Gallow
building for a total of 195 lowincome housing units. Now, most people equate lowincome housing uh which is for households with earnings at or below 50% of regional median family income with affordable housing which is for
households with earnings up to 80% of median of regional median family income. But they are different. Notwithstanding, under Mount Laurel and the Fair Housing Act, low-income housing counts towards municipalities affording housing numbers, but for some reason not in
Summit. Apparently, Summit's historical preference to its own residents for low-income housing is a big no no with Trenton, and units for preferences count a whopping zero towards our numbers. Still, I know of no other similarly
situated municipality with the economic diversity we have in Summit. A telling example is that 15% of Summit High School students receive free or reduced price meals compared to just 1% in our neighbor Chadam. Don't get me wrong, the Mount
Laurel doctrine proclaims a noble aspiration for which every municipality should strive, that of inclusionary affordable housing. But in practice, fair share enforcement has become a home rule eviscerating nightmare controlled
not by each municipality but by the affordable housing industrial complex. Builders, planners, lawyers, consultants, and other professionals and some say the politicians they support. What do I mean by this? Well, even even
though the law requires a town like Summit not to be exclusionary and maybe even to take affirmative steps to create opportunities for affordable housing, we need builders to fund it. And builders will fund it, but they exact a heavy price in the form of density. They'll
provide affordable housing, but only if we let them overdevelop our city by providing just one affordable for every five units built. Summit likewise is compelled to spend countless dollars on other professionals all to achieve something it already has.
Indeed, if economic diversity were truly the goal of Mount Laurel, Summit would be roundly commended for its demographics as they now stand and which existed long before a bunch of politicians and bureaucrats took it upon themselves to dictate our fate. Instead,
Summit is vilified by our own residents in many incidents in many instances and cowed into more and more developed and more and more density. Wouldn't all that money be better spent upgrading Glenwood Weaver and Veto Gallow? Anyway, the law still allows
Summit to decide for itself how to best meet its affordable housing obligations over the next 10 years in round four. But if we sit on our rights, if we succumb to threats of builder's remedy along with governmental and quasi governmental overreach from fair share
housing, we will lose those rights. If we see to the scourge of new urbanism, we will cease to be the charming suburb we all know and love. We will no longer be Summit. So, I ask everyone to keep this history in mind as public input continues regarding our round four
affordable house housing planning and know that summit will provide a plan consistent with the law with our master plan and with our values. Thank you, Councilman Pilowski. Okay, now we're getting to the
meat of our meeting this evening. Uh we have a couple of ordinances for hearing. Um madame clerk, will you please read the first ordinance from community programs and parking services? Ordinance number 25-3341, an ordinance to amend the code
appendix a schedule of fees contained in the revised general ordinances of the city of Summit uh a fees to be collected by the parking services agency. Thank you very much. Uh Councilman Smallwood. Thank you, Council President.
Uh this is ordinance number 25-3341 to increase daily visitor pass fee and remove bulk discount on parking passes for visitors. This is typ this is typically for downtown businesses that purchase these passes for visitors such
as auditors or temporary employees. Contractors do not contractors who do not require access to their vehicles also tend to use these passes uh instead of buying on the street space for the day. The last time this price adjust
adjustment was in 2006. It went from $4 to $6 and the proposed is the current the proposed is going from $6 to $7. The current cost of each visitor pass is approximately
$2.20. Given that daily parking is $4, a proposed price increase to seven would offset the cost of both the pass as well as the daily parking fee. I move this ordinance for hearing. I second. Thank you. All right. I'm going to declare the
hearing open for public comments at this time. Uh just to reiterate or to reminder, if you do wish to make a comment, please approach the podium, state your name and your address, and please try and limit your comments to three minutes so everyone gets a chance to speak and we can get out of here at a
reasonable time. Um so anyone like to speak on this ordinance? No. 3341. Yep. Okay, seeing none, we're going to close the public comment portion of the hearing. Uh would anyone from council uh
like to speak and chime in? All right, going to close the hearing, move on to our second ordinance for hearing. Uh Madame Clerk, will you please read the safety and health ordinance, please? Uh, ordinance number 25-3342, an ordinance amending chapter
3, police regulations of the code of the city of Summit to add a new section 3-9 entitled camping on public property. Thank you very much, Councilwoman Ham. Oh, I'm uh I'm sorry, Councilman Boyer. No, that's all right. Sorry about that.
Not read it. Um, yeah, this is uh ordinance 25-3342. So, just a little backstory, it won't be long because I feel like this is my third time reading this. I think it is. Um, so we we began this process by
listening to residents, business owners, and our unhoused neighbors. Uh, their concerns shape the foundation of this process. So, those concerns came into committee. We then brought it to our law and labor committee, which includes our
city solicitor. We reviewed the ordinance with our municipal prosecutor who joined the process. We introduced the draft to the public welcoming feedback and criticism not as obstacles but as essential
input. We revised, clarified, and then codified. So this ordinance now reflects our commitment to compassion coordinated responses by clearly laying out expectations in law. Specifically,
it reinforces service first responses by codifying the practice of prioritizing connections to housing and support services before enforcement actions. It codifies protections for individuals
without access to shelter, ensuring no one faces penalties. It affirms diversion pathways by encouraging continued court practices that favor behavioral health or social social services interventions before
considering penalties. It codifies our existing mental health response by authorizing where necessary involuntary commitment for individuals posing a danger due to mental illness ensuring that treatment not punishment
remains the guiding principle. Council President, I move this ordinance for a final hearing. Second. Thank you. All right. At this time, I'm going to declare the public uh comment portion of this hearing open. Any would like to speak on this
ordinance just approached the the dis. Come on, Tom. You can come. Okay. Everyone will get a chance to speak. Uh, good evening. Uh, my name is Tom Zeber, 768 Springfield AB. Uh, in
general, every governmental body is responsible for balancing competing interests. It's simply impossible that a city council or a legislature or an executive or the office holder of any public office can exist without having to balance the needs of different
members of its constituency. So with that in mind, I'm extremely proud to say that our council has done exactly that with the camping on public property ordinance being voted on at this meeting. After careful deliberation, consultation with experts, and consideration of feedback from the
public, council has arrived at a final ordinance that balances the interests of vulnerable individuals in need of housing with the public's interest in having access to safe and welcoming public space and summit. Those concerned about this ordinance should consider the following. This council has clearly made
a sincere and significant attempt to help the city's homeless from being fined or arrested. Um, this ordinance clearly demonstrates compassion for the unhoused and is in no way draconian. It shows a commitment to due process by requiring notice to a prospective
violator that they must remove non-dangerous public property from a particular space. It provides for storage of removed property for a period of time, thereby preventing unnecessary loss of belongings. It gives the court of jurisdiction discretion to consider aggravating or mitigating circumstances
and it provides alternatives to penalties such as court-ordered participation with social workers or behavioral health professionals. In passing this ordinance, council will have succeeded in giving individuals every chance to accept assistance in bettering his or her own situation while
fulfilling its commitment to preserve public safety and residents ability to use public spaces. Uh, so I commend and congratulate the council on both the result and the process in crafting this ordinance. Thank you. Thank you very much.
Perfect. Okay. Yeah. I I forgot to mention that if you have like if you're reading from a statement, please uh drop it off of the clerk so she can um put it into the public record or you can email it to her at a later time. All right. Other comments, please approach.
Uh good evening, mayor. Good evening, council. I will be remaining anonymous tonight. Um just want to mention a couple things. Originally, when this ordinance was uh introduced and had its first hearing, um that's what compelled
me to come out and um share my opinions on it. Uh that was when before it was opened up for the introdu or for the hearing we had done away with the sleeping aspect of it. Um if you guys remember when I came up and spoke that's
why I said oh I was very happy to hear that. Uh had had napping or sleeping if it was never originally in the ordinance I personally would have never been here. Um, what I was in fear was was the unintended consequences for arresting
someone who needs arrest. Um, I don't know the closed door conversations or the personal conversations that have were had amongst all of you. Um, but I would imagine Councilwoman Michelle maybe shared some of the unintended consequences to an ordinance with such
improper language. Um, I'm glad you guys have taken the steps, the necessary steps to fine-tune it and get it a little bit more in compliance with the law. Um, because the unintended consequences for
jailing someone or finding them for napping, I mean, it goes on and on. You could imagine the scenarios. And we don't want to put people, we don't want to put police in a situation where that's okay, you know. Um, and then if I remember
correctly, it was originally voted on. Councilman Ber and I believe Councilman Palowski voted originally for when everybody when it was amended when you guys tabled it. Correct. Two council people voted that it shouldn't
be tabled at that stage of the game. Am I correct? It's this is not a question and answer session. Understood. Understood. Well, that if my memory serves me correctly, that's what happened at that stage in the game. And that shows a willful ignorance to not get it right at that
time in the timeline. Willfully ignorant to not do the work, all the work that has been done in this town for homelessness. And I thank the mayor for the task force organization that that she came up with and was applying and everything was going good.
I uh yeah, I think that was I just think that was an incorrect time to vote for it in that stage of the game. So, and I think well, I'll come up with
my public comment and I'll address some other stuff because I only have 15 seconds, but um I do think we should have five minutes of respect for residents, people who come to speak. I think five minutes of respect is a little bit more appropriate than three
minutes. Thank you for your comment. Other comments. Good evening everyone. Um, President of the Council, Mayor Fagan. Um, thank you for this opportunity. U, my name is Ellen Boland.
I reside at 137 Tulip Street. Um, and I believe that there are many problems with this ordinance and I urge you to not pass it. I sent a letter yesterday that was signed by myself um fellow
Summit resident and formerly unhoused neighbor Leonard Apprentice, Pastor Dennis Harold and uh Reverend Robin Tanner in this letter expressed our concerns and I'm just going to hit on two of them right now.
