[Music] you guys ready whereas police fel police excuse me and Robert Kersh bought and moved into a home on Angle Street in Tenniflide with
their young children Michael and Marjgerie in April 1975 Whereas Michael and Marjgerie attendant had graduated from Long School Tennifly Middle School and Tennifly High School Whereas after retiring from full-time
employment in 1995 Robert Kersh worked at the Tennifly Public Library before passing away in 2005 Whereas after a 40-year career as a pioneer within information technology
police Kersh retired in 2001 Whereas Lee Kersh has been blessed with many meaningful life cycle events while living in Tennifly including the marriage of Michael to his wife Nicole in 2000 the marriage of Marjgerie to her
husband Brian Kaplan in 2001 and the births of her grandchildren Pobe Kersh 2003 Zoe Kaplan 2004 and Robert Kersh 2006 Whereas police courage has remained
active including involvement with the Tennifly Senior Center Temple Sinai of Bergen County and several local friend groups Whereas the Burough Tennifly is a vibrant community that continually attracts new families while remaining
home to long-standing residents and everyone in between Now therefore be it resolved that the mayor and council of the burough of tenniply recognizes and congratulates police kersh for 50 years of residency Be it further resolved that
the mayor and council express appreciation for the many positive impacts made by police kersh and her family to Tennifly And be it further resolved that the mayor and council wish continued good health and good fortune to police kersh in the years ahead So
thank you and congratulations So what's your favorite time of flight memory favorite time of flight memory So now we have to get you into the new municipal pool That would be great Well congratulations
and thank you for being a resident for such an you know magnificant period of time Thank you very much What do you want to do i would love that Jamie let's do it A free membership Would you like a free membership to the new pool council would
like to do that Done Thank you very much Right [Applause] Councilman we can work those details offline information Okay Thank you for the court Of course Of course Okay Well
thank you for coming this evening You're welcome to stay for the whole council meeting if you choose to Okay He knows what that's like All right Thank you All right Next on the agenda the holiday festival
of Bishu proclamation by Councilman Vu Would you like to step up to the microphone please sure Thank you very much Good evening everyone And can you hear me um uh so good evening It's a pleasure to
be here um on on this side of the days uh for the first time in a while Um I truly in uh appreciate your inclusion of the the proclamation on tonight's agenda Uh please note that in addition to the proclamation that I'll read out um for
anyone who's interested there's an information sheet uh that I'm happy to leave on the table and I can if you'd like I can hand it out to you And with that the uh the proclamation for the holiday Um whereas Vishu is a holiday
celebrated by people from the south Indian state of Kerala and the worldwide Keralite diaspora to mark the beginning of the new year Whereas Vishu is the first day of the Hindu lunar month of
Mumm according to the Hindu lunar calendar and which falls on the 14th day of April according to the Gregorian calendar Whereas in Sanskrit uh Vishu means equal and conotes the equinox on
the day of mea shankranti Whereas three traditional elements of the Vishu celebrations are the vishu kani the vishu kayanum and the vishuam Three words that you'll never
hear in English Whereas is believed that to have a happy and prosperous year ahead um the first site one should see on the morning of Vishu is the Vishu Khani which is a collection of auspicious items such as
fruits grains vegetables uh flowers lamps uh coconut um gold uh a mirror water filled pot piece of cloth and so on all accumulated on a circular plate or vessel uh along
with an image of Sri Krishna meant to reflect beauty light and abundance Whereas the custom of Vishu kitum uh involves elders of the family gifting money to children and others to share in the happiness of the day
Whereas Vishu corresponds to similar New Year holidays celebrated in other Indian states which are also observed on the day um such as uh Pa Bisak in Bengal
Bisaki in Punjab Pandu in Tamil Nadu and Behu in Kasam Whereas over 600,000 people from the state of Carerala have migrated to the United States and a significant number of the approximately 400 tennifly 700 tennifly residents and
over 40,000 Bergen County residents of Asian Indian background similarly have their families origins in parallel and celebrate the shoe annually Now therefore I quote the the borrow of Tennifly mayor and council does hereby
recognize the New Year's holiday of Vishu and wishes all people from Kerala along with all of the residents in the borrow of Tennifly a happy Vishu or Vishu aams [Applause] and just I'd also like to recognize the
people that Go ahead and recognize Thank you council Next is 41step [Music] So this is the appeal of correct So um I don't know if anybody's here from the applicant
Hi I'm I'm on video and I can't see any of you So but I I think you can see me All right So if I could just a brief background Um this property was built a few years ago and uh there was an escrow
account of uh $10,000 and change I don't have the exact figure in front of me Um I'm I'm sorry to interrupt This is not a new property Okay It's 100 years old All right So but you did some work there that required mitigation of trees That's what we're
talking about Correct Uh correct We we well we moved into the home in in summer 2022 And at that time took several there were some improvements that were that were permitted um and which required mitigation of removal of trees Uh the
escrow has been on file Um the uh public works director has determined after notices were sent out that the mitigation has not been satisfied and he had made a decision that the escrow funds uh on file would be forfeited to
