Okay. Uh, good evening everyone. The meeting will come to order. Um, and madame clerk, would 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 17th,
2025, 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. >> Um, thank you. Would you please read the roll call, >> Mr. Ber >> present. >> Mr. Chris Foley >> here. >> Miss Calmanson >> here. >> Miss Lamman >> here. >> Mrs. Saroscina >> here. President Toad >> here.
>> Um okay. Um I'd like to call on Hunter Patel to lead us in the pledge of allegiance. Please >> 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, Madame Clerk. Uh would you please read the notices regarding the closed session and hearings and comments? >> A close session meeting is authorized by state statute was announced and held prior to the start of this meeting and
the known items for discussion were listed on the published close session agenda. Please be advised that council meetings are broadcast live on Comcast channel 34 and 36 and Verizon channel 30 and rebroadcast on Thursdays and Saturdays on HTTV on Comcast 36 and
Verizon 33. When invited to speak, please come to the lectern clearly state your name and address, spell your last name, and speak into the podium microphone so that your comments can be understood by all and properly recorded. Whenever an audience or council member reads from a prepared statement, please
give or email a copy to the city clerk's office at citycler cityofsummit.org. To help facilitate an orderly meeting and to permit all to be heard, please limit your comments to no more than 3 minutes in length. Unless you are using an electronic device to follow the meeting agenda or need it for
professional emergency contact purposes, please turn it off. Thank you. >> Okay. Thank you. And I'm going to expand a bit on the city clerk's note about hearings and comments. This will facilitate a smoother process, particularly for those watching remotely. Um, if you are seated in one
of the first two rows, please remain silent. Anything you can say will be picked up by the recording microphones and make it very difficult to hear the official proceedings. And the three minute limit on public comments corresponds to a little bit less than a
single printed page. Um, if you're leaving your written remarks, please put your name on them and place them in the box near the lectern when you are done. And with that, let's move on to the city's business. Uh, beginning with the minutes for approval. Um, do I hear a
motion to approve the minutes of the regular and close session sessions of May 19th, 1926 with the closed session minutes as amended? >> So moved. >> Second. >> All in favor?
>> I. Any opposed? Minutes are approved. Um, [snorts] and then on to reports. Madame Mayor, thank you. Good evening, everyone. Thank you for being here. Um, we have our annual Pride and Junth events coming up this month. Summit Has
Pride will be held on Sunday, June 14th on the Village Green from 3 to 5:30 p.m. and will feature musical performances, health and educational displays, art activities, food trucks, and more. Our Junth celebration will be part of a two-part event this year, starting with
a flag raising on the Village Green on Friday, June 19th at 3 p.m. and then a pool party celebration at the Summit Family Aquatic Center on Saturday, June 20th. This event will be held from 12 to 5:00. And you do not need a pool membership to attend or swim. We'll have
food trucks, children's activities, music, and entertainment, and another flag raising ceremony. More information on both of these events is available on our city website. and hope to see you there. And I have an important travel advisory to share regarding the upcoming FIFA World Cup that's taking place at
Metife Stadium in East Rutherford. This event is expected to draw thousands of attendees throughout June and July. As there will be no on-site parking at Metife, all attendees will be relying upon public transportation to travel to and from the venue on game days. Substantial congestion is anticipated
across New Jersey Transit lines and stations in the surrounding area, including Summit, beginning several hours before each game and continuing for several hours after each game. Summit residents are advised to avoid non-essential travel on New Jersey Transits trains and buses on the
following days, June 13th, 16th, 22nd, 25th, 27th, and 30th, and July 5th and 19th. Those who have the flexibility to work remotely are strongly advised to do so rather than commuting on New Jersey Transit these days. Um, anyone needing
to use New Jersey Transit on those dates should allow extra travel time and consider alternate routes or modes of transportation where possible. This information is also on the home homepage of the city website for you to refer to as well as on New Jersey Transit's website. And last, I just last meeting
um uh Councilman Palowski um announced his resignation and I promised that I would make my comments not then because it was late in the evening and I would wait until today. Um and in the intervening couple of weeks, my
understanding is that, you know, we do typically honor PE um volunteers at the reorg meeting every year. But I still really feel strongly that given the dedication of Bob, I wanted to just stop for a second and say that he worked
literally non-stop. He worked so hard as a council person for the citizens of Summit that he couldn't both do his paying job and this job. He's a volunteer. He was the one who brought his power washer out and asked the city staff to make cleaning up the town a
priority. He didn't just ask them to. He showed up and he showed them how it could be done. And he spent his free time doing what he believed to be right. And he pushed to have Anderson Fieldhouse fixed and Cornog Fieldhouse fixed to align with what we all believe
that Summit is, which is, as I like to say, the GOAT. Um, and so I just wanted to make sure to take a minute to thank him for his dedication. Um, and just to say that he will be missed here in the day. Thank you. >> Thank you, Mayor.
[applause] >> And now on to Tammy Baldwin for the city administrators report. Administrator Baldwin. >> Thank you, Council President. Good evening, everyone. Um, please be advised that now through June 18th, the Health and Vital Statistics
Office will be closed from lunch uh for lunch uh from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday. Uh, we just have a temporary staffing issue. If you've watched budget presentations, council's very cognitive of the budget and uh, you know, we're a little bit leanely staffed and humans have issues
that come up and so we'll be closed for lunch just through the 18th. So, please have patience with us with that. Um, the Summit Free Market June events will be held on Saturday, June 13th from 8:00 am to 3 PM and Friday, June 26 from 12 PM
to 2 p.m. at the transfer station. Summit residents with a parking disposal permit can attend and browse donated items, take what they want for free, and you can also donate. Please review the donation guidelines on our website at cityofsummit.orgfreearket
um before you bring your items to donate. Please and reminder of summer hours at city hall. Um we are operating under our summer hours and it's now well it's from Memorial Day through Labor Day. Monday through Thursday we are open
from 8 to 4:30 and on Fridays from 8 to 1. So if you have any city business those would be the hours to attend. Thank you so much. >> Thank you. Um and for the council president's report first congratulations to last night's primary election winners. Um, we all look forward to a
positive campaign season focused on ideas and issues, right? [snorts] Um, in turning to more immediate business, we we do also wish former council member Palowski all the best and as the mayor indicated, we'll honor him at the reorganization meeting next January. Um,
want to explain the process to fill his seat for the remainder of the year. Um, because Mr. Powski is a Republican. The Republican party is responsible for providing the city clerk with three names for the remaining council members to choose between to replace Mr.
Palowski. Um that has happened. We're doing our due diligence now and we expect to welcome our new council member very shortly. Um council is going to hold two listening sessions this month, both in the youth lounge at the community center. Um the first is next
Monday the 8th from 7 to 8:30 and the second one is Monday the 22nd from 7:30 to 9. Um and finally my upcoming office hours for the month are Mondays the 8th and the 15th from 3:00 to 5:00 in the
council conference room. I'm always happy to meet at another time. Um and tonight mayor we may >> we may or may not. I don't think is Anna here. Anna Sporitz. No, I didn't think so. Okay. So, we were we have three
awards that were supposed to be presented um to our scholarship uh applications. They wrote essays. Um we had a semi- finalist that went to the state. Um we didn't have a finalist. We didn't have a winner this year. We did last year, which was fun, but um they were supposed to come and get recognized
and none of them could come tonight. So, um we'll give them their certificates at another time. >> Okay. Well, that that that's all of the end of the year pressures, I'm sure. Um, but we do have someone for the historic minute. So, over to you, Council Landman.
>> Uh, thank you, Council President. Tonight, I would like to welcome Hunter Patel to give the historical minute. You can come on up. Hunter, who happens to have incredible parents who do so much for the city of Summit, uh, is a junior at Summer Summit High School and he will be speaking tonight about the history of
Summit Middle School, the building. So, now over to you, Hunter. Thank you. >> Hello, my name is Hud Patel and I'm currently a junior at Summit High School. I participate in debate as well as numerous other clubs and activities including robotics club. Today I'll be going to the history of the L and C.
Johnson Summit Middle School. I attended the school myself from 2020 to 2023. So it is of significance to me. The Summit Middle School was built as the Summit Senior High School in 1923. It includes classical architecture with gargoyles on the roof as a result of the
time period. The gargoyles were placed at LCJ SMS when it was built, but are now hard to see since they're not near the current entrance and are hidden away on the roof. The gargoyles represent the five areas of study, which are science,
music, humanities, athletics, and industrial arts. Gargoyles were traditionally used to scare evil spirits off of buildings in Europe after the ancient Greeks had used them as decorative spouts for water. The inclusion of these gargoyles
demonstrates how the school was designed to go beyond basic utilitarianism and into symbolic and beautiful designs. During the 1960s, the current high school was built along Kent Place Boulevard. Due to this, the older school became the middle school as it is today.
While the older junior high schools were closed, the school was named after Lenin C. Johnson in 2004. He was a previous student of the Summit public school system who dedicated his life to serving the school community. He worked at the
middle school for 52 years in a variety of administrative roles, including office manager. He was known as an exceptional individual and for not having missed a day of work in 47 years. Around 2010, the school did renovations
including replacing old windows in order to maintain the original Gothic design. Landscaping was also redone in order to avoid large trees damaging the bricks and to be closer to the original landscaping style. These renovations
helped to maintain the 1920s design of the school for the modern era. Recently, air conditioning was added and the cafeteria was expanded. In addition, new innovation labs were built to improve steam education and the school received
large renovations to areas such as the entrances and athletic fields. Overall, Len C. Johnson Summit Middle School represents both the history and the future of education in Summit. While the building still preserves many of its original architectural details from
1923, it has continued to evolve in order to meet the needs of modern students with new renovations. These renovations and updates ensure that LCJS SMS will continue serving future generations of students for many years to come. Thank you. [applause]
COUNCIL [applause] PRESIDENT, at the risk of aging myself, I knew Mr. Johnson when he was in the middle school. >> Yes. Yes. >> Well, the junior high. >> I we I think many of us remember when it was named in on his behalf and I'm a huge fan of Gargoyle, so I appreciate
knowing that. >> Thank you. [snorts] Um and we do have a bonus presentation from community programs um about our newest park and perhaps some other updates. So assistant director David Guido will walk us through that. >> Thank you council president and goal is
to breeze through this very quickly. Going to give you the bird's eye view if you guys do have any other questions. Please let me know. I do know we have a packed agenda. So jumping right into it. So I know everybody's asking when our current playgrounds that are under construction are going to be done. Um maybe playground got some bad news today
is going to be pushed back to the week of June 29th. Um unfortunately there was some health issues there with the site foreman and a lot of drainage um work that they did not anticipate having as well as a large tree stump that they uncovered during the construction. So
we're getting there. Tatlock playground. If you head down there, it doesn't look like it's going to be done on Friday. They're still putting pieces together, but I was assured that by the end of the day, Friday, we would be able to open it. Um, more to come on that. We'll probably have to do an inspection. So,
might not be till Monday, when we tie up the loose ends, but Tatlock Playground is right there. So, that's super exciting. But the real reason we're here tonight is to talk about the new East Summit Playground that we've um had a grant application on the agenda for. We also had an acceptance of a donation.
So, wheels are turning on this. So, just as um some background information, the playground is envisioned to be a smaller scale neighborhood playground. Nothing like the playground at maybe which is huge or the beautiful owl at Tatlock. Not it's going to be a nice playground.