Um, I ask that the council consider all of the issues that were raised in our letter and I ask that you please answer two questions that I'd like to ask tonight before you vote on whether or not to adopt this ordinance. Um, the
ordinance states that it aims to, and I quote, incentivize and encourage people who are unsheltered to accept help while penalizing those who, I quote, are unwilling to accept placement
in a shelter or to work with a social service provider. The underlying assumption in the ordinance that people will move from homelessness into housing when threatened with punishment discriminates, in our opinion, against people with
disabilities by assuming a level of rational thought that may not be possible for a person with cognitive impairment, mental illness, past trauma, substance use disorder, or any combination of these
conditions. Social services professionals who work with this vulner vulnerable population understand these conditions and know that it takes time, repeated contact, and resources to build the relationships and trust needed to help an unsheltered
homeless person move into housing. So my question is tonight, number one is the intent of this ordinance that the police enforce it across the board to every unhoused
individual in Summit. We all know people in the community, our neighbors who are unhoused, who have impairments, cognitive impairments, psychiatric impairments. Will these people be arrested if they refuse to go to a shelter in Planefield or Elizabeth or
out of county? Is that the intention? Will people be arrested if they are working locally with bridges or bridgeway to find housing? Um, so I'd really appreciate an answer to that. Um, my second question
is, given the fact that Summit has always had an unsheltered population, why isn't Summit working with a nonprofit to create a center for homeless individuals that provide shelter, needed social services, health services,
um, help applying for benefits, help with job skills, that sort of thing. Why is it that the ordinance authorizes shipping people who are in Summit out to other communities in Union County or even out of Union County when people have roots here? I've
heard uh Councilman Boyer say Summit's always had homeless people. This is true. Since I've lived here for 30 years, there have always been homeless people here. Why aren't we doing something and it adds a more permanent solution to the problem instead of setting up a system where people are
going to be sent out of the county or out of summit? And I' I'd like an answer to that question too, please. Thank you very much. Thank you for your comments. Good evening. My name is Amanda Block. I reside with my family at 13 Dear Place
and it is my honor to serve on the mayor's task force on homelessness. In fact, for 10 years, I've gone hand in hand to city hall to seek municipal involvement and support for Summit's unhoused community. First
on behalf of bridges, then on behalf of warm hearts, and now for grace, I join you tonight to first thank you for creating a dynamic collaborative model that has given relief to many. In fact,
one of the gentlemen who spoke at the last uh I don't know if we want to call it hearing last time when this ordinance was introduced um he gained permanent housing today. that this is proof that the model lays the foundation for even more impact. Your model has proven that
the only solution to homelessness is housing. This is thanks to the resources that enable it. Reliably present mental health and social services available offering suitable for the people in need and the funding to cover the transition
and the housing. This ordinance takes on a great deal of municipal responsibility. The provision for available indoor housing assumes a correct record of Union County available shelter beds on off hours. It assumes that law enforcement can find the placements. It
assumes that those placements will work out for the people. It assumes that what is available is an appropriate accommodation for people who are elderly, who have disabilities, who have a history of trauma or mental illness. Punishments often have an opposite
effect for the most vulnerable, increasing resistance and adding obstacles on the path to housing and stability. In order to end homelessness in summit is to create a sustainable model in the face of a housing crisis.
to dedicate resources on nights and weekends when emergency calls most happen when people are more willing to engage to invest in social work, mental health outreach, and to uphold our own coordinated entry while the county
develops their own model. The success of this ordinance, as it is written, relies on a broken system with dwindling resources in the face of demand. It does hold Summit accountable for its space and its people who seek refuge in public. An ordinance can prevent
belongings from being abandoned in public space, but it cannot stop at risk individuals from languishing. Coordinated dynamic care can. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you.
Hi, Ellen De Havlin, 197 Ashland Road. Dear city leadership, I come today to share a perspective. You might know me from my work around the community, but today I want to share a story from my work as a certified music therapist and local private practice
owner. I've worked in schools, hospitals, clinical settings, and within community and government institutions for almost 20 years. The individual stories are unique but very often the same in ways. The trauma and life
experiences are often rooted deep within institutional practices. Please note this is a story of trauma I am about to share. I invite you to listen while giving yourself space. But know this is real life and not everyone has the same resources in
life. Some details are changed to protect the stories of the people I work with. Imagine a young mother who was kicked out of her home because she got pregnant. Her own mother believes her
baby daddy is her current boyfriend. Mom doesn't like her boyfriend, but this young mother has a deep connection with him because he makes her feel safe. And home does not. She still loves her mother and respects her. She does not
know her birth father. She knows this baby is from a man who raped her in her own home. Her mom does not know this. She is now living on the street. She now holds a baby in her
arms. She is alone. She is scared. She finds a shelter and is taken in by concerned citizens. The shelter becomes a place she feels unsafe. She leaves. She is cold. She is now dependent on drugs.
They numb the pain. She tries to end her life again. She is in and out of institutions. Her baby is now five and she is stabilized and has a home, but
she has a record and fines and struggles to secure a job. She can't clear the background checks and she is dependent on the broken system. Please consider she is a human. We need to be kind. We need to give our neighbors a chance.
Relapse is a real possibility. But imagine if she had everything she needs. And imagine if the system was there to help her when she dips down. Imagine the next generation that looks up to her. I've worked with women who each share
their story in pieces because it's not easy and they just want out and they want a future for their children. Every mother I've worked with, every mother pushes through for their children. Can we be there for them or
will we continue to be part of a broken system? I want to thank the women who have allowed me into this space, especially those who are no longer here to share their stories. This ordinance does not take a humanistic
approach. Traumainformed intervention is the key to ending homelessness. We need a connected system that works together to make systemic change. Thank you for your comments.
My name is Joseph Brown, 27 G from E2. Madame Mayor, city council president, I see you guys again and all the um council over the past couple of days or
months. Me, the mayor and city council president, we went to talking to each other to figure out ways to deal with these homeless people on the street. They're not called home. We don't call them homeless men homeless people. We call them people cuz they are
human beings just like we are with this or is going on right now we're in and the police what they're doing is just to help them get off the street. We're looking at ways to get them housing. We don't want we want our
children to walk down the street. We don't want people at their bus stop sleeping going around town sleeping. We don't want to we don't want our children to see our sleeping bags. That's what this ordinance is
about. We've been working. We're working with the police departments day in day out each other. The months are going after after we p after you guys pass this one. We're
going to keep working with each other to figure out ways to help these people. We only have three homes. We only have three homeless people on the street right now. From the from last year to now, we only three. And with the community help, we
could get this done. This ordinance has to go through so we could work together to get things done. We don't want people to sleep on the street no more. So, I hope you guys pass this ordinance so we can move forward with our lives
and work together as a community as one instead of being divided. Let's not be divided anymore. Let's be one again. We live in the same town as we come together and help these
people. Mental health is a big issue in the world. They're dealing with one thing. Either they're afraid to live on the street. There's one person individual that's dealing with the biggest issue
right now. And his name is Roy. But work together, talk to these people, see what they're going through. Maybe one day we can help them out. Maybe one day we could all sit together with the
community could find me. We could talk to ways come together and talk to me if we see what we could do to help these people. I'm always here to talk to you guys. Always here to talk to them the council and always here to talk to the public. Thank you. Thank you for your
comments. Sorry. What's your name again, sir? Joseph. Yes. Thank you, Joseph. Jacqueline Laserina. I'm a resident of Summit. I remain opposed to the anti-amping ordinance in due part because research tells us it is unlikely
to be effective and may actually be counterproductive. But if this is the law we are to have, we have to come together as a community to make it work. And that means staffing it properly. I again urge council to delay effectiveness and the of the ordinance
until Summit hires dedicated social workers to support our police in implementing the new law. One of the ways we show respect for our police officers is by building out a proper support system. This allows our officers
to focus their energies in the most impactful ways, preventing and addressing home invasions, violent crimes, car thefts, vandalism, and so on. The council is charged with running a complex organization in the city. To borrow from Jim Collins Good to Great,
you need the right people in the right seats on the bus. And right now, we have an empty row on the bus. Following emails with council members Hamlet and Palowski, I am even more convinced that Summit needs
dedicated social workers. Right now, public social workers sit at the county level and are divided among Planefield and Union and Elizabeth and Lynden and Summit and so on. The most basic
responsibility of government is to protect the physical safety of its citizens. Let's be very clear. It does the community no good to just appear tough on these issues. We have to be smarter.
Research tells us the presence of a social worker will make interactions with the police more effective. In the most recent budget, you have chosen to hire a dedicated facilities manager, but we're not getting a dedicated social worker. As
one of you said at a recent meeting, budgets reflect values. I believe this. The choice of a facilities manager over a social worker may reflect the values of some at the deis, but I do not believe this choice reflects the values
of summit. And I urge you to please include express protections for women and victims of domestic violence and human trafficking. It is a glaring omission that should be addressed. Thank you. Thank you for your comments.
Good evening. Dan McGuire, CEO of the Elizabeth Coalition to House the Homeless with uh several units here in Summit for uh homeless families. I uh I arrived late today and got a space in the parking lot. So, I thought I maybe got the wrong night for the
meeting, but uh I did come in as the councilman was speaking and uh got me thinking about my remarks a little bit. Uh other than on behalf of the Elizabeth Coalition, I appreciate the hard work that the entire council's spent on this
issue. Uh we respectfully hope you will vote no on the ordinance. But as Ellen and Amanda were speaking about permanent solutions and the councilman's uh conversation about COA uh and affordable
housing uh was in my head. Um I might hope that the council, regardless of the yes or no vote tonight on the ordinance, might consider how to weave into its affordable housing plan something specific for homeless households. Um
whether that is uh putting the squeeze on the for-profit developers who are doing inclusionary projects who are always going to want to go for the highest possible rent levels, 80% moderate income, which is prohibitive to most of the homeless
households or doing um what I maybe I was late to hear but um didn't hear um 100% affordable projects which can be specific to special needs populations like the homeless or domestic violence of which many domestic violence uh
survivors are homeless. Um that's a way to meet meet your need at scale and density and merge and marry the issues here in town while meeting your affordable housing needs. So something to consider and the Elizabeth Coalition will be happy to help talk through that with you at any time just for advice.