the burrow Um the residents the property owners are appealing the director's decision to the council Okay So what information do we have regarding that so Omar did you receive the information required for the appeal with
newspaper notices or is is this the request to be put on the future agenda it seems is it's going to be a request to be put on the future agenda because um I have not received the uh a notice of appeal from the um applicant or a uh
or the um necessary documents for the appeal because it's the first Oh no Omar was saying he didn't receive the notice of appeal This is the this is the first type of appeal using the ordinance in this in this particular bank This is the first time we're doing
this Yes Okay So this is the hardship appeal versus Yes Okay Denial appeal Typically it would be an appeal from the building or the zoning officer not providing a permit There there's still a packet of information provided
So this isn't actually the appeal This is the request to uphold the hearing This is to have a a discussion around uh this this matter These residents have contacted mayor and it's been brought to my attention So we victor we put this on the agenda to be considered as a topic
of discussion for and then they send in the appeal documents Yes And then we find because this is the property and correct me if I'm wrong This is the property where allegedly there's too many trees for the property itself Yes Is the fundamentation Yes The argument is is that the mitigation required there's not
enough property to plant the number of trees Okay So the decision here is to put this on the agenda for a full hearing So go ahead I I understand that the applicants have to fill out paperwork here and that we can't make
that decision before they do that but we can't make that decision before we do that But we have both Mike Cassidy here um and the applicant Do you want to hear anything from them because we have them here tonight i don't know How does that work in terms of following the process
properly we don't want to mess anything up I mean it it wouldn't be binding in any way because there's a requirement for notice Got it So if if the requirement for notice hasn't been met it's unfair to any neighbors who may have wanted to come in to comment on it Got it So you can't really hear the
appeal without that but that you can certainly provide information giving the benefit of them being here You're just not you're just deciding whether to put it on to a future agenda Okay So we'll let them do give us a three the three minute um elevated pitch of what the
story is and we'll put it on the next agenda Yeah And just just for for um just an point of order so to speak um you know you could be prepared that you may have to repeat yourself when the appeal is heard So can I make one more request go ahead Um given that we're
about to actually transition our DBW director I would like something in writing from Mr Cassidy on this process so that we have his take because he's the one who did this review at the time Oh he's on the line also Okay that's fine we'll be able to ask him
question so that we have the record but remember this is we don't want to spend too because this isn't the appeal itself she's asking for his in terms of we do we will be available to us yeah I mean assuming that you all agree to put it on an
agenda yes yes okay we do have his we do have Mr these uh determination and writing Thanks Okay All right So why don't you um why don't you give us just the three minute highlights of the u of
um your position on this start with I can't hear I'm sorry We can't hear anything Where where is your house located between what cross streets forest and mountain Okay So just give us a little give us a little u high level of the story and
then we'll put this on a future agenda for a hearing Go ahead Okay Thank you So and again I'm sorry I can't see anyone Um so we moved to this property in summer 2022 We have four young children two dogs We
wanted to put a fence up Um we got a permit for the fence and there were um a lot of trees on the property some that were very close to the house some that were in the way of where the fence would go some that were um you know dead We ended up taking down which we did get a
permit for nine trees um which we had a bond of $11,250 Um and then we got uh you know the the form of what trees the major trees that had to be planted in its place which was 25 um major trees And
then we met with um our landscaper We talked through where on our property we already have 45 to 50 trees um and ornamentals We have four spruces We have you know 20 laurels We have a lot of
shrubs So we talked through you know could we even plant these of the major trees the only ones that were recommended that wouldn't be right on top of the house was a beach and um uh white oak and he said that he felt that
it was only possible to put four or five more major trees on our property and that each tree just planting those would be about $500 a tree with the labor and um and the cost of the tree And we you
know I I get really upset when I see these properties gutted of all their beautiful trees We love our trees We love you know that Tenniferly has beautiful trees Um and and for us taking down the nine was just a matter of again two were dead They were in the way of
this fence that we felt we needed for our family They were close to the house Um and and it's not I don't see how it's possible on our existing property to to plant these 25 major trees
The size of this property is about four fifths of an acre Is that correct it's So it's a non-confirming That's correct It's non-conforming though There's a there's a a cottage on the property too And there's a very very long driveway So in terms of grass uh non-house
non-driveway it's it's it's much much smaller than that I'm happy to share a survey if needed Council members hear I think we've just invited ourselves over
Come on over I'll bring coffee coffee and donuts Now Mike that's a whole other conversation Michael Cassidy you're there Michael good evening How are we doing good So everyone knows Michael Cassidy is our president DPW