It'll be a solid playground, but nothing like wow that'll really draw people in. And that's done intentionally because we don't want to bring more parking issues to that neighborhood which we know is already overburdened um with the community center traffic. Um it's intended to be used primarily for
pedestrian traffic. So people will the goal is for people to walk there. That's why we're calling it the neighborhood playground. Um and after we've been talking about this in committee for I'll actually say years now. This conversation goes back to 2021 when the playground master plan was done. We
looked at different options and have been discussing it since then. So really thrilled to be able to finally build this and bring it to fruition. So, the specs that you're going to see in a little bit were designed by BRC and Game Time in conjunction with the grant that
was applied for a couple um a couple months ago. The design came in at $370,000 total um through the Bergen Bids contract. It it will be completely funded through donations currently after a grant is accepted tonight or a
donation is accepted tonight will as long as it's accepted will be at 396 on hand. So, um the remaining funds will be used to create about 8 to 10 parking spots down below. So, that'll be helpful in mitigating the traffic issue and um
making sure that Morris Court is kept um kept safe. um after we see the plans tonight and um they'll be all posted to the city's website tomorrow from June 3rd to July 3rd, we'll be soliciting any public input um on the project and then
hopefully based on that feedback, we'll be able to revise the plans if need be and award the contract through the Bergen bids again at the July 28th meeting. Um then there's a 6 to 8 week delivery time with expected construction
in September and October. So, um, by the end of this year, we'll have three brand new playgrounds in Summit. Um, if you look here, this is what the, um, playground for the 2 to 5year-olds is going to look like. We have the large play structure, some balance beams,
really cool with the swing set. So, this is a 2 to 5 playground. There's the additional features as well. So, that's why we're calling this a predominantly 2 to 5 playground. We will have the one structure that the 5 to 12 year olds will be able to play on which um love
this design. It's super cool. But again, not not predominantly um none of the other ancillary items for the 5 to 12 year olds. Those are only for the um young ones. And this is kind of just a schematic map. If you look here in this
area, you guys cannot see it, but the basically the blank white space um in the bottom of the 5 to12 play area is where the tiny forest is. So the uh parking will be over closer to Morris Court. Um so that's the East Summit
playground. I know that this kind of comes up because this is what's we're looking at heading towards now. So I'll just cover it very quickly. Memorial playground. We know that where there is a piece that is not in great condition. Um part of it is shut down. So in the
capital budget, as long as it is um not adopted, but when the bond ordinances are approved, there is $200,000 allocated there. Um by mid June, um we are going to hope to have a communitywide survey out which will help us um design the playground. And by the
fall, we're going to have conversations in the CPPS committee um and decide whether we're going to completely redo the playground all at once or replace the one defective piece and um come back in the fall and come back with another uh capital request in 2027. And that'll
all be driven by fundraising. But we want all of the Memorial neighbors to know and Brighton kids to know we are looking at that. That is it is being prioritized in addition to the CS Summit playground. So, super quick, but if you have any questions, let me know. Council President, >> thank you. Ye. Yes, Council Member
Boyer. Ju >> I'm thinking, were you going to do the Bobcat at the memorial playground? You know, >> that'd be pretty cool. >> You got the Washington owl. Okay. >> Okay. Okay. Thank you, Mr. >> Thank you.
>> Okay. Um Okay. Okay. So, let let us move on to ordinances for hearing. Um, madame clerk, would you please read ordinance for hearing number 26-3381?
Ordinance of the city of Summit, uh, County of Union, New Jersey, authorizing the subdivision of mun municipal property known as block 1702, lot 48, and authorizing the subsequent transfer of the subdivided portion of municipal
property no longer needed for public use by private sale to duly incorporated nonprofit organization. >> Thank you, Council Member Grace. >> Thank you, Council President. Ordinance 26-3381 would authorize a subdivision of city
property for use by a nonprofit organization to construct and operate a group home for four special needs individuals. This home is proposed to be located at 701 Springfield Avenue fulfilling a requirement under the terms of Summit's affordable housing agreement
from December 2025. This commitment is time-sensitive and we are under the court scrutiny for implementation of the agreement of the agreement. Not moving forward with the elements of the agreement, especially the first one to come to consideration by council could
put some at risk of builder's remedy which would remove our protections from further overdevelopment, including a potential eight-story building overlooking the village green. I move to continue the hearing. Oh, I move I'm sorry.
>> Uh I move to open the hearing. >> Thank you. There a second. >> Second. >> Okay. Um are there any members of the public who would like to speak to this? Okay. [snorts] Please tell us your name, where you live.
>> Ben Hillview Terrace. >> Okay. And and I'm sorry I failed to say at the outset, just don't want to surprise you that we do have a threeminut limit on public comments. >> I'll speak quickly. Sure. Since 1965, the National Recreation and Park Association has recommended that cities
have at least 10 acres of parkland for every thousand residents. The median American city meets this goal with 10.8 acres per thousand residents. However, Summit with approximately 22,700 residents has only 51.5 acres of municipal park. That's Reed Reed, Memorial Field, maybe Playground, and
Wilson Park combined. If you're super generous and include all of Bryant Park, uh, which is a county park, that's 41% in Springfield, you get to 102 acres, still less than half the amount the NRPA recommends for Summit's population. Even if you stretch it further to include
dedicated sports facilities like Investor Banks Field and Glenside Fields, which don't meet the definition of parkland, Summit is still way below target. So, I think that the council and the mayor need to be very thoughtful and above the board about any proposals that
can cannibalize Summit's parks. In 2007, when Wilson School was being refurbished and returned to service as an educational facility at the urging of then Mayor Glatt, the common council created the Wilson Park Task Force. The task was to address both the potential impact of the reopening of Wilson
Primary Center and the general state of the park, including the tennis courts and ball fields, which had originally been developed in 1974 when Wilson School was built. The Wilson School Task Force completed its report, presented it to the common council on July 1, 2008,
and the report and its recommendations were adopted. Most recommendations were realized, notably a complete rebuild of the ball fields in the eastern part of the park and later the the replacement of six derelic tennis courts in the western part of the park by a healthy
stand of grass for casual play. Since then, unresolved items in the report either solve themselves organically, the the art park, you know, dis mostly just disappeared, or remain open, light pollution, parking issues, and the condition of the basketball court. To my knowledge, neither the
common council nor any public committee chartered by the council has examined or adopted new policies that supersede the 2008 Wilson Park task for report. So I believe it stands as current policy. To be clear, the task for task force report
does not contemplate subdivision of or residential development within Wilson Park. Instead, it recommends that the park should be quote preserved for future generations with no desire to change the use, the profile, or the culture that has evolved over the years.
End quote. In conflict with this broad understanding, the preamble of the resolution states that block 1702 lot 48 has been identified as not needed for municipal purposes. This claim is factually wrong. To my mind, these two
reasons, Summit's already inadequate parktoerson ratio and the pre-existence of clear publicly negotiated policies with respect to Wilson Park and its use, demand that the proposed vote tonight be tabled indefinitely. Any proposal to
subdivide Wilson Park for any use requires wholesome public discussion and negotiation which has not occurred. Thank you. >> Thank you. And then if you could leave your comments, um either email them or leave them in the box. >> He's going to email them.
>> Email. Thank you. Okay. Good evening. >> Hi. Sorry. Okay. Three minutes, right? Yeah. >> I'm just gonna read this. Um, uh, my name is Allison Powers and I'm writing or I'm telling you, uh, to
standing here to express my strong opposition to the proposed schematic that would eliminate a portion of Wilson Park. >> Sorry, we just need your your address, too. >> Oh. Uh, my family lives at 79 Beakman Road. Uh, just a short walk from Wilson Park. Um, our multigenerational
household includes my husband, our two young daughters, aged three and seven, my 82year-old father-in-law and our 13-year-old rescue dog. When we relocated from the city during the pandemic, access to walkable green space was a non-negotiable for us, and Wilson
Park was a deciding factor in buying our home. This park is truly the heartbeat of our daily life. We are there constantly whether my daughters are playing on the playground, my father-in-law is walking on the paths by the wood or our family is using the
paddle tennis courts or like I did last night, I walk this path um that I believe is proposed to get rid of in um the proposal uh to Springfield to play maong with some friends. Um, having
reviewed the proposed schematic, I'm deeply alarmed by both the environmental destruction and the potential fiscal um, site choice or the potential fiscal implications of this particular site choice. Um, and I urge you to reject the
plan based on some of these following points. Um, the proposed site at Wilson Park sits on this really steep hill with these huge, beautiful trees. And I don't know much about buildings, but I believe to build on that hill, uh, the city
would probably face some serious overhead costs with chopping down all of those trees and excavating the grade in order to be able to actually build on this lot. Um, paying like spending taxpayer dollars to
fight and destroy the existing park infrastructure. And um I imagine you'll have to build a costly retaining wall, but um spending taxpayer dollars to fight the gravity and destroy the existing park infrastructure is fiscally
irresponsible, especially when probably more economical and level alternatives exist. Um the tree elve that's slated for destruction is a vital shield for our neighborhood. It provides essential shade that cools the paddle board courts and makes them safe for the seniors and
the young children during peak summer temperatures. It acts as a crucial nature and sound barrier, sheltering the entire playground and park from heavy noise in the fastm moving traffic of Springfield Avenue. Um, in the area of climate change and pollin pollinator
habitat loss, um, cutting clear a mature grove of trees seems to run directly counter to Summit's environmental goals. Um, I did a little Googling, which I probably shouldn't have, but let me find my second piece of paper here.
Um, I don't think we need to compromise. Um, for example, there are other there's potential places um, houses that are for sale. For example, 24 Frank, there we go. I was going to say, thank you. Sorry about that. >> Thank you. If you leave your comments,
they'll they'll be attached to the minutes. Your name on them. Yep. >> Great. Thank you. Should I leave here? >> Thank you. >> Good evening. >> Good evening.
>> Kim Leonard, 81 Beakman Road, LEO ND. Um, I want to be clear in that I support affordable housing in the city of Summit and I agree that the city should help our house secure a new location. I
strongly oppose subdividing and donating any of our public parks. This doing so sets a very dangerous president. That means we're setting a president today. It's Wilson Park. It could be any park tomorrow.
So, I opposed the proposed ordinance based on the following critical points. Number one, factual and accuracy in the ordinance. The claim that this land is not needed for m municipal purposes is
patently false. The 2000 master plan, the 2008 Wilson PA task force plan, the 2016 revision plan, all state that this park should be
preserved the way it is as parkland. And it it even I believe it was the master plan that said we should when it becomes available purchase the Red Cross building and square off the park. That was never done. Right now we probably could have
our board of ed building offices in there and have freight up more space within the Wilson um school, but that wasn't done. Um my question is why do we pay all this money and people take all this time to do all these reports to
tell you what should be done and then we go and do something different. I know we're in a sticky position right now but there are other options. Um the second point is the site suitability and the title encumbrances.
Per page 40 of the city's affordable housing plan. sites must have a clear title free of incumbrances. The city failed to conduct due diligence or a title search at the Elizabeth Courthouse before moving forward,
ignoring the potential deed restrictions that I personally submitted to town hall. And let me be clear, I first approached the town back in the end of February, beginning of March, a long time ago. I went and got the deed myself. I copied it. I brought it back
to town hall weeks ago. So when you try to pressure us that this needs to be done or the state's going to come and blah blah blah, shame on you. Shame on the city. That was due diligence that should have been done that wasn't and and was brought to your attention and
still wasn't done. The next critical point is the misuse of state exclusions. So the state allows Summit to it and allows all towns to exclude parkland open space
and provides them with VLAS, right? So we get land we get credits back. We don't have to >> so much more. >> If if you submit if you submit your written comments, they will say environmental and flooding. Thank you, Ms. Leonard.
>> Expansion limiting the future school. Thank you, Miss Leonard. >> [applause and cheering] >> Good evening, mayor and council. My name is Nicole Deloro. It's D L A U R O and I reside at one Oakley A. My concern is
not the mission of our house, but the precedent of subdividing and transferring public park and open space. Open space is one of the most limited community assets and one of the most difficult to replace once reduced.