Thank you very much. Thank you for your comments. Other comments from the public. Sorry, I feel like I'm keeping everyone waiting here. Good evening everyone. Uh my name is Raises Suben Stanwitz and I'm going to
present this part of this letter on behalf of the New Jersey Coalition to End Homelessness. You just give your address please. Oh sure. 360 Jefferson Road, Princeton, New Jersey. So, um I will skip over a little bit of it. Uh New Jersey Coalition to End Homelessness
has consistently and successfully opposed both in and out of court any efforts to criminalize homelessness anywhere in New Jersey and we will continue to do so. Um indeed the council cited testimony by the coalition and
fellow advocates when the council decided at the last council at a pre actually I don't even know if it's last at this point but at a previous council meeting um to uh withdraw the initial versions of a proposed anti-amping ordinance um entitled such um as the
coalition's legal council has pointed out uh the original versions of the proposed camping ordinance were illegal since they could have been used to criminalize homelessness in violation of New Jersey law. Um that including but not limited to the rights to safety and
survival guaranteed in article 1, section one of New Jerseys constitution. We have also consistently said that there is no need for any municipal ordinance to stop camping on public land. The answer to homelessness is housing, not anything else. We applaud
Summit and the mayor's task force on homelessness for successfully securing emergency shelter or other indoor housing for the previously unsheltered for previously unsheltered people in summit. Incredible. you've done incredible work and um indeed
um at the as of this writing we are pleased to report that uh we are um that almost every previously unsheltered person in Summit has secured indoor housing. We are unaware of unsheltered people who do not want housing. Um there
is also no problem to our knowledge of people camping on Summit's public property for fun as opposed to necessity. Thus, we hope that Summit, like other municipalities, will make the right choice and choose not to pass any anti-amping ordinance at all. Um, and we
have signed on to efforts to enact a statewide law that will prohibit criminalization of homelessness by any New Jersey municipality. That being said, from a legal perspective, we recognize that Summon is entitled to enact a reasonable ordinance
to prevent recreational camping and provide for public use and of public land. Um, and we are fighting uh not for tents on public properties, but for housing as well as the right of every person to survive until safe and
adequate indoor housing becomes available. So we therefore thank the council for working with the coalition to revise the proposed ordinance to avoid and we indeed to expressly prohibit any use of the proposed
ordinance against any people who need or want indoor housing. I'm going to wrap up my comments here. I know Jeff Wild will probably be speaking after me and can speak to more, but I just wanted to start that off and thank you for listening. Thank you for your comments.
Good evening all. Jeffrey Wild, uh, one Loenstein Drive, uh, Rosand, New Jersey. What Reisa said and what I'm going to say was also the subject of written remarks, which we have emailed uh, but if uh, Ms. Baldwin doesn't have them,
I'll make sure to email them. Let me just highlight some of the critical changes that have been made in the ordinance as a result of uh this council hearing the public. The ordinance now recognizes the
legal rights of unhoused people. It states that one of its purposes is to protect any rights of individuals under applicable law, including but not limited to article 1, sections 1 and 12 of the New Jersey Constitution. That's the law which in essence says you can't
criminalize homelessness. People who have nowhere else to go have a right to survive, a right to safety. And sadly, until we have adequate emergency shelter and housing, some people are going to need to do that. There is now a definition of needed available indoor
housing which prohibits any use of the ordinance against any person who is seeking housing but not does not yet have it. And that housing must in virtually all situations being be an emergency shelter bed or other habitable indoor housing that is actually
available at the time with any needed transportation provided in Summit or Union County. A person cannot just be sent to another county unless they've chosen that county, applied for emergency assistance, and have a place waiting for them. Uh the ordinance
expressly now criminalizes or prohibits the criminalization of homelessness. It couldn't be clear. No person shall be arrested, prosecuted, or convicted under the ordinance if that person has no available housing at the time. Uh moreover, uh it states that a person
shall not be deemed to be violating the ordinance if they're actively working with a city or any nonprofit organization to seek available indoor housing. There's also a provision on notice to the advocates. So if summit ever feels
it needs to enforce an ordinance like this and we at the coalition agree with our fellow advocates there there's no problem of unhoused people who want to camp on public land. So our preference likewise would be uh not to have any ordinance.
However, the revised ordinance requires that notice be given to the mayor's task force on homelessness and also to the coalition so that anyone who hypothetically is violating this ordinance can have legal representation
in addition to the public defender and the protections of the court. Um, given I only have a few seconds, I'd be happy to answer some of the questions that were posed. I understand it's not question and answer, but if the council will indulge me, will unhoused people be
arrested if they're working with a local nonprofit was one question. Since I'm an attorney, may I continue for another minute or two, or am I done? Yeah, I'm going to have to cut you off because I'd have to do it for everybody. Thank you. Good evening, Reverend Dr. Dr. Robin Tanner, lead ministry team at Beacon
Unitarian Universalist Congregation, and I live in West Orange. First, I want to thank the mayor's task force on homelessness for your continuing work to reduce housing insecurity. It's a little hard to see with my reading glasses, but I do appreciate it. I know that helping
to get people housing and stabilization is a difficult task requiring a lot of will, a whole lot of time and multiple strategies often coming from various agencies. Which is why despite the best efforts of everyone involved, I still
have concerns about this proposed ordinance because we do not have coordinated entry in Union County yet. And I am saying yet because I remain very hopeful and committed to seeing that happen. I want to ask you why you
have kept the exception as it is written. A person shall not be deemed to be engaged in camping in violation of this ordinance if they are actively working with the city or any nonprofit organization to seek available indoor housing. Notwithstanding this exception
shall not apply if at least temporary available indoor housing is immediately available. Having personally called 211 with individuals seeking housing, I know that determining housing, if housing is immediately available, is not an easy
task, and it often requires access to databases typically available only to licensed social workers. I'm concerned about how officers will be able to determine if housing is available, particularly outside of normal business hours, when you're not able to reach
many of these agencies and social workers. Furthermore, the ordinance is an unfunded mandate. We know from our experience in securing the housing we did in the last year that this takes resources, including social workers, housing funds, and support staff. This
ordinance does not lay out or is not companioned by any plan for how to do that. In addition, the enforcement of this, including administrative costs, will be borne exclusively by the city. Why not seek collaborative solutions with multiple partners, especially for
those impacted by this ordinance with disabilities? Finally, at the end of this long process, this ordinance is still a proposal to utilize a hammer in a situation that is decidedly not a nail. Let's continue our adaptive solutions that made us a shining example
across the country and ensure that housing is not partisan or politicized but rather one more thing that summit has met with innovative solutions and exceptional commitment. Thank you very much.
Good evening. My name is Tais Kelly, CEO of Monarch Housing Associates. We are a nonprofit organization based in Cranford, New Jersey that works to end homelessness across the state of New Jersey. I'm here tonight to once again urge you to vote no on this ordinance or
to table it. Um, since this ordinance was first introduced, a tremendous amount of work has gone into updating it to revising the ordinance. And I applaud you guys for um all the work that and I'm sure there's lots of comments that you sifted through, lots of conversations that you had to try to figure out how to make the ordinance
better, how to lessen the impact and and lessen the um negative impacts that this ordinance might have. But at the end of the day, at its core, this ordinance says that individuals are not allowed to camp or store belongings or sleep in public places unless they have a quote
unquote hall pass. unless there is no bed available or there's an agency that can vouch for them that says they're in process. Um that makes it a really difficult thing to it raises a lot of questions um and makes it really difficult to see
how this is not going to potentially penalize folks in the future as there are so many different situations and instances where people are experiencing homelessness that may not fit into what has been laid out within this ordinance and leaves a lot of questions about how
it will be implemented in the future. I know that your first responders, the police, the EMS, the the community providers that are part of the homeless task force, all of your agencies are working really really hard to get people connected to services and get them connected to housing. It is hard work to
do that and it takes time. Um, but the thing that those our um partners need to actually do this work effectively is time. So if the goal of this ordinance is to really help people get engaged with housing and services, you've already created a process for doing that
through the task force, you already have a mechanism to do that. Now, if the other part of this ordinance is about addressing some of the challenges that have come up with some of the handful of folks who have violated existing laws, there are other ways to address those
issues as well. There's not a need for this ordinance because this ordinance is not going to really get to the root issue of actually getting people into housing or services. The way that you actually do that is through the work that you're doing with your task force, is through the partnerships with the community providers. It's through
partnerships with hospitals. It's through partnerships with the county providers. And there's still more work that can be done to strengthen those partnerships that I think this ordinance is premature because not all of that work has happened and there are more opportunities, more avenues to explore in order to actually get to success for
the last remaining folks who are experiencing unsheltered homelessness. I urge you to really kind of think about what impact this ordinance will have not only on people who are experiencing homelessness today, but those who will be experiencing homelessness in your
community in 10 years, in 15 years, in 20 years, their needs are going to look different. and the folks who are going to be charged with actually implementing and enforcing this ordinance will not have the benefit of this robust conversation that has happened in the community over the last years and will
not necessarily have the same context in terms of how to implement this ordinance in the ways that you guys are envisioning right now. So, I urge you to vote no. Thank you for your comments. Other public comments.
Okay, I'm going to close the public uh hearing portion of this for this ordinance and I'm going to open it up to council comments on the ordinance. Council members, I can go first. Yeah, Councilman Boy.
Uh, first let me just say I appreciate everyone that that spoke. I know you all care about um this issue. Uh Mr. Anonymous, um what you said was fair. You know, that was it was fair. Um you
know, the the intent of this ordinance was not aimed at the unhoused. The original ordinance didn't say anything about homelessness. um it was about not allowing people to
take over uh public property and some of those individuals had places to stay, right? So there there is a balance here, right? I know we've been saying consistently over and over again, I've
been hearing about the unhoused. Um but we also got to remember the public, right? There's people that live in this town that enjoy walking, you know, and waiting for the bus and doing things in this town. They like going to
the Village Green like this weekend. They There was a pet show, right? Like that's that happens every year. There's movie nights every year. The kids love it. They enjoy it. um without this ordinance someone could pitch a tent and
the police who's our professional said hey I can't really do anything about it I hear a lot of people come up some of which run for office they say why don't you listen to the professionals you should listen to the
professionals strikes me though when the police chief comes up who is a professional we don't This ordinance was about not allowing someone to come to summit and pitch a tent and stay wherever they want on
public property. Um the next thing is uh to the certified music instructor, I didn't get your name. I'm so sorry. Um I appreciate your story and you know that that is unfortunate. Um, I'm glad that
person has a has a place to stay. And listen, our our police department are human beings. They have children, some of which are married. They're members of this community. We have to think rationally,
right? A woman is homeless. She's got her baby, right? The police not going to arrest her. I mean, we we gota we we got to be practical. We got to think of things like we got to be practical with this, right?
Um Jacqueline, uh I think you said you're opposed to the ordinance. Um yeah, the basic responsibility of government is the safety of its residents. Absolutely, 100%. And the way that this whole
process started was the 20 30 phone calls and uh conversations that I've had with residents all over town about instances and issues that they were having. Um and yeah, initially uh I voted
against moving forward and revising it and everything. Um because my view was that the original ordinance, the police do this already. They if there's a mental illness issue, they they take the person to the
hospital. They don't arrest them. They take them to the hospital. Now, that's fine if we want to codify it, and that's what we've done here. So, I'm in agreeance with that. But this is what governance looks like, right? It's there's trade-offs, there's
conversations, there's things of that nature, and that's how we got here. Um, Joseph, I'm glad that you had conversations with the mayor and council president. I'm glad that you're in support of the ordinance. Um, last thing
around this time in 2023, I came in to the council with several people that at the time were living in the bus stop. that council that was up here at the time, none of them went to the bus stop
to talk to anybody or anyone. And we may say that they had a homelessness plan. Um, but this council right now had a homelessness plan, right? The all of those people maybe
except for for one who I don't even think is unhoused have been housed. One of which is here tonight. I I see all the time on the weekends. I know these folks personally.
So, and I'm also happy to read in Mr. Wild's letter or email that he sent that um and I don't know if it's true. I'm going to look at it, but almost everyone that was previously unhoused in the in this town have
housing. That is amazing. That is absolutely amazing. That is something that we should be cheering and celebrating absolutely 100%. 110%.
And I just want to give a shout out to uh the mayor's task force of of homelessness, our police department, and when we talk about resources that it's going to cause extra resources. I mean, the the police have been to certain
areas, you know, I don't know, thousand times in one year. I mean, I mean, they're they're already doing the work, right? This is not this is not new. Um, so thank you to the Summit Police Department. And
uh, last but not least, I am I am um, I want to thank the council members, the mayor and council president because this is a this is a tough thing, right? It's tough to sit up here and, you know, go against what everyone
wants to hear, which is, you know, leave folks alone, don't do anything, don't pass this, and, you know, um, but Summit, I know a lot of people are out of town. You You got to understand Summit.
You got to understand the community, right? It's easier to understand when you live here. You can't paint a broad brush and say, "Hey, camping ordinances are are bad, you know." But have you have you lived in have you been in Summit except for like a couple hours or
maybe your trip here? I mean, I have. I live here. I know the community. Um, and I think this is a there are things in this ordinance that um I would have liked to change. You know, I think the uh giving somebody 24 hours to remove
their their their materials is way too long. Um I don't like the term homelessness in it. Um you know, but those are those are concessions that that we make. So, but thank you, Council President.
Thank you, Councilman Ber. Other comments from council? Councilman Palowski. Thank you. So, it's no secret that I would have preferred a slimmer uh version of this. Jeff knows that Mr. Wild pretty well after our conversations. Um, and I do believe that
for all intents and purposes, this ordinance will function as the earlier ones would have. Um, the police would have put in their procedures. That's their job. The judiciary has uh its own discretion and sentencing guidelines. But I am happy that we were able to get
a much broader consensus uh for this version that we're going to vote on here tonight than we were for the others. And I'm happy to support it. Thanks. Thank you. Other comments from council, Councilwoman Toth. Yeah. Thank you,
Council President. And I want to thank everyone who's made a public comment, who has submitted a letter or an email, or provided witness by attending a council meeting on this ordinance. I wish there were no ordinance for hearing and vote this evening. Um, however, this council is
going to pass an anti-amping ordinance. So, the question isn't whether there's going to be an ordinance, it's what ordinance is going to be passed. And following that council meeting on April 22nd and 23rd, um Mr. Wild at the New
Jersey Coalition to End Homelessness worked with Council President McTurnon, Council Member Palowski, and me to rewrite the originally proposed ordinance. We particularly wrestled with the definition of available indoor housing that many of you have pointed
to. It's really the lynchpin of the ordinance. Um, and it took some doing, but we produced something that both Council Member Palowski and I could live with, however reluctantly, and I think that alone is an achievement. Um, this
ordinance isn't perfect. Far from it. There's still much work to do. The police department will write procedures so its officers can implement this with compassion and consistency. We're going to work with Overlook Hospital to ensure
that its discharge process connects the unhoused with appropriate social services. Still, I accept the reality that there's going to be an ordinance. I much prefer this version to the one that was originally proposed. So, I am going
to have to hold my nose and vote to support it. Thank you. Thank you. Other comments? Uh, Councilman Smallwood. Thank you, Council President. This is the uh the first comments that I've made
on this ordinance. Um so my comments have changed over the past two months. Um and uh as a as a councilman and someone guided by both faith and civic
responsibility, I believe we are called to lead with both compassion and accountability. Scripture teaches us to care for those in need. In Isaiah 58, we're reminded to feed the hungry and shelter the wanderer. In the Gospel of Matthew,
Jesus tells us that whatever we do for one of the least of these, we do for him. That spirit is what guides Summit's housing first approach. meeting people where they are, no strings attached, and offering real
pathways to shelter and support. But the Bible also speaks to personal responsibility. In 2 Thessalonians, Paul writes, "The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat." That doesn't mean
we give up on people. It means that help must come with structure, encouragement, and a path forward. When outreach is offered and refused repeatedly and behavior puts others at risk, then yes, we must draw lines to
protect the greater good. This ordinance is not about criminalizing homelessness. It is about keeping our shared public spaces safe, clean, and accessible for
everyone, residents, families, seniors, and our children. We can be a community that offers help without enabling them. That's real compassion. In the past year, the mayor's homeless
task force helped more than 20 residents or individuals transition from housing from transition into housing. That's meaningful progress. And this ordinance builds on that momentum. Not only does not only avoid
punishing those who are involuntarily homeless, it actually codifies a housing first response. Under this ordinance, if someone appears to be unhoused, the police must first contact the mayor's task force or the New Jersey Coalition
to End Homelessness. This first option is not a citation or a court appearance. It's a referral to social workers, mental health professionals, and outreach services.
This ordinance focuses on behavior, not identity. And it includes clear guard rails to prevent the criminalization of homelessness. This is about balance between protecting individuals dignity
and preserving our shared community standards. Let me say this clearly. Allowing people to call a park bench or a vestibule their home is not compassion. That is neglect. True compassion helps people
find dignity through shelter and support, not by leaving them exposed on concrete with no way forward. We're fortunate to live in a community that truly cares. That's why we continue to partner with nonprofits, faith-based
organizations, and social service agencies. This ordinance doesn't weaken the commitment, it strengthens it. Let's also acknowledge that what's happening across our country. I look at this ordinance in a different
way to prevent the kind of encampments we've seen elsewhere. Encampments that have become platforms for anti-semitism, harassment, and hate speech. These encampments do not represent peaceful protest. They create
fear and disorder and Summit has a responsibility to prevent that from taking root here. This isn't about politics. It's about protecting people. It's about making sure Summit remains a safe, welcoming, and livable city for
everyone. Thank you, Counc. Thank you, Councilman Smallwood. Other comments? Councilwoman Hamlet. Thank you. Excuse me. Thank you. I have absolutely nothing prepared tonight. Um because I think it's important to hear what all of you
have to say and and sort of take that in at least for me at this point because I've spoken on it so much. Um I just want to thank everybody for your comments. I think this is as much as everybody's probably equally as unhappy at this point. Um because it isn't exactly what everybody wants, I'm I'm proud of everybody for working together.