Decisions like this extend beyond a single project and set precedent for how future needs are addressed. Wilson Park serves a broader public purpose today. and preserving public open space should
remain an important planning principle for future generations. Thank you for your consideration. >> Thank you. >> Hi, good evening. My name is Christina Kogan. I live on 686 [clears throat] Springfield Avenue diagonally across the
street from the proposed home. Um, I am not against an affordable home. Um, I just don't believe this location is fitting for this home. When you're driving on Springfield Avenue, there's a big bend and it makes it very hard to
get in and out of the driveways. On that side particularly, it's even worse. And to build a home for disabled people, I don't feel that it's safe for them and for the community who are driving and walking and riding their bikes. So, my
concern is really just about the safety and also I second everything else my neighbors have said about preserving the park. Um, that goes beyond, you know, for me it's like kind of common sense. We don't even have that much park space.
Why take it away? So, hope you guys reconsider this. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Good evening, Mayor and Council. My name is Cara Causalino. Um, we recently bought our home at Nine Beakman Terrace
after a very long search. Uh, one of the reasons we picked our home was because of the close proximity to Wilson Park. We have two little boys, ages three and five, and the park is honestly it's like their second home. Every day they beg us
to go to the park. They love that place. It's like I can't even imagine something happening, you know, to like what I say like their second home. Um because so many kids in the area like rely on this place as a place to just feel free and
safe. Um and it's really all the families in our area. We all gather there at night. It's a it's a it's just like a crucial part of why we bought to be, you know, to be in Summit. Um, I can't imagine what the park would be like if it were subdivided. Beyond losing valuable open space, to be
honest, I would also be concerned about like the safety of small children. Um, and some of the families who use the park regularly. The openness of the park allows for children to to play like freely and safely. Everybody is always a running around. My um, my oldest goes to Wilson right now. They all stay and play
afterwards. They're there for hours after school. are there for hours after dinner into the evening. Um, it's just very much a place where the whole neighborhood gathers and a place that we all get to benefit from. So, we strongly hope that Wilson Park will be preserved in its current form for the families and
the residents who rely on it every day and all the children who consider it their home. Thank you. >> Thank you. [applause] >> Do we have any other comments from members of the public? Okay. Hi uh Norah Raidist 18 Blackburn
Place um I just have a question and I don't need it answered tonight but I would like an answer from someone from the city or council is to why why are we here at this point with needing to build um 140ome affordable units when I was under the impression a year ago that it
was closer to 82. So how do we get to this point? I would like an answer to that not tonight. And to that point the last time I was standing up here I asked a question and I have not gotten an answer yet. So, I would appreciate an answer to both of those when you have time and I know you're busy and I appreciate your hard work. Thank you.
>> Thank you. >> Okay. Any other public comments? Okay. I'll um declare the public portion of the hearing closed and we can move on to other council member comments. >> Uh council, >> I'm going to speak. So,
>> yes, [laughter] of course. >> Thank you, council president. >> Of course. Um, I would like to share with the public why I am not supportive of this ordinance. Uh, first, the ordinance includes a statement that is false that this municipal property is quote no
longer needed for public use. This is incorrect for two reasons. One, the public uses this area of Wilson Park every day. As you've heard, the school uses the field for events. The residents use the field every day, including the portion to be subdivided. Second, we may need this property for
another use in the future. As the city adds over 500 new housing units as part of the affordable housing plan over the next nine years, we may need to reszone our schools to relieve pressure in particular from Washington School. We may need to move those students to Wilson and expand the parking and relo
excuse me, expand the building and relocate the parking. We cannot be short-sighted and give away this property. Now, second, in the city's master plan, Wilson Park is listed as one of quote, "Those few remaining parcels of vacant land, public or private, which would benefit the surrounding neighborhood for
recreation or open space." The 2025 environmental resource inventory states that Summit only has.1% of land deemed as recreational land. How can we responsibly cut any portion of this land, this precious resource? Third, this area of Springfield Avenue
has been developed over the past few years, significantly increasing the impervious surface on the north side of the road. This new development would be located within within 500 ft of the properties on Springfield experiencing Saltbrook erosion. Will this council continue to contribute to the
environmental emergency happening on the stretch of the Saltbrook by adding impervious surface, removing a significant number of 100 plus year old trees, and disrupting the soil. Fourth, I see in the 2026 affordable housing plan that Burgess lists 701 Springfield as quote does not qualify
for development in the vacant land assessment. I've heard some explanations as to why it was listed that way. Uh but it makes me wonder, are there other properties on this list that are incorrectly listed as does not qualify? Which of those properties could we consider as alternatives?
Fifth, I believe the city has not fully explored every alternative to subdividing the park. I know it may be challenging and we are under a time constraint, but I think it's in the best interest of the city to fully explore all options. And finally, if there is no possibility of using a different site,
we should create a spot zone with smaller setbacks to reduce the property size as much as possible to preserve park space and reduce the damage to the existing trees and woods. Given we have only seen a concept plan and not the actual dimensions for the subdivision, how can we pass this ordinance? We
should know what we're signing up for. For all those reasons, I do not support this ordinance. Thank you. >> Thank you. Do we have other council member comments? >> Council President. >> Yes, Council Member Ber. >> First, I'd like to uh ask our land manager, Austo, uh to explain the
process to the residents. Um a the process of how we choose the the available land, the vacant land use. um how this was selected and
um what is the potential recourse if we don't approve this for the city? I know that's a laundry list but I think the residents [laughter] probably would need to know >> through you council president. >> Yes, Mr. Damaso.
So the process for selection of the site occurred over the course of about a year and a half in preparation for the city's housing element and fair share plan. And at the time the city meticulously went through all the parcels listed on the VA
and other potential parcels or paper streets that we know of in town to determine what would be the most viable site. I'm going to interrupt you for just a moment. For those who watching this meeting who don't know, VA means vacant land analysis. As part of the
process, we did go through and look at every single undeveloped parcel in town. >> Yes. >> Those the city controls and those it doesn't. >> Yes. And to that same point, the question was raised, well, why doesn't the city uh seek to purchase an existing
home to meet those requirements? uh when we were comparing in a cost analysis between what we we could do with available land that the city owned versus purchasing a home given the medium home price in Summit, it would have been much more ownorous and the
city was expecting to spend uh a minimum of a million dollars out of the affordable housing trust fund, not tax dollars, to procure a home that would meet the requirements for a group home for differentlyabled individuals. Um now
uh through the past it was done once before and our house was lucky enough to find the property on I think it's Greenfield Avenue. >> Um but that opportunity did not present itself. Um we considered a variety of areas and neighborhoods where homes
would pop up. We did receive recommendations from members of community and council at the time and now. Um but none of those parcels were either economically feasible or viable for the development of a new structure.
Um so that brings us to this point. Uh I am aware I have received my office has received many calls from upset residents about the location, the conditions, the circumstances of a subdivision of this park. And we take all those concerns very very
seriously because we recognize that yes there is open space that is going to be lost. And to that same point, while it may state here uh does not serve such a does not serve a municipal purpose, um I would tend to agree uh the
development of affordable housing is a municipal purpose. And uh we do want to as effectively as possible, as costefficiently as possible, be able to include it. And so we're at this parcel. The subdivision process would go to the
planning board and they would have consideration on the size of the parcel, the potential for a structure to be put there. The city would be covering the specific cutout that would be proposed and any conditions set forth for the
development of the parcel for a structure to go there. On that same point, any concerns that may have? Yes, there are many mature trees and I've already instructed the city forester to go and take account of any uh municipally owned trees that
might be removed and put forward u proposals for how the city and the potential future holder of that subdivision uh for replacements to take account of the requests for adequate screening from
the area for the park, the raetball courts, homeowners across the street and any further replacements required. Um, so, uh, I do want to stress to the public that, um, I've
also, my office has also received a lot of comments of, well, how can we do this? How can we do this? and uh members of the public, it's the duty of any city official to protect the interests of the overall town.
And in taking this action, it's affecting putting into effect the first one of the first portions of compliance for the city's housing element and fair share plan. people cast away sometimes the severity
with which the courts have treated the program and how challenggers have treated towns across New Jersey through the program. Um but they're very real. Uh so that's something that this council can take into consideration and any
issues that regard the remaining public land or any other public lands I am more than happy to receive that feedback and work with the elected officials to form a plan on how we can improve our green spaces for the future. How can we how
[clears throat] we can uh improve the uh overall land uses in town. Um so we are receptive to that feedback. I hope that answered in question apart what the process is planning board application uh and the circumstances which the city
is faced with. >> Yeah. One one last question. There was a is there a deed issue? One of the residents brought up a deed issue. So of the documentation I've reviewed uh I am aware that in 1972
there was a life deed uh conferred of the various properties of the former Wilson estate uh defining which defined the uh I
believe they were five parcels. Uh the two conditions expressed in that deed were to state that one, at some point after the passing of the prior owner, the city would construct and put into effect the development of a school
there, which it did comply with. And during the pendency of the life of that individual, they would be allowed to live there and a um I believe a a home would remain for uh for them to continue living there. there and then the home was eventually demolished once the
school was put up. Um so from the documentation I have seen I believe and our council um affordable housing attorney believes that there are no conditions at this time which would impede the city from proceeding with a
project like this. >> Do we have further? >> Yes, Council Member Calmanson. >> Um thank you council president. Um, Austo, could you um clarify? Like we talked about this before a bit. If the title did not come back clean, we expect
that it will, but if it did not, could you explain what happens? What happens then? Hypothetically, if there was a constraint on the title prohibiting the city from taking action for this municipal purpose, um then we would have
to reconsider how we would apply that to our plan and inform all of the interested parties both within the city um and our uh other parties such as our house, fair share housing center and the administrative offices of the court.
>> Okay. >> Yeah. >> Um thank you. And another question. So this um our house property was put into our affordable housing plan originally at a different location. Was that location approved by our house?
>> So when we uh were going through the potential alternatives towards the beginning of the year was actually the address listed in the housing element fair share plan. we came down to two which would have been effective uh which was 701 Springfield and the uh
two corner uh two lots on the corner of Springfield Avenue and Oakley Avenue. So when we were headed towards uh the adoption of the housing element, we had vetted both sites with our house
>> and they were in agreement that um they could fit a group home for four differently aabled individuals on either of them. Uh and each had its own challenges. There is a challenge of um the grade on 701, but there is just as
much challenge of the tree removal and landscaping required on the corner of Springfield and Oakley. >> I'm sorry. I actually meant a different property. >> Oh. Oh, and >> Edgewood. I apologize. I should have I should have said Edgewood. >> Okay. Um there was >> that was the original one in the plan. Correct.
>> Yes. Yes. Um, the Edgewood property was just as complicated or if not more complicated because the primary access to it lied within a 30ft span of the neighboring properties. So if you were
to imagine two properties and in between them a 30x 200 ft driveway, that driveway would have been the necessary access downhill to uh develop a home there on a slope. Um which would have
required intense grading, intense landscaping, retaining walls to maintain the structure from uh erosion risk for the future. uh and you know emergency service access might be difficult in a property like that. So those were the
three that were really open for consideration. >> Okay. Thank you. So So we had three properties that were open for for consideration and we put one in >> and then our house looked at it and they said this doesn't work for us. We we just can't work with this. So I just
want to be clear. I want the public to understand that there were three council members that were on the Mount Laurel committee that worked on that this last year and none of them are up here anymore. They're not up here and they've essentially put a bomb in this council's lap. And I just I just want people to
understand what has happened right now. So I I thank you. I appreciate it. Like I mean I take no pleasure I take no pleasure in this. Like no one takes any pleasure in this. I just I I want people to understand how we got here, how we arrived here. Um, and thank you for your
time. Thank you for, you know, coming tonight, Austo. Always always appreciate your um your insight and thank you, [snorts] >> Council Member Lucer Cena. >> Thank you, Council President. Uh, I first want to thank our neighbors who
have stopped us on the sidewalk and called us and emailed us and and shown up at council meetings to express their very legitimate concerns about this particular site selection. [snorts] I think we are all in agreement.
We want to make space for this project for our house, but this this is not a good site for to make that space, right? It is it is deeply unsatisfying. I I realize that unfortunately I personally
feel we have we have shaken the trees we have looked at all of the other alternatives and there really are none. Uh in my view unfortunately I think for us to honor the commitments of city leadership who came before us and as a a brief aside this is a carryover
obligation from round three. So, this was actually a project that was supposed to be completed during the 2015 2025 uh program period that that is now a carryover. And I share that not not to
cast blame on anyone else. I the buck stops with us. This is our decision to make on the site selection. Um but the project again has you know so has kind of been long overdue. we we need to find a space for this project so that we can
honor the commitments that have been made by those who went before us uh with respect to our affordable housing program. >> So again, I I know it's it's deeply unsatisfying. We we do hear your concerns. We share your concerns. We agree this is a really really crummy
site. Uh and in particular, I want to acknowledge Councilwoman Landman. She has worked so hard. She has stretched creativity. She has researched deeply and she has invested so much time and I know whenever she's doing anything else this is running in the back of her brain
if it's not in the fore of her brain and she's dedicated so many hours to trying to figure out any other alternative. Um, in my view in this moment, again, I think unfortunately there just is not another alternative. But I think there are several of us who are committed to
doing everything within our power to mitigate the negative impact to the green space to the neighborhood. So again, that this feedback is very much heard and appreciated and we are going to continue to work it um and do a guess
do our best again to try to mitigate the the damage. Thank you. Council member Christopher, did you want to say something? >> Yes. Thank you, Council President. Quite frankly, this is the most unpleasant and difficult vote that um uh I've seen on
my time here in council and for all the reasons cited. Uh it's a very unpleasant decision to make. Uh the loss of forested land um among other reasons. Um, and my decision really boils down to do I want to risk given the scrutiny
that we are currently under uh by the judge who calls quite frequently when they hear any signs or have any suspicions that we are not going to meet or we're threatening not to meet our obligations under the agreement. Um, and
the result of that could be us losing our protections from uh developers. we would basically our zoning would be suspended and developers could develop significantly larger buildings um in various places across town including on
the village green and I feel that would be devastating to our town and faced with that choice um I'm going to have to vote to to move forward with this project >> council president. Yes. Coun Council member Ber,
>> just a quick statement. I I had asked Augusto to to give the residents some information, but I didn't get the comment. >> That's correct. >> Um, so, you know, I I've I've said it over and over in this chamber uh during
my two and a half years here. So, let let me just go through the list here, right? We have um Ashlin and Broad Street. We have that project, right? and Ashwood. Yeah, sorry. Ashwood. I get
my Ashlands and Ashwoods mixed up sometimes. So, we have Broad and and and uh and Ashwood, right? Um then we have the property on Shumpike that people don't want there. Um and now we have the property here at Wilson School that
people don't want there. Um this is a pattern, right? And I've said it before, you know, everybody wants affordable housing, but nobody wants affordable housing. And I get it,
right? Um I've said this before, like the the this the state has mandated municipalities to deal with this. And by the way, 10 years from now, you're gonna be looking at five, four, 600 more,
right? So you can block Wilson now and you can block this corner now and that corner now, but it's going to be the same fight in 10 years. My recommendation for the residents of summit is something that you know I have done which is talk to your legislators
right and and then Trenton and your votes matter because these folks are overdeveloping your town. And by the way, they shouldn't handcuff us in privileged discussions about this. Be transparent.
Lay it all out. Show the residents the whole affordable housing plan. If you really want affordable housing in Summit, here's the plan. Y'all tell us where where it goes. Because my plan is this, right? I've said this in the
beginning. fix the current lowincome housing you have right now. And in that plan, we did. We got that accomplished hopefully. But that is where you start. There's people that need relief. You know where they live?
In the back of Chase building when you walk past the bank, right? Go back there, see the conditions of it. Weaver Street. You ever been in there? You see their playgrounds? Go in there. Look at the conditions of it. It ain't hard to find a summit,
but we're strapped with this. Now, listen, I I'm not going to hide behind, you know, we have no choice because, you know, it it's it is not fully true. We could all sit up here and reject this, but we have
to deal with the outcome that comes with that, which is our fair share housing plan gets ripped up. And the real possibility because they the the state likes cities with trains and the real
possibility is we forgo Wilson, we forgo Shunpike, but you have to um deal with seeing a 10-story building on Broad Street and um >> Summit Avenue,
>> right? So where where is it in? I don't particularly want any of it. I I just said that. So, um, my responsibility is to you all. Um, and
this is just, by the way, this is just the council giving the council's approval to send a a plan to the planning board. This is not like the the full marked up plan of how it's going to
look and and everything. Um, am I right by saying that, August? >> That is correct. >> Okay. All right. Um, but with that, >> thank you. >> Thank you. And yes, Mayor, I know you're anxious to say something. >> Yeah. Um,
I want to echo a lot of what um, Councilman Boyer just said. Listen, the affordable housing legislation is a problem for municipalities, okay? We all want affordable housing. It's hard in New Jersey. It's really hard in Summit. We are in an expensive town. Land is not
cheap. You all know that. You bought your homes here. Okay. So, when we sat for uh 3 4 hours every single week for 18 months to first of all try to finish out round three, which we had 10 years
to do and suddenly in the last year we had to figure it out. Uh and then we had to create a plan for the next 10 years. And I think I said to Austo a thousand times, I don't like it. I don't like it. And he said to me, well, you have three
poison pills. Pick one. And it wasn't he was being mean. That's the fact. The fact is there are developers that are circling like uh hawks to prey on municipalities where they can make a lot of money. Guess what? We're lucky enough
to live in one. But what that means is that there's there are developers that want to put an eight-story building on a corner with where, you know, right across from our village green. We had to say, "Okay, well, we could have that guy or we could have this other person
that's maybe a little bit more reasonable. It still stinks. I still don't like it, but I have to do something to protect us from this other nasty giant albatross." Okay. And so we were
very thoughtful. Unfortunately, there are a lot of poison pills, but what I will say is, and sort of an answer to your question, uh, mayor, um, we got to this place because we were trying to be creative because what
happens when you get a number from Fairshare is you get a number, you multiply it by five because that's what the developers want to do. They want to put in their affordable housing, they do 20% of whatever it is they're developing, right? And so that means
that for every one affordable unit, there's another four market value units. So if our number is 345, multiply it by five, math is 1,500ish unit new units. Okay? And so in order to
diminish that as best we could, we were creative about places where we could get a little bit more credit. So, special needs housing, veterans housing, places where and and by the way, making sure that we are we
are an inclusive community. We didn't want, you know, in our master plan, it says we don't we want mixed inclusionary affordable housing. So, that means not a building with 100% affordable. It means mixed. it means with with market value
or market um rate housing. So, it's real tricky when you don't have land, which we don't. Um, and so we we shook every tree. And I when I tell you we really spent thousands of hours um, and we
relied a lot on our professionals to give us some guidance about how we could protect ourselves from as best we could because we're all getting every municipality in New Jersey is getting overdeveloped and that starts in Trenton. So you don't like it, talk to your legislators
and understand that this isn't going away. and the best we we this is the best outcome we could possibly have had to limit the the number of new units in this town. Thank you. >> Okay. Thank you. And and I only can echo
what Council Member Lera Cena said. Um both thanking the residents um recognizing the the hard hard work council member Landman has done looking for alternatives. Um, but like a couple of other council members up here, this is the best bad
choice because all of the choices are crummy. Um, the city controls almost no vacant land. Um, and and I guess um yeah, Mr. Mr. Damaso has not yet offered me a poison pill
explicitly, but I think this is the one we're going to have to take. Um [laughter] so with that um madame clerk I think we shall move on to or close this hearing and move on to ordinance for final consideration. So again would you please
read the title of ordinance number 263381. Ordinance of the city of Summit, County of Union, New Jersey, authorizing the subdivision of municipal property known as block 1702, lot 48, and authorizing the subsequent transfer of the subdivided portion of municipal property
no longer needed for public use by private sale to duly incorporated nonprofit organization. >> Okay. Thank you, Council Member Chrisouli. >> Thank you, Council President. Um, having just completed this hearing
moments ago, I move to uh vote. >> Okay. Do I hear a second? >> Second. >> Okay. Roll call, please. >> Mr. Ber, >> I. >> Mr. Christopher, >> I. >> Miss Cmanson, >> I. >> Miss Landman,
>> nay. >> Miss Laroscina, >> I. >> President Toth? >> I. Motion carries. Okay, we are going to move on to ordinances for introduction. Um, and this is the council member landman show. So, um, madame clerk,
would you please read ordinance for introduction 12583? bond ordinance appropriating $5,64,000 and authorizing issuance of $5,337,000
bonds or notes of the city for various improvements or purposes authorized to be undertaken by the city of Summit in the county of Union, New Jersey. >> Uh thank you, Council Member Landman. >> Uh thank you, Council President. Um these actually next three ordinances are
our annual ordinances authorizing the city to issue bonds to cover the capital plans for the sewer utility, municipality, and the parking utility. It's an administrative step following the approval of the annual budget which happened last month. Um [snorts] so with that, I move to introduce this
ordinance. >> Do I hear a second? >> Second. >> Uh may we have the roll call, please? >> Mr. Ber, >> I. >> Mr. Chris Foley, >> I. Miss Calmanson >> I >> Miss Landman >> I >> Mrs. Sarcena >> I >> President Toth >> I
>> um Okay, Madame Clerk, would you please read um ordinance for introduction ID12584? bond ordinance appropriating $2,250,000 and authorizing issuance of $2,142,000 bonds or notes of the city for various
sewer utility improvements or purposes authorized to be undertaken by the city of Summit County of Union, New Jersey. >> Okay. Thank you, Council Member Landman. >> Thank you, Council President. As I mentioned, this bond ordinance stems from the sewer utilities 2026 budget and authorizes issuing bonds sufficient to
cover the sew sewer utilities 2026 capital plan. And I move to introduce this ordinance. >> Second. >> Okay. Roll call, please. >> Mr. Ber, >> I. >> Mr. Chris Foley, >> I. >> Miss Cmanson, >> I. >> Miss Ladman, >> I. >> Miss Saroscina, >> I. >> President Toe,
>> I. Um, Madame Clerk, would you please read um ordinance for introduction ID 12582, >> bond ordinance providing for the improvement of parking facilities in and by the city of Summit, County of Union, New Jersey, appropriating $2,593,000.
Therefore, and authorizing issuance of $2,469,000 bonds or notes of the city for financing such appropriation. >> Thank you for reading the correct ordinance. I meant ID number 12580. Council member Landman.