You know, I met with a resident today um who's here and she had some really good points and and to Mr. Ber's point, there are some things that we could probably do to still make this better. Um but we don't have, you know, every minute of the day to make this better. So, we're going to we're going to try to pass this
one and I I will take all of your conversations. I'll take them very seriously. Um but I would say for those of you who are really unhappy, know that we we did a good thing here. Everybody here cares about ending homelessness. Um we are working day and night with the
county with health and human services. Um we have a really important call on Friday about the gentleman who um who really needs help who we certainly could not send to a shelter. We would never send him to a shelter. He wouldn't survive in a shelter. Um we're
working day and night with the homeless task force uh to get him the help that he needs uh which right now is not primarily housing, but it's um mental health. Um and I I would agree with um uh the coordinated entry comment tonight. It's really important that we
we get that process stronger. Um but I'm really proud of everybody for working together. I'm really proud of all of us for disagreeing for three months on how to get this right. Um this is what good governance is. It's what good community involvement is. and let's keep having tough conversations. Um, just because we
disagree doesn't mean we can't get to where uh we all want to be, which is ending homelessness together. Thank you. Other comments from council? Yeah. Yeah. Councilman Boyer, really quick, just to piggyback on uh
Councilwoman Hamlet. Um, if there listen, if we're not perfect, right, if there if in in in the practical world, right, if this if there's something that's not working out, right, we'll we'll we'll revise it. We've done these things before, right? Um, we did it with
the resident protection ordinance. Um, we're always looking to get better. So, I just want to just want to point that out. Thank you. Other comments? Mayor, would you like to make a comment? You've been mentioned a bunch of times
in a good way. I was biting my tongue. Um, no, I I actually would like to just thank everyone on the task force again. Um, I can't thank our providers enough for the what I term a miracle. I mean, I I sat next to um Rich from Bridges and I
probably I don't know, six months ago um probably November because we started the rapid rehousing the sprint um and I teared up because I was like, "Oh my god, is this really going to happen?" And he looked at me and he said, "It's going to happen." And so really proud of that effort. And and it speaks to the
kind of community we live in. It really does. Um so I'm I'm grateful for everybody here. Um I'm grateful for all the comments. Uh, I do think that this ordinance, you know, again, I think it's a it's another layer. It's another opportunity for engagement. Um, it's
maybe it's not perfect, but it's it's an option, and it's not going to be the first option. It's never going to be the first option. Um, the first option is looking at the humans that we're trying to help. That's all. Thank you. Other
comments? All right. I I'll just wrap up. Um I almost never write anything down. I jotted a few notes down but I'll just not say them anyways. Um I I want to echo uh what other people from the dasis said. Thank you for coming and
giving really good wellthoughtout comments from the heart. Like I said it when you guys came in this uh to start the meeting. This matters. you know, we this is a this is what community and human beings should
be doing. Um, we all have the same goal here. We may disagree around the process and how to achieve that, but we we want to help these people. They should have dignity. They should be in a home. Um, and and that's what I think this process has been
about. Um this is not some dramatic 180 degree turn on what we've been doing in summit. Uh the homeless task force is not going to go away. Uh I think Tanner talked about this collaborative process that we need
that's going to stay. It's not going anywhere. We want to help these few last individuals. We've we've and as people have alluded to, we've made tremendous progress. Um, Councilwoman Hamlet, I
give her so much credit. When this whole thing started, we had dozens of homeless people um, living around the train station. And council talked a lot about it. And I was watching a meeting. I wasn't on council. And she gets up and
starts talking about how she met like four of them. She brought one into the into the chamber. That's rolling up your sleeves and doing something. That was amazing. And that spirit continued with all these other people in the community who banded together
um to join the task force. And it's not easy. There's you can't sit up here and just give platitudes and and this stuff is going to go away. You have to do the work. You have to talk to people as Joseph said. Um and and these people have really done the work and and many
of you I know are sitting in in the in the room here today. So I I applaud you for doing all that work. It's amazing because the results are incredible. Um but I look at this really as an incremental thing because you guys have done so much and we have a few
individuals who are not responsive to this methodology and we can decide that let's just keep doing the same thing and maybe a month from now, maybe a year from now, but maybe never will these people accept the help
that's being offered them. There is homes available for these people. Rich, we've had this this conversation if they so choose to say yes. And I get it. There are a lot of uh you know um mental health issues that
are involved. There are substance abuse issues that are involved that keep people from thinking clearly and making proper choices. But I think what this ordinance to me is, it's about telling a person we don't you're
you're making a wrong choice. your choice to live this way. We're not by by doing nothing about it and just continuing to talk about the same stuff almost validates what they're doing. And I don't want to validate it. It's not
compassionate to see people live this way for a day or tomorrow. And I don't want to do nothing new and watch these people continue to live this way for for however long. I don't know how many people this is going to help, but when
we look at this, it says it's not okay for you to make an unhealthy choice to live this way. I don't condone it. Neither should you. Maybe you should think a little bit differently. I don't know if they will. Many probably
won't. But it's sending a signal that our community thinks and is telling them, you people can do better. We can help you. There is a choice. your choice is not the correct one. And please accept the help that we
have. And that's what this ordinance is about for me. And and again, if it helps one person make a better choice, it's well worth it. It's well worth the I don't know hundreds of hours that we've been engaging around this topic and all the
help that we've gotten from people in the community. Um we talked to DCA, um you know, Mr. wild all these people who have helped this has been a a long drawn out process and it's been iterative and I really do applaud as I said the public for engaging this council for
listening you know and not just listening but to to take critical feedback it's hard to take critical feedback to be told you're wrong this doesn't work you need to change this and say maybe you have a point and to go
back and do it and to me that's good governance again is it Perfect. No. Does that mean we can't change it some other time in the future? Of course, we can. And again, and our homelessness task force is not going away. Nor will good ideas other ideas about trying to help
these people. Uh, as Joseph alluded to, we had a great call the other day uh with with Rich and other people on the homelessness task force around maybe doing something different, getting more people involved, and that's going to continue too. So that this is a this is
one thing of a multi- thing and I really do trust our police, our first responders. They have been dealing with these people constantly. They understand their needs, who they are, and they're human beings, too, and they treat these people like human beings, which they
deserve to be. So those are my comments. All right, I'm going to declare the hearing closed on this ordinance and now we're going to go for ordinances for final consideration. Uh, madame clerk, will you please read the community programs and parking services ordinance? Ordinance number
25-3341, an ordinance to amend the code appendix A, schedule of fees contained in the revised general ordinances of the city of Summit fees to be collected by the parking services agency. Thank you so much. Uh, Councilman Smallwood. Thank you, Council President. This is
ordinance number 253341 to increase daily visitor pass fee and remove bulk discount. I would like to open up this for final consideration. Do I hear a second? Second. All right. Uh, roll call, please. Mr. Ber, I. Miss
Hamlet, I. Miss Calmanson, I. Mr. Powski, I. Mr. Smallwood, I. Miss Toad, I. President McT. Motion carries. All right. Our second ordinance for final consideration. Uh, madam clerk, will you please read the safety and health ordinance, please? Ordinance number
25-3342, an ordinance amending chapter 3, police regulations of the code of the city of Summit to add a new section 3-9 entitled camping on public property. Thank you so much, uh, Councilman Ber. Thank you, Council President. As our
esteemed clerk just said, this is ordinance 25-3342. And having closed the hearing just a moment ago, I move this ordinance for a final adoption. Second. Roll call, please. Mr. Ber, I. Miss Hamlet, I. Miss
Celmanson, I. Mr. Palowski, I. Mr. Smallwood, I. Miss Toad, I. Council President Mc I. Motion carries. All right, moving right along. Uh, we have an ordinance for introduction uh this evening. Um, Madame Clerk, will you
please read the finance ordinance? Ordinance number ID11952, an ordinance to establish the 2025 salaries, wages, or compensations of and for the officers and employees of the city of Summit in the county of Union, New Jersey.
Thank you so much. Uh, Councilwoman Toth. Um, thank you, Council President. Following last month's budget passage, this annual ordinance sets the salary rates for city employees. I move to introduce this ordinance. Thank you so much. Uh, roll call,
please. A second. Oh, in a second. Sorry. In a second. Yeah. Thank you. Uh, roll call, please. Mr. Ber, I. Miss Hamlet, hi. Miss Cuminson, I. Mr. Powski, I. Mr. Smallwood, I. Miss Toi. President McTurn. I. Motion carries. All
right. on to our resolution section of our meeting. Vice President just announced the date of the next the hearing. Oh, yes. I'm sorry. The hearing date on that ordinance we just introduced is June 16th, uh, 2025, which a Monday, which is a Monday. Thank you.
I would have forgotten to say that. Um, okay. Uh, so we got resolutions. Uh, the first group of, uh, resolutions is capital projects and community services. Uh, Councilwoman Hamlet, number one. Yes. Just give me one second. Council President
um sorry my notes here somewhere. Okay. Uh this is resolution ID 111836 approval to submit an award extension request for LA23 bike park line project phase 2 to the New Jersey Department of
Transportation. Uh, be it resolved by the common council of the city of Summit, County of Union, New Jersey, that it does hereby formally approve the request for an additional six-month award extension for the project known as LA 2023 bike city of Summit Parkline project phase 2. And be it further
resolved that the mayor and city clerk or those authorized on their behalfs shall submit a formal request for an extra six-month award um to the New Jersey Department of Transportation. Uh just for everybody's to explain it a little bit better, uh we received a bikeways grant from NJ DOT in the amount
of $500,000. Uh in the memo, I believe it says phase three, but it's actually phase two uh of the parkline project. Uh NJ DOT required the project to be awarded by December 11th, 2024, and then granted a six month six-month extension resulting in a new deadline of June
11th, 2025. The plans are still at NJ DOT under review and they recommend we request an additional extension since since the current project timeline may be close to the deadline. I would like to move this resolution. Second. All right. Uh at this time I'd like to call for comments from the public on
this resolution. Comments from council. Council President. Yes, please. Councilman Ber. So we we do have a committee for uh the park line and it is two members from uh two residents and uh
the parkline steering committee members uh I think it's three of them and director Shrager, the mayor and council president. Uh we'd be meeting you know once a month to go over this and uh like councilwoman Hamlet said the delay and
correct me if I'm wrong director Shreger is the county right the county DOT that's the delay in this kind of process right because we've been going through motions for for a while now and uh I've gotten some calls from the public um if
you just want to make a quick comment about that just [Music] Certainly through you council president and just to provide an update because the memo in this packet was um a few weeks old. So since then uh it's NJ DO
who is providing a funding opportunity here for half a million dollars. Uh so the plans and specifications must go through their office for review. Uh that final approval was received within a week or two. So we will be out to bid next week uh with the intent to receive
bids on July 8th and award believe it's the 29th that we have a meeting subject to you know a successful bid and funding. Um so that just puts us six weeks behind the original deadline. DOT knows this is coming and they said that's fine because they did review it for quite a while. So they were part of
the holdup at the end there. Yes, that that is great news and I take back what I said about the county. It wasn't bad. I was just saying that the county it was the state. Thank thank you director Shger for that and the residents will appreciate that update.