>> Thank you, Council President. And last but not least, this bond ordinance stems from the parking utilities 2026 budget authorizing issuing bonds or notes sufficient to cover the parking utilities capital plan. I move to introduce this ordinance. >> Second. Roll call, please. >> Mr. Ber,
>> I. >> Mr. Chris Foley, >> I. >> Miss Calmanson, >> I. >> Miss Landman, >> I. >> Miss Laroscina, >> I. >> President Toth. >> I. Um, thank you. Um, Madame Clerk, would you please read ordinance for introduction number ID 12582, >> an ordinance to amend the code appendix
A, schedule of fees contained in the revised general ordinances of the city of Summit. >> Thank you, Council Member Landman. Uh before I move to introduce this ordinance, I move to amend the proposed ordinance by changing one word. In section A50, fees to be collected by the
chief of police in subsection N. The second sentence should read as follows. Accordingly, the city may assess a special service charge in accordance with NJSA 471A-5C as follows. Making this amendment will ensure that the that we comply with the
state statute regarding victim's rights and provide the police chief with the discretion to wave the fee in certain circumstances. >> Um okay. >> Do I have a second? >> I'm sorry. >> Madam, >> you need a second. >> Yes. >> Second. >> Okay. So, so we are first amending the
or Okay. Um may I have um our city solicitor? >> You can just you can just vote on the >> amended ordinance. Ordinance as amended. Um the amendment is coming from the person who's making the motion. >> Ah that simplifies things. Thank you.
>> Ordinance as amended then. >> Okay. >> Mr. Ber >> I. >> Mr. Chris Foley >> I. >> Miss Cmanson >> I. >> Miss Lamman >> I. >> Mr. Sarosina. >> I. >> President Toth. >> I. >> Okay. Thank you. Um, madame clerk, would
you please read um ordinance for introdu in introduction ID 12583? >> Uh, we just read that. >> Oh, I'm sorry. 51. >> Um, okay. I I am on the next page. Thank you. Okay, then let's try 12511.
>> Okay. an ordinance to establish the 2026 salaries, wages, or compensations of and for the officers and employees of the city of Summit County of Union, New Jersey. That's it. Period. [laughter] >> Thank you, [clears throat] Council Member Landman.
>> Thank you, Council President. Ordinance 12511 establishes the 2026 salaries for union and non-UN employees. These annual adjustments to salaries and wages reflect the increases passed in the 2026 municipal budget. I move to introduce this ordinance. Second.
>> Um, and then I we we probably should note before taking the the roll call that the hearing date listed is incorrect. Um, >> yes. My apologies. That be the 16th. >> It of of this year >> of this year. >> This year. [laughter]
>> Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Okay. M and thank you for that, Madam Mayor. Um, may >> that was a carryover from Minute Track, by the way. Okay. Okay. Yeah, it it it looked like it was just a cut and paste from last year. Um, may we have the roll
call, please? >> Mr. Ber, >> I. >> Mr. Chris Foley, >> I. >> Miss Calmanson, >> I. >> Miss Landman, >> I. >> Mr. Saroscena, >> I. >> President T. >> I. Um, now, Council Member Landman gets a break. Um, madame clerk, would you please read
ordinance for introduction ID12601? >> An ordinance amending chapter 3, police regulations of the code of the city of Summit County of Union, New Jersey, adding a new section 3-20 entitled drones and other unmanned aircraft. >> Thank you, Council Member Calmanson.
>> Thank you, Council President. This is ordinance ID2601 and this ordinance regulates drones and unmanned aircraft in the city of Summit. With a hearing date of June 16, I move to introduce this ordinance. >> Second. >> Okay. Roll call, please.
>> Mr. Ber, >> I. >> Mr. Chrisfoley, >> I. >> Miss Celmanson. >> Hi. >> Miss Landman. >> Hi. >> Mrs. Saroscina. >> I. >> President Tuk. >> I. Um, and then madame clerk, would you please read ordinance for ID or ordinance for introduction? We're
getting punchy. ID12599. An ordinance amending the code of the city of Summit section 7-25 regulations for the movement and the parking of traffic on municipal property and board of education property subsection 7-25.2
municipal parking lot areas. >> Thank you, Council Member Calmanson. Thank you, Council President. This is ordinance ID 12599, and this ordinance will reopen the Chestnut parking lot. We will need to close this lot again when the property is sold, but until then, we would like for our residents to have
access um while it while it is still city property with a hearing date of June 16. I move to introduce this ordinance. >> Second. >> Uh may we have the roll call, please? >> Mr. Ber, I >> Mr. Wfully, >> I. >> Miss Calmanson, >> I. >> Miss Lman, >> I miss Lucerina.
>> Hi. President Toth >> I um and finally, Madame Clerk, would you read ordinance for introduction ID number 12590? >> Ordinance of the city of Summit County of Union, New Jersey, amending and supplementing chapter 35 of the city code entitled development regulations
subsections 35-9.2 prohibited uses. >> Thank you, Council Member Chrisouli. >> Thank you, Council President. Resolution ID number 1252. I'm sorry. I have the wrong resolution
here. [clears throat] >> Um, >> ordinance. >> I'm sorry. Okay. Yes. Um, ordinance ID number 12590 would add No, I'm sorry. I'm reading the wrong thing here.
>> This is the correct one. Okay. Um, would add a pro prohibited use to the city code. Ordinance focused on large data centers is the second in a series of measures intended to protect summit from undesirable land use. I move to introduce this ordinance for hearing on June 16th. >> Second.
>> Madame clerk, would you call the role? >> Mr. Ber, >> uh, quick quick question. Can I ask our land use manager some questions before I um say yay or nay about this?
>> Because I mean, we we may have some amendments. I I'm not clear about some of the language here. >> Is that would that more appropriately be at the hearing city solicitor or >> if we like let's say hypothetically,
right? What I say is genius and everybody agrees, right? >> And you could make an amendment. >> Yes. And if we waited to the hearing, >> you could >> and I said something that was even more genius, then we would have to have another hearing date and then do this all over again, right?
>> You'd have to reintroduce. >> Yeah. >> Okay. >> So to avoid that, I just want some questions. >> Okay. Um Austo, so the the the megawatts, can you explain
how large that is? Is it will that be running like every day? Is that the yearly? >> Just through your council president. Uh just give me a moment to see. Uh the ordinance refers specifically to
a total peak uh load in excess of 20 megawws. So I believe that can be interpreted to understand that the peak power consumption at any time uh at or greater than 20 megawws. Um if you're asking specifically how we came to that
um uh number is we referred to a Pineland Commission report which established that uh in regulation of data centers the conventional or traditional data center or server room type building that people
would imagine not an AI data center uh would see a conventional peak power load of around 20 megawatts. Now that is significant um but compared to a AI data center as it's capturing the public imagination
now um those are multiple hundreds of megawatts more of consumption. So this uh threshold here uh is set on a basis of what we've understood historically and what um has been interpreted by our planners to see
that at the time of the creation of the prod zone that's closer to um what would have been imagined for a uh computer center uh less than 20 megawatts. Does that make sense?
>> Yeah, it it does to me. Um, but how how large would that be? Like so let's take Bristol Myers Quit for example, right? So is that half an acre? Is that like what if if if
residents could visualize that like how big of of a data center would that be? uh unfortunately I can't uh I don't have the exact number of the correlation uh data centers tend to be their size is
measured on their power consumption but I don't have that specifically for you uh it would be significant >> yeah so >> significant >> being that it would be significant what was the thought process behind even allowing this
>> well it wouldn't be allowed it Well, maybe there's a misunderstanding. >> Okay. >> Um, but this explicitly would state that anything at or greater than 20 megawatts would be explicitly prohibited for the purposes of the AI data center as the
principal use on uh the structure of property. So I can have 19 >> uh if let's say there were uh 19 megawatts of power consumption but there was a measurable and distinct impact on water utility in comparison to the aggregate
land uses because there's a causal relationship between the size and scale and power consumption of a AI data center to its utilities consumption. Even so, the argument for prohibiting that use would still uh be strong and
prevalent as it's explicitly prohibited. >> You sure? >> There is certainty. Uh a lot of towns have taken different uh perspectives. Unfortunately, summit has a very specific scenario where um
we can't we have to take into account the land use rights of certain property owners in here and tailor this ordinance to reflect that the current property owners maintain a right to an extent. but uh
figure out the measure for prohibiting the imagined or the envisioned AI data center as people are seeing them such as hypers scale facilities and so on. >> So but >> that's why we've included uh computer centers also as a defined term.
>> That's what I'm saying. I I think you I think you did that here, right? You distinguish like the what the computer centers are, right? and but then to now allow up to 19 megawws, right? Or even
if it was 10. I think the idea is that the residents in summit don't want that, right? And and there's two slight things in there where you use principal and not primary. Is there is that a word play on words? Is there >> no principal use commonly understand in
development definitions is just to define that the use of a structure or land use is used principally and primarily for that purpose. So >> here that's that's both the same thing. So hypothetically
if and I'm sorry y'all but this is important right? Um, hypothetically, if I rented a warehouse in in uh Bristol, my squid, right? I'm going to have a warehouse and then I'm going to have like a
subdivision behind it where I'll put my 19 megawatt, you know, data center. But my primary is I'm just having a storage place right here. or maybe it's, you know, maybe I have uh
a real estate agent. I don't I don't know. But I I think why why can't we just outright say that um we don't want data centers? It's like we distinguish between them, right? Between, you know, uh um server rooms and like the
hospitals and and everything like that, but then there's no carveout so that somebody could come in and put a 10 megawatt data center or 15 megawatt. Um I mean, I think it leaves the door open
for that. Um the the other thing is the noise factor of it. You know, I've I've heard Well, we already have a noise ordinance. It's I'm sorry, but it carries no weight. Again, I said I live
across the street from the hospital, right? I've had the health department come out several times and with their, you know, it's like, well, the wind is blowing this way and I got to come back in a couple hours because the sound maybe like, you know, I mean,
personally, I think we need to put something in here that says, hey, it can't be louder than XY guess right to cover the residents that may live next to this because here it would be allowable.
Um I think this ordinance just needs to be stronger. Like I I'm I'm sorry, but it this doesn't prohibit what the residents don't want, you know? I don't Okay. >> Through through your council president.
Um so as you mentioned as if this threshold um seems arbitrary there is always the opportunity to just lower it significantly. um when we were going about the comparison of land uses for let's say the power consumption of a
hospital um according to the um uh apologies I'm forgetting exact the the citation from federal sources that we used the conventional or commonsized
hospital for a townlike summit can consume between 5 to 15 megawws so if you were to let's say propose an amendment to where you would want to arbitrarily or not necessarily arbitrarily but reduce uh the megawatt
megawatt in definition to five that would include it and also keeping in mind that this is just a definition that intends to capture uh what that land use is envisioned to be. uh it doesn't necessarily mean that there's going to
be a way to skirt around it when the sum of factors included in this definition would be weighed on a land use application uh before a board. if we were her city solicitor Marina if
we were to lower the megawatts right to make it kind of sort of impossible for this to happen um would that be an amendment that would require us to do this again is that
>> this is the introduction so you can make whatever amendment whoever I don't know I forget who >> no I'm sorry let me rephrase let's say we passed this right And during the twoe period, we all decide, you know what, Councilman Ber, you were sort of right, and we want to
lower this to five megawws or whatever, right? Um, >> that would require reintroduction because that's substantive. >> Okay. But that doesn't mean that you couldn't go through this and then make revisions
after the fact as well to just put this at the threshold and then if additional changes are request uh are deemed appropriate then we make an amendment later to make it more tailored. >> Augusto thank you.
>> I know thank you I appreciate it. >> Okay. Thank you. Let's move on to the roll call, please. Then, >> Mr. Ber, >> for the reasons that I just laid out, I think this uh this ordinance does not meet the purpose that the residents
actually require. Um, this opens the door to having a data center um in Summit, a hypers scale data center in Summit. I think 20, even 19 up to 19, it's just not clear. Um, so I vote nay.
Mr. Chris Foley >> I >> Miss Calmanson >> I >> Miss Landman >> I >> Miss Lucerina. >> Council President, could you please consider calling a brief recess? I think Councilman Ber is misreading or
misunderstanding the language that's under consideration. What he's describing is not actually reflected in my understanding of the draft ordinance. I think if we could pull back and and discuss with Austo and our city solicitor, it may clarify the the
ordinance and it may potentially change Councilman Ber's opinion. >> Can he change his vote after this? >> Um I mean, we're already in the process of the vote. We can if after the after
the ordinance is introduced, we could have the same conversation as well if there's not any I think it will change the overall effect of the vote where we're we're where >> and >> I'd like to complete the roll call and
and if it could possibly affect the outcome then we can consider it. >> Sure. So the way that the draft ordinance is is written uh and certainly Austo feel free to disagree or for our city solicitor to correct me if I'm
wrong. It it is not the case that if there were a usage uh with a peak pull of 19 megawatts for example that then it's automatically permitted. That's not what the language says because there's a
lot of other language that also describes the prohibited use. Right? There's a lot of words separate apart from from this discrete number. there are a lot of words that are used to describe the thing that we we don't wish to permit. Right? So it's not it's not
the case that the 20 megawws is an essential part of the analysis. Right? There's a whole lot of language uh that Austo very thoughtfully benchmarked and researched and crafted so that there are many ways to define the prohibited use.
The benefit of including the megawattage is that then it's an easy no. If something were at 20 megawws peak pole or above, then it's an easy no, right? It it simplifies the analysis. It's in my view actually a value ad because it's
a very discreet kind of easily understood way to define in part the prohibited use, but it does not supersede any of the other language. And again, it's not necessarily an essential part of the analysis. It's meant there
again just I I think for clarity and as a useful part of the definition. >> Okay. >> And for that reason amongst others, I vote yes. [laughter] >> And President Toth?
>> Yes. So motion carries. >> Okay. and one. >> Yeah, >> thank you. Okay, moving on to resolutions. Um, the first one on the agenda, law and labor is not ready for
introduction, so we'll move directly to finance. Council member Landman. >> Thank you, Council President. Resolution 12578. Um, the city previously approved borrowing money to acquire the Cedar Street lot back in 2019. This resolution
allows the city to continue using short-term borrowing up to $1.4 million to keep this debt outside of the long-term bond issue that we talked about because we're planning to sell the property. Um, so with that, I move to um
pass this resolution. Sorry. [laughter] >> Second. >> Okay. All in favor? I. Any opposed? Resolution passes. Back to you, Council Member Lenman. >> Thank you, Council President. Resolution 12587
is a resolution to combine several existing City of Summit bond issues into one general bond issue with the total value of one uh excuse me, 11,429,000. Um, this is being done to simplify the city's debt management, reduce some
administrative costs, and make it easier to track and repay the bonds. With that, I move to introduce this resolution or approve this resolution. >> Second. >> Okay. Oh, and I should I'm sorry. I I missed on the last one. I apologize. Does do any members of the public have
comments on this resolution? Do any members of council have comments? Okay. All in favor? >> I >> I. Any opposed? Resolution passes. Um, let us move to safety and health. Council member Calmanson.
>> Thank you, Council President. This is resolution ID 12589 to confirm the mayor's appointment to the board of health per closed session discussion. I move to adopt this resolution. >> Um, >> second. >> Okay. Would you like to tell us? >> Sure. [laughter] Um, yeah. Uh Nancy
Munoz has been appointed to um is the mayor's appointment to the board of health. We are confirming that right now with this. >> Okay. Thank you. Do we have any comments from members of the public on this resolution? Any comments from members of council?
>> Okay. >> Um I just want to say thank you. I hope that this will pass. Um Nancy Munoz is obviously very qualified to sit on our board of health. She was a nurse by training. She has represented uh our
residents here in Summit for over a decade um at the state level and has been um an advocate for all things health related. So I think she's got a really good handle on what's important and [clears throat] I think she'll be a really great representative. Thank you.
>> Okay. >> Okay. All in favor? >> I. >> Any opposed? Okay. Um motion passes. Thank you. >> Um on to capital projects and community services. Council member Christopher.
>> Thank you, Council President. Resolution ID12522 authorizes the award of a bid in the amount of approximately $376,000 for improvement of Industrial Place and Walnut Street. That's between Broad Street and Summit Avenue. I move to adopt this resolution.
>> Second. >> Do we have any comments from members of the public on this resolution? [clears throat] Do we have any comments from members of council? Okay, I'll only say high time. Um, all in favor? >> I. Any opposed?
>> Resolution passes. Back to you, Council Member Chrisouli. >> Thank you, Council President. Resolution ID 12591 appoints Lararscenia Cooper as a member of the Summit Housing Authority. I move to adopt this resolution. >> Second.
>> Okay. Thank you. Any me any comments from members of the public? Comments from members of council. >> Council President. >> Yes, Council Member Ber. >> So, I'm not going to really belver the point, but I just wanted to make a a
statement. And you know, when you're elected and you're [snorts] in the majority, the majority has a right to appoint anybody they want to abort, right? I understand that and I have to accept it. I get that.
The only thing that I would like to say though is up here there is there may be some people that are more educated than me or whatever, right? But there is no one up here that knows our low-income housing and what
goes on there and how many people there and mostly everybody there other than me. That is where I'm from. If it hadn't been for my advocacy for the Summit Housing Authority, people would have still been still have
been being overcharged rent right now. They just admitted to giving back $40,000. I had um people that I know this weekend give me a hug because they got messages because they got a $1,500
refund. That's a lot of money to some folks, right? And during that time, yeah, there were some smart people on the housing authority board. There were lawyers and finance people and this and that. But you know what? They ain't
listen to nobody because they're so damn smart. They know better than the people that live there. We're making the same mistake up here. I put somebody forward because I know
what needs to happen at the Summit Housing Authority and you know it listen I'm I'm in the minority right like but I would have hoped that this council would have said for one person out of all the 80 people
that get approved for one person at one time it would have said you know what Councilman Ber man, you put you've you've worked in that place, right? You've actually shown results. You got you you got the whole
project, all of them into our fair share housing agreement. We're going to rehab the whole place. You found that they were, you know, miscalculating rents and not giving security deposits and people were living in in in flooded
areas and things like you did it. We agree with your opinion on this. It did not happen in this case. And I'm disappointed. I'm disappointed because that's where I'm from.
I know. I don't need a lawyer. You, you know, oh, this person's a lawyer. So why? I don't care. So what? There were lawyers there before and things happen.
All I'm saying is you could be compassionate, you know, and and give somebody, you know, a thumbs up to say, you know what, we trust you, you know, and and that's what
I was expecting here and it's disappointing, but thank you, Council President. >> Any other comments? Council member Liz Eraina. >> Thank you, Council President. Uh, a few thoughts. Uh, first I I want to thank Councilman Ber. He has been a very
strong advocate for our neighbors in the Summit Housing Authority properties for several years and there is value in that. I also want to acknowledge the resident advocates themselves and various of the prior and existing commissioners who have also advocated
either on their own behalf or on behalf of the residents to bring these needed and positive changes to effect. With due respect, Councilman Ber, you were not a team of one. There were several people working in coordination and advocating for those very same causes. So you so
credit where credit is due. >> Yeah. All the ones that I point. >> Okay. >> Our role I my my background is in governance, right? It it is the responsibility of this body in certain
aspects to select what we consider to be the most highly qualified candidate for a particular role. We heard Councilman Ber say he knows what needs to change at the Summit Housing Authority. And again, with due respect, we can try to persuade. We can try to bring people
along. But in my view, it is not our role to try to reverse engineer to get to what we think is the right outcome by selecting one particular candidate over another. Right? it's our job to select the most highly qualified candidate from
those generous volunteers who raise their hand to say I will serve. Uh and so I also take issue with with disparaging the the newly appointed commissioner who who we we may so choose this evening. She is very highly qualified. We
appreciate her her willingness to serve and we are confident that she will be an excellent advocate on behalf of the residents of the Summit Housing Authority. Okay, with that we're going to call the vote um okay
very briefly. Council member Cal. No. Okay. All in favor? >> I. >> Any opposed? Okay. Motion carries. Um the we are going to postpone appointing the round four common council. Round four common
council, no round four implementation task force members. Um, just ran out of time at closed session. But again, if you live near Shunpike or Harmon or 190 River or Bristol Meyers Squib or
Franklin Place, um, we want to hear from you. Please apply on the city website. And I believe we have a motion from the floor. Council member Leroscena. >> Yes. Thank you very much, Council President. Uh, this is a motion from the floor. As council president mentioned, a
copy was posted on the city website in the common council agenda center. There also, I believe, printed copies available for review in the lobby. This is a resolution to authorize the city to hang rainbow ribbons on the trees in our downtown district. Following on the
success um in partnership with the the mayor's task force on uh mental health uh and shape up summit we have the green ribbons the lovely green grip green ribbons uh for May mental health month uh this will be in coordination with our pride celebration coming up on June 14th
uh and I think an important message of uh inclusivity and appreciation for our LGBTQIA community members and allies. Um, so with that, I move to um v uh move to vote on the resolution. >> Second.
>> Do we have any comments from members of the public on this resolution? >> I'm sorry, who seconded? >> Um, council member Cington, do we have comments from members of council? >> Council President. >> Yes, Council Member Boy. >> I I just I I'm in support of this and I
had a conversation with our city solicitor. I just wanted to clarify whether or not this opens the door for other [snorts] other folks to come to council and say, you know, we want to celebrate heterosexual or, you know, um birthright
or, you know, whatever whatever people are in, right? So, but because the council is doing this, right, [snorts] we're protected from like a hate group coming in and saying, "Hey, I want skull and bones on the right. We don't have to
do that." >> Yes, it would be a different story if the city was permitting third party groups to put flags or ribbons up, but this is the city's decision and the city's speech.
um essentially. So there's more protections for that. If we were to allow third-party groups to raise a flag, then you would open the door to to and you wouldn't be able to uh rest have restrictions. So there's a there's a
case out of the city of Boston that um from the US Supreme Court that set the standard there. >> Thank you. >> Okay. >> Okay. Um yes. Oh, no. I'm good. I'm Yeah, I I mean, as
long as I'm I'm in support of it as long as city is. >> Okay. Okay. Council member Calmanson. >> Okay. Um, please. >> Okay. Thank you, Council President. Um, first of all, I don't believe there's anything like a heterosexual pride, so I I I think we're good on that. But um I I
just wanted to note too um in the Burough of Madison, the mayor and council officially proclaimed June um 2026 as Pride Month and they published a proclamation on their Facebook page and they have pride flags flying downtown. Um it's really important that everyone feels welcomed and accepted in the city
of Summit. So I fully support this resolution. Thank you. >> Thank you, >> Council President. >> Yes, council. >> I'm sorry. Just because I don't like people making me look ignorant. Um wasn't in Boston, right? Didn't they have like a a head of Please?
No, you talk to like I'm always hearing you like >> Okay. Okay. No, wait. We No, let's let's get the cross. >> I'm sorry. In Boston, uh, city solicitor, wasn't there like a heterosexual march based on this like and and and that's and doing my research
and that's what I was trying to prohibit is all these different groups coming to city council and doing this. So, I mean, you know, to make fun of it is is inappropriate and and the heckling here is inappropriate, too.
>> You guys Thank Thank you. >> All in favor? >> I. >> Any opposed? Resolution carries. Um, thank you to our dedicated city staff um for staying this
long. You are free to leave except for Mr. has who has to stay another couple of minutes. Um because although we're moving on to the consent agenda, um I just quickly want to pull out one of the items um because we have some representatives here from the Junior
League who um plan to make a donation to maybe playground uh it says maybe the maybe playground project, but it's going to be redirected to the East Summit Playground project is my understanding
of this. You're looking at me suspiciously. Your friend is. [laughter] >> Yes. >> Um, yes. Go right ahead. >> Just the clarification is that the acknowledgement, the way that the resolution's written is the
acknowledgement for the donation is going towards maybe playground, but the funds for maybe have already been encumbered. So, we're just using the funds in the general playground fund towards the East Summit playground >> because money is funible.