Thank you. Other comments from council. Yeah, I just would echo um yeah, this is an exciting project. Um you know, things take a while to get done. I'm excited that we are moving forward for this. This is going to be a great new amenity, our first park uh in Summit in decades.
uh and it will be really a connector for neighborhoods. Um and we're we're getting there. It's a slow process, but we'll continue uh engaging with uh neighbors and uh the community and um I just want to uh thank uh Director Shrager for continuing to stay on top of
this. So, this is great. Okay. Uh all in favor? I opposed. Motion carries. All right. Capital projects and community services number two, Councilwoman Hamlet. Thank you, council president. This is ID 11925 declaring a vacancy in the
department of community services division of public works in the sewer maintenance unit for maintenance operator. Uh pursuant to public policy section 5-1 employment procedures recruitment a vacancy is hereby declared for the position of operator and sewer maintenance unit in the division of
public works community services. Uh just to clarify this is a lateral move. uh we had a an equipment sewer operator who went to road so it was a lateral transfer thus creating the vacancy in sewer. I would like to move this resolution. Do I have a second? Second. All right.
Uh any comments from the public on this resolution? Comments from councel. All right. All in favor? I opposed. Motion carries. All right. I believe capital projects and community services number three has been pushed. Uh which
is going to take us to um uh safety and health. Uh Councilman Boyer number one. Yes. Thank you, Council President. Let me Yes. Okay. Uh this is ID 11947. Uh confirming the mayor's
appointment of police sergeant. And I am happy to announce that Colin Scarpello has been promoted to the rank of sergeant. Now Colin is a uh he I'll tell you um he
holds a master's degree in cyber security from FDU which is fairly Dickinson University and earned his undergraduate degree from Ruckers University. Go Knights. Um, and Colin is
a standout athlete. No worries. Uh, division one in lacrosse player at Ruckers, like one of the best lacrosse schools in the in the nation, by the way. Um, he was on the 2016 national championship team. They played
for the national championship. Um and uh he played on the 2017 team that was ranked number one. Uh he continues to give back to the summit community by volunteering as the eighth
grade lacrosse coach and he is on the PAL. Um in his background as a police officer, he also serves on the Union County SWAT team.
And you know, we're we're proud of leaders like Sergeant Scarelloo in our ranks. Um, you know, someone who goes to work but actually outside of work makes an impact on our community. I mean, that is what
we really want to see in our officers. Being a lacrosse coach and then going in at night to go to the PAL meetings and serving hot dogs and and the Duncan machine and everything. I mean, you know, our our police officers are are fantastic. So, uh I just want to
congratulate him. Thank you. Thank you. Second. Other comments from council. All right. Uh all in favor? I opposed. Motion carries. Councilman Boyer, I hear
I understand you have another resolution you'd like to bring. I do. This is resolution 11961, a grant permission and set forth conditions uh for filming on Maple
Street. And that date where would be Monday, June 9th at 20 2025. Um where where they'll be filming is uh Fiorinos at 38 Maple Street. Oh, you know what? Um this is a revised
ordinance. Councilman Ber, it's actually a under the consent agenda number three. So if you want to keep going, we can do that one now or we can throw it back into the consent agenda. I apologize. No, it's all good. So they're filming on Maple Street. Um
which I think is like which I think is really cool. Uh this is this is great. I know Netflix is actually moving to New Jersey or they're in New Jersey already. So hopefully this is one of many films uh that will be coming to Summit New
Jersey. Uh we had a pretty cool diner. I could see like some Sopranos type stuff in there, you know. Um but yeah, thank you, Council President. Okay. Okay. Um other comments from the public? Oh, we need a second. Second. Yeah.
Comments from the public. Comments from council. No one wants to be in the movie. Yes, madame mayor. Um, so traffic may be tricky that day. I want to remind everybody, but don't stay away because
the businesses are still open. So, and maybe you could catch a glimpse of somebody fabulous and famous. I don't know. Um, so I just wanted to mention that. Awesome. All right. All in favor? Uh, council president. Yes, Councilman Smallwood. I would Thank you. Uh, I just wanted to expand on the the mayor's
comments. Uh, the streets that will be closed for Monday, June June 9th is from Beachwood to It's not closed. Oh, that's parking. Traffic will still be flowing. That's what I meant. Parking. might be a little
bit disrupted, but there will be no there will be no parking on on Union Place from Beachwood to Maple Street and on Maple Street from Union Place to Springfield. So, if you could plan accordingly, maybe you could think about
parking at the Tier Garage, but on Monday, there'll be no parking on Union Place, Beachwood to Maple and Maple to Springfield. There will be a section, if I may, Council President, um that was added this afternoon for additional spaces they needed on Broad Street, uh
near the near the parking garage. Great. Thank you. Just additional. Thank you. Good comments. Thank you. Um All right. Any other comments? All in favor? I opposed. Okay, that carries on safety on the consent
agenda. Okay. Uh moving right along. Uh we're up to finance. Uh Councilwoman Toth, finance number one. Well, thank thank you, Council President. We're going to bundle resolutions ID 11 1957 and 11 1956. And per our close session
discussion, police captains Medina and Garcia were each recently promoted from lieutenant. And with these promotions, they're no longer bargaining unit employees and are entitled to be paid their compensation time balances. And these bundled resolutions do just that.
I move to adopt them. Second. Comments from the public. Comments from councel. All in favor? I I opposed. Motion carries. Okay. Both of those carry. Uh we're on to uh community
programs and parking services. Councilman Smallwood. Thank you, Council President. This is ID number 11 1958. This is to appoint a new chair of the Tatlock Neighborhood Committee. Pending close session discussion. Uh like to
congratulate Jocelyn Modesto for becoming the new chair of the Tatlock Neighborhood Committee. Second. Comments from the public, comments from council. All right. Congratulations,
Jocelyn. Um all in favor? I opposed. Motion carries. All right. Um, now we have the consent agenda. So, do I have a motion to approve the consent agenda as presented except for safety number
three, which has already been approved? So, move. Second. Is there anyone from the public who wishes to comment on anything in the consent agenda? [Applause] Anyone from council like to
comment? All right. All in favor? I opposed. Uh motions carry. Okay. Um that ends our the business section of our meeting. So professionals, if you guys would like to uh Council President, I hope you don't I have a couple of questions I'd like to
ask Director Shreger if that's before he goes. Wow. Okay. Yeah. Oh, that's fine. I mean, it's not an interrogation. It's just updates. Uh would you like council Oh, I'm just
kidding. Um, so I Good news. The bike depot, I know the electricity got installed uh last week, correct? Um, do we have any idea when we'll be able to actually open it for uh public use? Yes. Through you, Council President. So,
just as a refresher, because it's been many moons since the project actually started, uh, New Jersey Bikewalk Coalition will be the managing entity. So now that the infrastructure is in place, they're working to make sure that there is a security um camera in there as well as like the fob access reader.
So that requires internet connection first, which Comcast was there Monday and I believe today as well, but they were given a June 23rd for the modem hookup and then a 3 to 4 day window to do the camera install after that. They're trying to, you know, move both
those dates up. So, we're kind of saying July right now. Um, which looks pretty good, but it's it seems to be the June 23rd modem hookup is the key day. Okay. So, uh, and just one other thing, I I know that we can't do anything until July 1 regarding Saltbrook. Um, but I
just wanted Do we have everything in place that we need or is there anything that we need to accomplish before then so that we could start work as soon as possible after July 1st? Uh, so again, through you, council president. So the the CAPS committee is
pushing a resolution on the next council meeting which is June 16th to outlay a plan and I and the July 1st I'm assuming just to clarify is because that's when we have capital funding available which correct I believe is going to probably be a little closer to um August with the
the current schedule possibly the CFO can appine but in regards to the thing we could do in advance would be the permitting uh which we have some older drainage funding we could utilize but I still recommend that happens after the June 16th when the the plan is laid out and then we could start that you know
immediately. Uh it is emergency permitting so I know D and permitting kind of makes people uncomfortable. This this is a relatively quick process. Okay. Thank you. Yeah. Can he go home now? Yeah.
All right. Thank you guys. Um All right. At this time um we're going to open up uh our meeting to public comments. These are comments for things that were not on the agenda that uh people would like to come up and express their views about. Um as I mentioned earlier, please uh
come up uh state your name, your address, and please uh keep your comments to uh 3 minutes. Hi, my name is Winter Fred Smith Jenkins one Walnut Street Summit, New Jersey. I would like to speak this evening about the traffic stop that took place on
Friday, May 23rd on Walnut Street. I want to begin by saying that I come before you this evening with the deepest respect for law enforcement. My husband is currently a police officer and I know personally that the most important thing at the end of any shift is for a police officer to get home safely. And we've
also lived through the pain of losing a family member during a routine traffic stop. So I don't take the split-second decisions that officers have to make lightly. At the same time, I also carry the responsibility to protect the children and staff at our childcare center, some of the youngest and most
vulnerable members of our community. That's why I was deeply alarmed by the recent high-intensity traffic stop that took place just feet away from our program with guns drawn and no warning or notification to our staff. I'm not here to judge the police tactics of that
day. My concern is about where it happened and the lack of communication that followed. Had anything gone wrong, over 120 children and staff could have been in danger. And unlike public school, childcare centers aren't equipped with resource officers or
reinforced infrastructure. We were completely exposed. We appreciate that the chief and the mayor have agreed to meet with us and my team next week to discuss these issues further, but it was important to me to be on record tonight to remind all members of city council
and the community at large that childcare facilities deserve the same information, communication, and consideration as every other public educational institute in our great city. This moment opens up a wider conversation about how we value the
youngest among us, the institutions that care for that care and educate them as a community. It's not just about one incident. It's about recognizing that child care is a foundational is foundational to the well-being and functioning of Summit. As someone who
was a Summit resident for over 30 years, I love this city and I know we can do better. So, we're asking kind of three simple things. a clear pro protocol for notifying childcare programs during or after nearby police activity. Better coordination between law enforcement and
early child um childhood learning facilities and a seat at the table when decisions are being made about the safety in our neighborhoods because our kids deserve the same protections and considerations as those in our public school. We cannot and should not be an afterthought. Thank you for listening
and I look forward to working towards a safer summit for all. Thank you. Thank you. Those were great comments. Thank you. Other comments from the public. Uh good evening, mayor. Good evening, council. Um I will be remaining
anonymous again. Excuse me. I come I come here to speak to you not only in my personal capacity but also the uh head of an organization called the neutralization of council meeting conduct. Uh that's
NCMC of NJ for short. Uh part of what I what I was doing here, this is my third council meeting and um my purpose is to create an evaluation that will be then sent to um New Jersey through the proper
channels on council meeting conduct. I've been to many meetings across the state and um the first thing I want to mention is when I came here originally to speak and the burough attorney through the chair of the borrow attorney, he not only did he attempt to
restrict, silence, suppress, he he told me I have to get away from the podium for speaking because I was remaining anonymous my fourth amendment right. Thank God we have a competent council president who understood that those that
that was a violation of people's rights. So even though I come here and I give and I'm critical to what people do, it shouldn't be hard to hear. As you said earlier, council president, criticism is hard to hear. It shouldn't. If people stand firm in their beliefs, they should welcome all time types of, you know, u
confronting different opinions and stuff like that. Um so I'm still conducting this evaluation. So, there's still some points that can be added or reduced to the final evaluation. Um, I'm not going to be able to get to everybody because unfortunately it's only 3 minutes.