>> Yeah. >> Yes. [laughter] >> Um, so should we could in anticipation of passing the consent agenda take the photo now and and you know not not make folks sit through any more than they they wish to. You're welcome to stay.
Um, but do you want to get down there, Mayor? >> Sure. [laughter] >> It's a jack. [laughter] >> Okay, we'll put it into That looks a little unbalanced even from this side.
>> There you go. There we are. [applause] >> W with that. Do I have a motion to approve the consent agenda? So moved. Second. >> Okay. Do we have any comments from members of the public on the consent agenda or items on the consent agenda?
>> Do we have any comments from members of council for items on the consent agenda? >> Yes. Council member Galmanson. >> Thank you, Council President. Um, I just wanted to thank the Junior League for their very generous donation towards um,
May maybe playgrounds. It's it's really exciting. It's it's almost open. Everybody's super excited and just really glad that you continue to be a um, part of the the playgrounds in the community. So, thank you very much. >> Anything else?
>> Uh, yes, [applause] Council Member Lucer Cena. >> Thank you, Council President. Also wanted to extend gratitude to our hometown heroes team, especially Michael and Dan as well as the the city staff. It is it the banners are lovely and I think it is sometimes easy to take for
granted how much work and how much time is required to make sure all of the banners are are properly displayed and at their proper locations and ticked and tied to the the the source website. Uh it was a tremendous team effort uh with
also just a lot of volunteers who just care a lot about making sure that we are honoring those who have raised their hand to serve. Um so special thanks to Michael and to Dan, but to all of the city staff members and volunteers who make the hometown hero banners possible.
It's it's so lovely to see them in town and very important that we do so. So so we we thank them. >> Thank you. Anyone else? >> I want to call out one item. Um, we are relocating the historic marker for
Fountain Baptist Church. Um, Fountain Baptist's original location was pretty much where the police department parking lot is now um across from the Gallow building, but um when the marker first went up, it was put in the Chestnut
Street parking lot simply because it would be more visible there. Um when we closed the lot in anticipation of the sale, the the marker was removed and and folks from Fountain Baptist reached out, asked about relocating it. It's going to
be um in front of the police department parking lot. I hope that's the right thing to call it, Chief. It's what I always thought of it as. Um close to the commercial buildings near Broad Street. Um there's there's a patch of land
between the street and the sidewalk. Um and once we pass this then then the DPW will install it and we can all recognize the original location of fountain again. So I was excited about that. Um and with
that um all um all in favor of passing the consent agenda I >> I >> Any opposed? Motion passes. Um so on to public comments. Um and as we begin public
comments, I ask that members of I ask that residents of Summit step forward to speak first. Um we certainly value input from everyone and any member of the public is welcome to speak and we simply ask your courtesy in allowing our local neighbors to lead the public
conversation if they're ready to speak first. So, um, and it's just sort of a walk up and you almost get in line. >> Got an 11-year-old at home, Dileia Hamlet, 59, New England. Uh, it always takes a special comment to get me off my
couch and come back here. Um, especially in the middle of NBA playoffs. But, Council Member Camelson, your comment tonight, it's particularly disturbing. Um, you use the word we dropped a bomb. the old council dropped a bomb on your lap and I want to remind
you as uh as your your fellow other council members uh Chrisouly and Laroscina seem to take the high road on this issue, but you who were sitting up there with me for the last several years were privy to every conversation, every email and could have asked any questions
and you did not. I probably have 5,000 emails about affordable housing and you never once asked a question. You never once opined. I would have been more than happy to discuss all of this with you. So to say we dropped a bomb on you is is
almost a dereliction of duty and and this is this is serious stuff. This is it takes a mature adult to have these conversations. It's not funny, right? This is a serious topic and I I find it fascinating that you seemed surprised, right? We've we've had multiple
conversations around housing element and fair share plan. all of the if we've had multiple meetings with our city solicitor, with our city administrator, and and I I just find that it was really a really tough comment and I I think that uh uh Jacqueline, council member
Lasarcena, uh and and council member Chrisy, we're actually making a lot of progress on the Mount Laurel committee. I think for the most part, we fundamentally agree on on a lot of stuff and I I give them both a lot of credit for that. We're working together. We're trying to make things happen along with uh Council President Toth. And then
you've got council member Landman talking to all our neighbors about the subdivision and how horrible it's going to be. And I don't hear any solutions. It's just we're dividing parkland. Right? You heard you heard the fine municipal land use manager. There there simply wasn't any more land. Right? I
walked that property and we're going to talk about at the planning board tomorrow. I walked the whole property this weekend and it's sad to think that our community can't embrace a small piece of property. No one wants to divide parkland for disabled adults. Here we are, right? Here's the solutions
what we should offer. Why don't we talk to Trenton? Why don't we talk to Trenton? Why don't we push back on 1766 last week, on 2680, on 1836 that went through Trenton? Why don't you tell your neighbors to stop and fight against Trenton? That's a solution. Or let me
give you another solution tonight. Why don't you think about putting those other parcels on the recreational open space inventory or donating it to the board of ed so that when Trenton comes after us again next year, we have a solution instead of running to our neighbors and having them come to city
hall, put it on the Rossi, donate it to the board of ed, the corner of Springfield and Oakley, possibly another parcel, right? The municipal land use manager was very clear that that vacant land analysis was for multifamily homes. Our house is permitted in R15 zones
and it's sad to think that everybody wants affordable housing. Everybody wants it, but absolutely nobody in Summit wants it in their backyard. And that's why everybody should fight against Thank you, Council President. >> Mayor Joe Makuchi Defonso, 12 Washington
Avenue. So, I'm probably a little behind the April here, but that's okay. So, I grew up here, lived here for 50 years, graduated Summit High School in 1981. Jamal and I have had this conversation many times. I do not understand how the
property behind the wreck, we're going to make it a park. Has anybody done any research of the history of that property? There was a summer camp down there when I was a kid that still had that same summer camp. You remember that same summer camp was down there when we
moved back to Summit in 1994. and my son went there for a year or so. So, here we are with a property that was allowed to fall into disrepair. We're going to make it a park again. You've got sports programs out the wazoo that are have
developed tenfold. Crying for field space, but we're going to make this a playground. Tonight, I learned Memorial Park is getting a new playground. Maybe playground is getting a new playground. Why do we need another playground in East Summit? And I
misunderstood. I thought it was exclusively for two to five year olds. Tonight I learned that it's also for 5 to 12 year olds because that was another one of my concerns. Why would I bring my two to 5year-old? Now my kids are ages, they're seven years from the oldest to
the youngest. I have three kids. They're all in their 30s now. But so I'm going to use my kids as an example. Am I gonna bring my youngest to one park and drop my son off at another park? No way. I can't watch him at another park. So, that was on me that I read tap or
whatever it was that um the park was exclusively for two to five. That was my misunderstanding. So, again, why do we need another park? And if you think you're gonna put a park at Bryant Park where I live, you I will fight you tooth and nail because it's
not gonna happen. That's number one. Number two, why are we spending all this money on these parks? When was the last time you did anything for your senior citizens? I'm reading that from what Jamal's been telling me that the senior building is in disrepair. Why are we
selling the fire the firehouse property? Put another senior citizen complex there. Knock down the existing one. And I asked him, he didn't have an answer for me. If the property if the property at the firehouse can be built upon, can we add floors onto the existing
property? He didn't know. He said he would find out for me. Right. >> Knock down the current senior citizen housing and put up a new building. No, but no, we're building playground after playground after playground. What is going on? I don't like what's going on
in my town. And like I said, I grew up here. I don't like any of this. And you know what? If Kennallorth [music] can fight a data data center, why do we want why do we want to have it? Maybe we should put it in front of your house or next to your house. Those things are loud. People can't sleep having those
things in their neighborhoods, but we're entertaining the idea of putting that here. Okay. Thank you, Mr. Defansa. Do we have any other comments from members of the public? Okay. >> Good evening. >> Good evening,
>> James 87. I agree with Councilman Ber's comments about the AI data center. I think the resolution needs to be very strong and if we don't want data centers, we shouldn't have any megawatt threshold.
It should just say no AI data centers. The current resolution clearly carves out data centers for existing facilities like a Bristol Myers or the hospital. That's fine. Those stay. But if we don't want any AI data centers, then let's say that in the resolution. No AI data
centers, regardless of the megawatts, regardless of how much water they use or electricity they use. Just take them off the table completely. Don't allow any loopholes and prevent wasting time discussing any potential data centers in the future. Just put that into the
ordinance now. That's it. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Do we have other comments from members of the public? No. Um, as we move on to council member comments, um, we do limit our public
comments to three minutes. Um, and it is high time we impose that same discipline on ourselves. So, as of now, we shall. Um, >> are you using the timer? >> Yeah. >> Okay. >> You are, and so am I.
And I'm using the gavl. Um, so with that, does any council member want to make a comment? >> Sure. >> Yes. Council member Lman, >> I'll be super quick. >> I just want to say happy pride. I want to say thank you to the Junior League
who um helped me find some of my people when I retired from work and started volunteering in the community. Um, and then as it relates to data centers, I just want to say that we can always amend the ordinance in the future if we need to. Uh for now I think it's important that we proceed as with
anything of this nature the technology is going to evolve quickly and we need to be nimble and we can't also let perfect be the enemy of the good so we should move forward and that's it for me. Thank you. >> Thank you. Anyone else
>> council member Griie? >> Thank you council president. Um, I just like to highlight how council is actually working together to address some of the diff most difficult issues I can imagine facing our town, including development. Uh, and tonight we approved
the appointment of a new member to the board of health, our former state assemblywoman, Nancy Munoz. She was helpful to me when I first moved to summit on some issues I was facing, and she brings extensive experience with state government and healthcare. uh she's on the record supporting vaccine
use, a key concern of residents. Um and so I supported her appointment to the board of health. I think you're also seeing that sometimes we're almost in violent agreement. We agree that we don't want large data centers. We don't
want overdevelopment. Um we don't want uh KKK parades down our main street or other undesirable celebrations in our town. we agree on these things and I think maybe you know it's almost what is termed in in
negotiations violent agreement where you're you're actually are agreeing with each other but the words you're using express dissatisfaction in some way I think we need to express that we are actually agreeing on 99% of what we're talking about here and it's that 1%
where we can have you know valuable interaction um but without you know getting to the that violent agreement uh kind of which is not not productive. Um and u so that's it. I think we're doing
a lot together. We're making hard calls and we're collaborating and uh I appreciate the service of everybody up here. >> Thank you. Do we have other comments? >> Council, >> Council Member Ber. So, just really quickly, [clears throat] um I don't like
to be heckled for asking legal questions from the city solicitor. Um and I'm not against uh gay pride or putting rainbows up or anything like that. Um I'm not um I'm not violent.
So, I guess that was because I'm the only Republican up here, right? I'm not a violent person. Um so, I don't know what that comment was about. um this is the way I talk and speak and act. We're all different human beings. So, but um
you know, I think we we all have to be like respectful up here though, especially to um different feelings and ideas, especially now uh because we all come to from different places. Um some more than less. Uh great weekend. I was
happy to see Councilwoman Larosino on Friday at the Summits Arboritum. Um it was a it was a great great time. Got time to hang out with my wife. You don't get to see me a lot, you know, up here,
but um hanging out with the residents. It was it was a really good uh for a really good cause. Um and uh that's it. Thank you, Council President. >> Thank you. [clears throat] Okay, Council Member Lucer Cena.
>> Thank you, Council President. Now, we have our city clerk on the timer, so I don't need to borrow my daughters anymore. [laughter] Just just real briefly, uh, and we're going to try to have this amazing group of young people come in to be properly acknowledged at a future date, but I had the chance to go to a Bridges event last night at the EMS
squad building and got to learn a little bit about the teens tackle homelessness group. This is a really remarkable group of of our summit young adults uh working under bridges to find creative ways ways big and small tireless efforts to
support our unhoused population and work on housing stabilization efforts. Uh they have a tremendous website. I encourage everyone to look at it. It's teens tacklehomelessness.org. It's actually it was designed and is maintained by the young adults themselves. And this is really a
remarkable group. So I want to just read their names really briefly and again we'll try to have them come in but it's Katherine Lizzie Zachary Batistella Sydney Coahan Kayla Sha Maggie Heran Dileia Callahan Amelia Slater Jillian Callahan and Carly Mhler is their
director of development they have this is just the leadership team. Oh I'm sorry we keep going. Jenna Kerry, Riley Dangler and Nina Hinnick. This is a re this is a high performance team and these young people are volunteering. They are having tremendous impact.
They've raised tens of thousands of dollars just this year. As Patty shared from Bridges, Patty mentions kind of offhanded a need and this group is like, "Okay, we know the mission. We're on it. We are so fortunate to have purpose-driven young adults like this
here in Summit. They are the best of us." Um, also want to extend gratitude to our Summit Education Foundation. Um, just in the spring season, they awarded almost $250,000 in grants to our public schools, supporting our pillars of safety and wellness, culture, belonging, and
project-based learning. Um, thank you, Essie, for your continued work to support excellence in our public school system. Uh, and one final note, it's the end of the year. We're getting really close to the final day of school in our public schools. The kids are overbaked, at least mine are. uh and our our
teachers, our in-class support, our other staff, our crossing guards, our bus drivers, the administrators, everyone who supports what's going on in the schools is dialing it up even more to make sure that they're controlling the chaos of what's going on in the schools and still delivering great
education and a lot of fun and magic um for our young kids. So, thank you so much to our everyone who makes our public school system what it is. Thank you. >> Thank you. Yes, I was gonna She's always a tough act to follow. Go ahead, Council Member
Calmanson. >> Um, thank you, Council President. Um, first I wanted to get a give a shout out to the police department and um, Summit PL for hosting their DARE pool party today. Um, that I have a daughter in fifth grade and you know, she had the best time. You know, I had a car full of
happy kids. So, um, thank you. I know they enjoy it every year. Um, and it's amazing that that you know, they continue to have that option every year. the fifth graders get to go. So, I we love that. Um um uh former council
member um Hamlet um I um the comment that I made it it wasn't actually for my benefit about the bomb being dropped in the lap. It it was actually I I was really referring to the um three new council members that we have up here and you know the community is understandably
concerned and they're you know they're they're coming they they want their questions answered and it it's a plan that you know they have to vote on and they take no pleasure in that and may perhaps I wasn't clear enough um I should have been more clear because it I was saying this council as a whole but
yes I was up here um I was up here last year and I think there's a lot of misconceptions around how these things work though because you have a Mount Laurel committee and you have three people on that committee. So they go in, they have all these discussions, these discussions go on for a very long time and then they come and they bring it
back to council and a lot of times you have very little time to consider these and most of the work quite frankly is is done at that point. And um so I just wanted to clear up a little bit of you know confusion because I I I do think that they have this idea that we're all
sitting around a table with the developers and it it's not how it um that's not how it how it happens. But um I also I'm I'm you know I'm I'm a little frustrated about the data center ordinance and I feel like you know some people are trying to make a wedge issue
out of something that we all agree on because two weeks ago um we had an ordinance to ban detention centers and you know um Councilman Ber and Councilman Palowski wanted to add data center to the ordinance. Just those two
words to the ordinance that's it. And you know, Council Member Ber said, you know, we should add this right now. We don't need to wait until a buyer is announced and a plan is filed. I um I don't think there's any time to waste. You know, we could wait another two or three months, but why not just do it
now? So, now we have this ordinance. We have all this language that defines the data center and computer centers because of course we don't want to do anything you know that disrupts the hospitals um and you know anybody else who has you know what is um a computer center and
now it's not good enough and now and you know in the 11th hour now we have to add more and I thought we wanted to pass this as soon as possible to protect summit. So, I just I'm just feeling I'm feeling frustrated because I'm feeling like, you know, our our city
professionals, they did their job. They they did what we asked them to do. They delivered us a great ordinance and I I just feel like >> Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Okay. You get three minutes as well. I I would respectfully request that I get a little
bit more because I do have some prepared remarks and I did not speak to these last meeting because Bob jumped in front of me to resign and I didn't feel like it was appropriate for me to then dial us back. So I will do I will speak as quickly as possible, but I think it's
important that I say these things. Um, I have served this community for decades as a community volunteer, a leader, a physician, a coach, and a mother of four public school children, and I ran for this office to continue serving this amazing city. I intended to address
these matters at our last meeting again, but out of respect for time of Councilman Powski's resignation, I chose to hold them till tonight. Our residents trust us to sit up here and do what's right. I suggest we honor that trust, focus on the real needs of our
community, and work together to keep Summit safe and thriving. The current political maneuvering in this chamber is a profound profound disservice to our residents. It degrades our local government to the level of hyperartisan Washington politics. We're
seeing longestablished traditions such as mayoral appointments questioned, actions that were never taken when the mayor belonged to the opposing party. We're seeing ordinances deliberately passed despite advanced knowledge that they lacked legal viability. Furthermore, the practice of feeding
one-sided narratives to social media and divisive local media outlets to damage reputations brings this governing body down to a level that local politics should never inhabit. Let's look at the facts regarding my recent appointments to the board of education. Individuals our city is
incredibly fortunate to have volunteering for our school district. One is an award-winning journalist and communications professional who covered public policy and education for over a decade as a political bureau chief and who has served as both PTO president and
president of the PTO president's council. My second appointee represents five generations of summit roots. She's a summit graduate, a deeply active community leader, and a professional with extensive experience in finance and economics. These are two dedicated
summit moms committed to maintaining a culture of academic excellence. To attack their qualifications is purely political. Regarding Maple Street, I clearly outlined the legal and safety reasons for my veto in my official response letter, which is publicly available.
And that should answer former mayor Raidus's questions that she said were not answered last meeting. Let us be clear, this was pure political theater. the council majority knew exactly what they were doing when they voted for an ordinance that could not legally be signed off on by our engineers, our
public safety authorities and or the mayor. In my role as chief executive of the city of Summit, my primary duty is to protect the safety of this community. If this council truly wanted outdoor dining, it should have collaborated on a lawful, safe solution through our safety and engineering teams that our engineer
could endorse in good faith. You're all smart enough to know that what you passed is illegal and fundamentally unworkable. Recently, this council majority has chosen to exclude me from meetings and cast doubt on my integrity. In six months, little's been
accomplished while countless taxpayer dollars have been spent on controversial legal battles regarding outdoor dining ordinances, Broad Street West, and lights at Tatlock. It had been my hope that by not engaging with the people who hide behind their keyboards and by being available to talk in person or on the
phone at almost any time, the level of corrosive online rhetoric would diminish. This hasn't been the case. I'm asking the council majority to please get back to business. I welcome your questions and I encourage face-to-face meetings rather than public gotcha
emails or social media posts. We can and should balance the will of the people with lawful and safe governing. Moving forward, we have two choices. We can either work collaboratively for the people of Summit, or we can continue the political theater, which may appease party leaders and outside political
groups, but does absolutely nothing for our residents. Launching partisan arrows to score political points does not make anyone a better leader. It simply reduces us to petty politicians. I come to work at city hall every day with a goal of doing what's best for the city
of Summit. Not what's best for Republicans or Democrats or even Summit Republicans or Summit Democrats. Simply what's best for Summit. Let's all rise to the occasion and join me in upholding that standard. Thank you.
[applause] >> Point [cheering] of order. Council President, >> we've all spoken once. That's >> point of order. Robert Fuels, right? Point of I don't get a point of order. As an elected official, I can't talk because you say so. And and by the way,
there's no there's nothing written in policies or anything. You just said, "Hey, we're going to have three minutes." So, Council President, point of order. >> Well, you didn't you you used one, I'll give you two. >> Okay. First, I just want to say that,
you know, you can give me three minutes. I'm fine with that. But I think it's highly disrespectful, highly disrespectful to do that to the mayor. It's not appropriate, you know. And and by the way, the last thing I will say is I'm up here um pointing out
things and, you know, respectfully disagreeing with things because that's my job. It's not it's not personal and I'm going to continue to do that. And hey, maybe in November I won't be here
anymore to do that and the and the residents will decide and I'm okay with that. But until then, I represent the residents, so I'm going to speak up. Thank you. >> It's three minutes [clears throat] less than that. Thank you for that.
>> Well, not me, but that's crazy. >> Yes, Miss Lera Cena. >> Thank you, Council President. I just wanted to address uh certain of the points that Mayor Fagan raised. I think unfortunately often what people accuse others of they are actually
guilty of doing themselves. Uh and I also want to address certain of the factual inaccuracies on the board of ed appointments. To my knowledge, no one has questioned the qualifications of the appointees. No, no concerns as to their qualifications have been raised.
Certainly not by me. I've expressed gratitude several times about their willingness to serve and support the excellence of our public schools. What I did question was what I consider to be a failure of proper process and engagement with the board president, the board of
ed president and the other board members that is put into our district bylaws for a reason from I believe going back to 2010. And honestly, I don't really care what was done in the past. We can't change the past, but it is within the
mayor's control to do something right in the present moment and in the future. And so all I merely suggested was that she respectfully honor what's in the bylaws and follow the process that's written in in our district policy is that was all nothing more. Uh and again,
I will express gratitude to all of the board of ed members, including the recent appointees. I knew I know they will do their bit level best because we all care deeply about the excellence of our public schools. Uh on Maple Street
there was a lot there. Um [snorts] we need to be careful about the language we use about illegality and legality. Those words really mean something. uh there are instances where reasonable people can look at a particular statute
or ordinance and uh and interpret it differently. Uh we had hoped, it was my hope at least that there would be a bipartisan effort that we could work with the mayor as as she is designated as the chief executive officer on this. We had several of our
city professionals partner with interested members of council over several months to make sure that we could reopen Maple Street to as a pedestrian pro plaza safely. It had been done safely in the past. It's been done safely in other communities. Uh the mayor took a different view and that's
certainly fine. That's within her right. But to say that what we did was illegal is just factually inaccurate. If it were illegal, then other communities would have had actions brought against them. Sum it would have had an action brought against them in the past, but that
didn't happen for a reason because the assertion that she made is simply not true. As a brief aside, she also used official city communication channels to misrepresent and to assert her own opinion as to what is illegal and what
is legal. I find that to be a really inappropriate usage of city communication and I hope that she will conduct herself differently going forward. On the point of uh what have we accomplished? Certainly there's a lot more work that we wish to do. Uh but just in brief, I'm really proud of the
work that we have all contributed to in passing a fiscally responsible municipal budget, investing meaningfully in traffic calming and pedestrian safety, in renovating and building new playgrounds, in reinvigorating Silver Summit for our seniors, in implementing
regular listening sessions on the three-minute talk limit. if if our residents coming up in this environment where we know it takes a lot for for some people to speak in public and certainly you know against us up here if if y'all have three minutes I
think we can have three minutes. Thank you. >> Thank you. I am only going to add um build on the gratitude to every resident of Summit who steps up and volunteers for one of our something like 70 boards,
commissions, task forces, and committees. Um and for all of the wonderful nonprofits that make Summit the community it is. With that, I will entertain a motion to adjourn.
>> So moved. Second. >> All in favor? >> I opposed. >> We stand ajourned.