That's why I say we should respect the public and at least respect them for 5 minutes. But I will try to touch on as uh many things as possible. Council President, you get a you get an A for for knowing how to conduct a meeting. I've been to meetings all across the
state. The way you conduct a meeting is excellent. It's absolutely excellent. When people speak out of turn, you do a deescalation tactic. You don't see it often. You say, "People interrupt. We're going to take a 10-minute break, come back, interrupt, we're going to do it
again. We can do it all night." That is a deescalation tactic. It's probably because of your um I believe you're also an elementary school teacher. High school. High school. Okay. Same thing. These meetings can get like an elementary classroom or a high school classroom. I'm sure all day. So, I thank
council president for the uh job you do. These residents should feel um proud to have you representing their community. And the people of Summit, they get an A. I do believe the people here very compassionate and caring about their neighbors. Um I don't like the
distinction that's made when we try to separate out of towners from people who live in Summit. Even Councilman Boyers, you stated before and you said it was fair what I was saying. You then started shifting into this, you know, people don't live in summit. A lot of people who don't live in summit were at these
meetings because of this. And I only have two seconds left. That's not enough time. Uh council, the mayor, she gets an A as well for um when I asked about the the library and people uh looking at porn on the library, you said first
amendment and you are correct. It was the only right answer and you gave it. So, thank you. Thank you very much for your comments. An A pretty good. I have never gotten an A in my life. Tracy Keegan, 15 Sweet Brier Road. Um, first before I make the comment about
why I came here tonight, um, I want to correct the record in two spots. Um, Councilman Ber, as for your disparagement of the former council, I want to remind you that they reduced the unhoused population by 44 people uh during their tenure and they also brought together the stakeholders that
began coordinating efforts. As for Mr. Smallwood's uh biblical interpretation, um I want to point out that St. Paul's letter to the Thessalonians did not say those who are unable to work. It said those who are unwilling. And I'm quite sure that St. Paul would never uh
withhold care for our unhoused or or our poor. So that being said, uh one month ago, Councilman Palowski became aggressive with me when I asked him a question about the school budget process on his official Facebook page. Instead of answering me, he taunted me and lied
about me, very similar to comments his party shared about me just a day before on their own page. He also came very close to the line, if not crossing it, of liel. I informed Mr. Palowski multiple times of his mistake, allowing him asking him to take down the
comments, which he did not. After emails were exchanged about the incident with council leadership, my husband and I met with the mayor and others in her office for an hour-long meeting and action suggested by council president McTurnan. There, Mr. McTurnan repeatedly stated that he has asked his fellow Republican
council members to tone down their online comments to no avail. basically that they are unwilling or unable to control themselves. After the meeting, we followed up with a simple request. We wanted the city to clarify the law or rules around elected officials and social media. This ask was based on the
fact that we were informed that the city clerk advised that it would be illegal for Mr. Powski to delete his statements about me because they are part of his official record of communications. The takeaway is that the city considers anything a council member posts on their official social media pages to be an
official communication from the city, even if they are lies, taunts, or liel. Since I got no response to my follow-up email to you all, I'll ask again. Is this a correct understanding? And if so, why are you not also advising him? Then he can't meaningfully edit anything he's
written, which goes handinhand with the deletion prohibition. Mr. Mr. Palowski did edit his posts about me, some many times, which I will submit for the record tonight by editing his comments that hundreds or even thousands of Summit residents have already read. He is not operating in service of the
truth. No one gets an alert that a comment they read or liked on their elected officials Facebook page has been edited. No one will know that he has now softened his accusations. This is a First Amendment violation per the city's policy. On the other hand, if the city
does not consider everything an elected official posts to be subject to first amendment guidelines, then it would fall on Mr. Pilowski to bear ownership of his lies and taunts, freeing the city of responsibility and allowing for deletion or editing of social media posts. Given this is not the first time, and due to
an apparent lack of an official framework or ability to control behavior, very likely not the last time that Mr. Plowski or some of his colleagues will behave this way, I would like the city to clarify their position on this. Thank you for letting me finish. Thank you. Thanks for your comments.
Hamilton versus Thank you. Other comments, please. Public records. Chief, can you arrest him for your public record? Excuse me, sir. You've been awesomely respectful tonight. Let's keep it that. Okay, let's You've had
your comments. Thank you, Jaclyn Lerina. I'm here to talk also about honesty and accountability. Recently, Councilman Palowski told one of his friends an untrue story about me. This friend then shared that untrue, negative story about
me on an online public forum. Councilman Palowski has apologized for this privately. He acknowledged he made a mistake. The story was actually about someone else. I'm here to ask for the third time that Councilman Palowski
publicly correct the record. One of my great-grandfathers used to say, "When you put your name on something, you don't just represent yourself. You represent this whole family." So when I read the false statement about me me, the first thing I
felt was embarrassment. Even though I knew it wasn't true, I thought about my grandfather's words and I thought, "What is my family going to think when they see this?" Even though I knew it wasn't true, my
decency, my character, and that of my family were challenged. People continue to approach me about this, asking what really happened and if the story was actually true, because of course, the word of an
elected leader carries weight. So, I'm asking you again, Councilman Palowski, will you please publicly share what you told me privately? That you made a mistake, that the story you shared with your friend was untrue? Look, I can take a lot of
criticism. We can disagree about policy ideas. I can take those hits all day long. As we've heard here tonight, we have a lot of serious issues to deal with in Summit. And to deal with these issues, we need to be rooted in truth
and accountability. I think it is reasonable for the community to expect that our leaders will be honest and that when they mess up, they make it right. Not just privately when it is easy, but also
publicly even if it is hard. Thank you. Thank you. Other comments from the public? Hello again. I'm Amanda Block. 8:15 Sunday night. It came as a
surprise to learn that permission was rescended to use the community center for the know your rights training for local businesses set for Monday morning, 12 hours after that permission was rescended. In response to growing feelings of
anxiety in our community, legal professionals have led six different trainings through Summit since February. These trainings help people to understand what to expect and what to do if law enforcement engages a community
member in public, at home, at school, or at work. These trainings have taken place in churches, at Summit High School, and at the community center. As you may know, Homeland Security has already visited two businesses in
Summit. Employers scrambled to figure out what to do to protect their business. Employees were afraid to go to work. That's how I found out about the visits because the employees reached out to me for help, even if they are
Americanborn or a naturalized citizen. The training this week, led by Alex Shalom of Loenstein, was designed to help Summit businesses understand how to interact with federal law enforcement. The training, which I share with you, so
you can see what it contained, reviews, judicial and executive procedures, the differences in warrants, and other other federal paperwork, what individuals and businesses should have on hand, and how to engage with federal officials when they visit. The entire presentation,
which I'm happy to discuss with you, is designed to empower our local businesses who are lawabiding and essential to our community. The intention behind the information is to uphold and protect our local business owners, their businesses,
their customers, their employees, and the general public. to cancel space usage permission of an event 12 hours before the event. An event that was publicized twice by Summit Downtown Inc.'s newsletter, so well over a
month. It doesn't have to be this way. Rest assured, the event happened as scheduled, but at another location. Misinformation grows in isolation. we could have answered all of your questions and you would have seen how
non-controversial the presentation was. You could have contacted me. I hope if we have another training that you'll join us and please contact me directly with any questions that you may have regarding Grace, our programs or any of
our events. Thank you. Thank you. Other comments from the public? Hi, it's wrap up time. Um, I'm also I'm Filamina. That's all the
information that I can give. Um, couple of things. Um, I'm going to address Councilman Smallwood. Um, in this country, we have the separation of church and state for a
reason. There, everyone is entitled to their religion. That's what this country was built on. I have my religion as I it's very clear many of the people in this room do. It is not appropriate being an
elected official to sit there with religious views. I'm sorry. Politics must remain neutral so that they govern everyone
equally. Okay. But I do appreciate your comments and I do support them. um the three minutes that you allow for speaking. Um please consider increasing
that. You get too micro of opinion. Um whereas the council is allowed endless time. So please reconsider that. Um, Council President, I'm going to
reiterate, criticism is not your enemy. Criticism I I I I'm reiterating because you and Cuz you and I cuz you and I kind of had a little separation on that. I don't
think so. A while ago. Not really. Criticism is not your enemy. Criticism is to point out your weaknesses and the wise person listens to criticize criticism in order to
strengthen their point of view and to hear another view. So I applaud all of you that remember to do that and those of you who have come to that. Um next thing is
um traffic lights in this town. Um, why are the emergency vehicles not in control of the traffic lights? Um, I don't know how many highspeed chases you've had,
but regardless, every emergency vehicle police officer should have control of the lights. you have you have someone who's trying to evade being what's the term? Captured, pulled
over. Um they can easily change the lights so that that family that is trying to cross that intersection is not killed because guess who's going to get sued on that one.
Thank you. Thank you for your comments. Other public comments. All right, I'm going to close the public comment portion of our meeting and move on to council uh comments and commentary and any new
business. Council President, Councilman Ber, I figure when I speak first, it's a lot quicker than speaking last. So, um we will um uh Miss Smith, um you know what that that is your maiden. I'm sorry. Jesus.
Um Winter Fred, I it's so great to see you. You know, thank you. Um I your your your your comments um they were great. I'm glad that you were able to speak to the mayor and uh police chief. And you're right, the our public schools are
like locked down. So, um, we can always get better. So, I'm glad that actually came up and I'm glad nothing happened, right? So, um, that that is a really good thing. Um, speaking of, uh, police, our
Mountain Valley Emergency Communications, they are hiring. Uh, if you know anyone that needs a job that is interested in law enforcement type work, um, it's a it's a good job.
Um, so please, uh, be on the lookout for that. Um, the other thing is I want to say Hometown Heroes is a amazing program. I want to thank Councilwoman Hamlet because, uh, I know she's been on that committee for a couple years now.
And you know, I didn't realize the significance of it until I was looking at Facebook and someone was saying, you know, yeah, that's my uncle and right out front of um he used to go there and and then I
saw my uncle recently was one of the inductees and he was right outside of one of St. John's church where he went to AA service and now when his friends come out of AA service they see him up there. That is like man that is like
awesome. So I you know I just want to give kudos to the hometown heroes. Um the Summit Housing Authority we're still having some meetings on that. I hope that we can make some decisions and
how we can help the residents there. It's been a year and a half now and I've been talking about it and hopefully we're we'll be to the finish line at some point. Um, let's see. Uh, talked about the park
line. Uh, things that we have coming up, family fun night. I think family fun night is is great. Um, please come out. Check the city website for that. Uh, and that is all I have. Thank you.
Thank you, Councilman Palowski. Thank you. So, when I was door knocking in 2023, a resident on Ms. Laseroscena Street refused to talk to me and shut the door in my face. I was told it was her house
and I believed that it was her. I did not make the post um that she referred to when she spoke. Uh but when I heard um that Miss Lucer Cena stated it wasn't her, I took her at her word, immediately called her to apologize and immediately
asked that the poster take it down, which they did the same day it was posted. Uh she and I were able to connect several days later and I again and I apologized. I also invited her to send anybody concerned about the post to me and I would tell them that it was not
her and that invitation stands. That's it. Thank you. Other comments from council? Councilman Smallwood. Thank you, Council President. Uh, first I wanted to let the public know that the tier garage uh
elevator uh is going the flooring in the tier garage elevator will be replaced tomorrow. So if you go to the tier garage and you need to use the elevator um unfortunately be uh unavailable uh due may not take the entire day but
uh at least for the morning and uh most of the afternoon it will be it will be closed uh just simply replacing the the flooring in that uh in the elevator. Um, I appreciate your your comment about the church and state and I you're
absolutely right and I agree with you. Um, however, uh, I did want to since that was fact checked. Um, in my notes I if I misread this I
apologize. What I meant to say is, and paraphrasing obviously because I only listed second Thessalonians, Paul writes, "The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat." Um, after your comments, I did do a u a search for the
exact word wording of 2 Thessalonians 3:10, the King James version. For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if you would not work, neither should you eat. Obviously, there are
many versions of the Bible. Um, we do have one here, so if after the council meeting, we can we can double check that, but if I misqued anything, um, I apologize. Thank you. Other comments from council?
Yes. Uh, Councilwoman Camelson. Thank you, Council President. Um, I have a few notes here from a few um, public comments. Um, first, Amanda Block, thank you for always meeting the community when you see a need. You're always pivoting and finding out how to serve
the community, and we appreciate you for that. I saw that you put um you put the um information into um public record, so I look forward to um I look forward to reading that. Thank you. Um, Filamina, that's a good question about our traffic
lights. I don't know. Um, our city engineer was here and I feel like he would definitely know. I don't know if our council president knows or so, but I I'm going to look into that. That's that's a that's a fantastic question. And I agree with you. Either either we should I think we should either give the
public more time to speak or we ourselves should possibly be on this three-minut timer because I don't think I I I I don't think that many of us need more than 3 minutes when we speak. Um, also election season is starting and I
think we just all I think we should all really be mindful about our our words and and what we say and you know there are 90 towns that have tap into. There are only two that do not allow letters
to the editor because they're so vicious. There are only two and Summit is one of them. Summit and Berkeley Heights are the only two that cannot have letters to the editor. And I think we can change that. I think that, you know, I think we need to call things out
when when we see things. Um personal attacks, uh there's no place for the personal attacks. And I think we're the leaders, so we need to start calling it out when we see it, no matter who whose side it's on. If we have a problem, if you have a problem with somebody's policy, that's fine. Talk about that.
But the personal attacks need to stop. That's what really prevents people from um running for council. It's not it's not the work. It's not the volunteer hours. It's the fact that they don't want their name dragged through the mud and they don't want to have to explain
things to their children. Something similar happened to me. And I just I just really think it it's very important to me that we call it out no matter whose side it on. And um you know I I think um I think we could be a much happier town if we stop fighting on
Facebook. Thank you. That's all I have today. Thank you. Uh other comments from council. Council president. Councilman Boyer. I just don't want to be hypocrites here, right? Because Yeah. All the time. Yeah. I'm an elected official. I can speak. You should go
last. No, please. I I don't want to be hypocrites, right? If if you can go on my Facebook page, there there are vicious attacks at me like on almost every post. I could post, you know what, let's have a good um
happy um Friday and people will come at me and say like, uh, you know, I hope Jesus saves you or something like that. Like I mean, so let's not be hypocrites. you could go look on my Facebook page and see who's doing what and I hope we can have a conversation with those
people and then hey on my end I'll have a conversation with those but let's um let let's let's not just say it and for it not to be true so thank you thank you other comments councilwoman Hamlet I'll be brief I just want to again thank everybody for your continued
engagement throughout this process I said it all earlier um I also want to thank the city the city staff um Rosie every day they're long days and I know this has been stressful couple of months for the staff. So, uh I just want to say thank you for all you do. You come in early, you leave late. Um they're really
long days for our employees. So, uh thank you for all you do. I believe the the only one I know of I'd have to ask Captain Chief Peters um around the lights, but I know the fire uh the fire department controls the most
recent one as you turn the corner from the new firehouse. Um, we put that technology in, but it's a great question because I don't know if it exists elsewhere. Um, re yesterday, was it Sunday? Sunday, uh, Councilman Smallwood and I, uh, we went in the middle of the Saltbrook. Somehow we, uh, crossed
through the Salt Brook and saw, um, actually a completely different perspective of the of the Salt Brook. We walked all the way over, uh, in the water towards sunset. um which was unbelievable to look at because some of those houses are just the uh the amount
of new erosion is shocking over the last two or three weeks. So, um I would just encourage that we come to a resolution on on our plan for that. I know we have it in the works, but uh every day it's getting worse and we saw it firsthand and it was we can post some pictures
later, but it's devastating. So, um but thank you all for coming. Thank you. Other comments? All right, let me I'll just wrap up a couple of things. Um, one, there has been over the last month a bunch of comments
around, you know, uh, Bill of Rights and not giving your name, etc. Look, I'm all for all that. The reason we do this, the reason I ask people to do it because it gives your comments some context that
people up here can understand. Where are you from? Do you live in Summit? That changes how I'm going to think about your your comments. Are you a neighbor? Do you understand the town? Or are you from outside the town where maybe you're bringing a valid but different perspective? It gives
context. That's the reason we ask for it. It's not to take away your rights or whatever. And I and I get like people may feel that way and that's okay. I don't want to get I don't want to get in an argument about it. So if you want to do it, but that's the reason it provides
some context. The other thing too, it's kind of respectful. At least that's how I view it. Everybody up here, you know, where they live, you know their name, they're an open book. They come here, they listen, they listen to
criticism. They You guys can say anything you want to them. Everyone up here, we're all we're officials. Comes with the territory. When I have a conversation with someone, it's good to know who they are. It's it's a human thing. And when you don't
want to give your name, it lessens that interaction. At least to me, it's just my opinion. Okay? It's my opinion. Um and and that's why I think it's important. Okay? So, that's one thing. Um second thing, Facebook. For the record, I don't just tell Republicans to
be nice on Facebook. I tell everybody, I tell Democrats to be nice on Facebook. I tell everyone I talk to, get out of the comment section. It's a swamp. No one ever has their mind changed on Facebook. And people who go
there, I I'd say it's it's I liken it to if you go into the sandbox and you want to play there, you will get sand kicked in your eye. Don't go in there. And I'll say it again for Miss Keegan who left already. Everyone should get out of there. It's
not a good place for dialogue. Call your elected official. Email them. I like having a coffee with people. It's much more productive. I will just tell you that. Okay. So, that's one thing. And then the last thing, uh, Miss Block talked about a
meeting at the community center. Um, we have anou with Grace. My understanding is that Grace is a food bank. They do amazing work distributing food to our community. That's the relationship where they uh you occupy
our community center rentree to distribute food. That's what it's there for. Now, it may be construed that this meeting was about rights or what have you, but I would suggest that
others may think this is political advocacy. And you I'll read through this, but I guarantee that other people may think so. I will tell you what it's not. It's not distributing food. And if that is what Grace wants to
do, then we need to think about ourou and what it should be allowed in city- owned property, it's the city. And we have to be careful about what city property is being used for. And if it strays into what could be considered to be political
advocacy, it has no place in a city uh building, do it someplace else, church, wherever. That's great. That's where it should be done. Uh but not in a city. We can't be seen to be advocating for that type of stuff in a in a property. So I
would we can get together. We can talk about it. I I certainly welcome that. But that is what when I saw this, that's my concern because I received a lot of phone calls about this and people who looked at the flyers and such and they had a different interpretation than than
yours and they they have they're allowed their interpretation too. Um so that was the result of that. So if we could we could meet I'd love to. So um and that's it. Um that's all I have. I'd like to make a motion to adjurnn. I'll second.
All right. All in favor? I. All right, we are journ.