director So So Michael remember this is not the hearing right we're not going to do a back and forth just just give us your you know twominut summary of your view of the situation and it's going to go on a future agenda for a hearing
Good Um it's as um as the folks are saying you know they put in for nine trees to be removed I visited the site Um they did not provide me the paperwork with uh it was uh submitted by another gentleman I believe it was the surveyor
uh because his name is on the survey Um however the trees um that were taken down none of them were noted as being dead and/or hazardous um I charged mitigation for each and every tree on there and I inspect each and every tree
I measured each and every tree and um got the accurate sizes while I did it Um the bond was posted and when you know it's within six months of finishing their project the residents are required
to notify us that they've planted the trees or that they have not planted the trees Uh to my knowledge that did not happen Okay All right So agenda let's put it on the agenda everyone We'll put it on the
agenda Um I would ask that they more that they reach out to you so that you can let them know what the requirements are for an appeal Yes Okay Okay So are you So in terms of to the residents you're you're aware of the requirements for the appeal I think you've had some
communications with the bur administrator David Fansaw Is that accurate david did email us the requirements He said it wasn't due before today Um if we have any questions we'll respond to them but he did he did outline them for us So thank you Okay
perfect So so you guys have each other's email You can communicate any questions you have Okay We'll be happy to answer anything that you need to know Okay Um and then I I don't know Are we going to schedule this tonight or wait for the
res they have to do the actual appeal Yeah So so your options are the next meeting is April 22nd If that if you have enough time to get the get the notice in the paper and the certified mail out to your neighbors um it can be held that night Um if not April 22nd the
meeting after that is May 6th Okay Thank you very much Okay Thank you both for your time tonight Thank you We'll come in person next time Bring the kids and the dogs Okay Okay All right have a good evening
Okay next on the agenda is the RFP from Burns or Individuals providing service Yeah I I'd asked this to be put on the agenda Um to pick up from this past uh presentation we are significantly behind with escros
and inspections and it has become quite an involved process Uh Blake Cassidy told me a story that most recently he did a inspection um that took about a half an hour to go through the plans to see if uh what was supposed to be
mitigated was actually mitigated Um uh some towns are doing this through contract services I do have an RFP uh draft I would like to put this out for RFP Um since an escrow was put up for the mitigation I believe that like other
professionals uh that such as our engineer that would charge against escrow the cost for this uh these inspections would be taken out of the escrow So it should be a neutral cost to the borrow for the inspection services uh related to escrow
So go ahead please Forester services are literally forest church Yeah Or arborist What is that is that for licensed treat i don't like to pass things I don't know what it is Yeah So you you want to
know and we'll bring that back What I anticipate it'll be it'll be cost David just double checking I know we discussed this a little bit Is this also going to include the the a piece of this of going forward and we're just
isolating this as a backlog i would say there's significant backlog but I would say on a going forward basis this is what we would do as well I don't believe that this is a good use of the time for DPW director to focus on these tree
inspections So if we do have a firm that uh can provide these authorist licensed tree expert services at a reasonable cost Um so you're saying get get it in We'll review them and then we can Yes To put it in perspective a little bit We
were three years behind that Michael got it down So that took it four years Oh yeah I just have a question I'm I'm very aware state would be from the application fees or from the mitigation escro because the
mitigation gets returned to the yeah I would say from the mitigation as the cost of these inspections and you may need to amend the ordinance but I think it's the best way to go but then it's not that neutral when if the
fund not is going to inspect to see if the site plan is is material funds from already um uh from fees that were already forfeited not specific to the application for each home Just I
thought that was for landing and I very much want to time here No way I think it's good No if if the money if the trees are replanted and the money's returned it's not net neutral to the burrows because it's now paying So there may be some
cost but that's why I ask you the application fees to make up the entire process but if it's the from the forfeited funds then it would be deducted from do we know if the forfeiture forfeited
funds exceeds the return funds to her point I think we're getting into the weeds where we don't know all the questions yet and I'm saying this has got to go out to RFP so we understand what we're going to deal with I think the big picture is is that our tree
ordinance is so robust We're two years behind in adjudicating all the issues Six to nine months for you know a resident get this in front of us So and this is a consistent So we got to get a handle on we want to have a robust ordinance we need to be able to get a
handle on I do I do also want to look while we're discussing it about another process where maybe tree ordinances and escros don't have to come before us and on our bi-weekly agenda Maybe we find some other avenue that we are not
right something the appeals process goes somewhere and then maybe you know we're the last right something and it's handled more administratively correct okay everyone's good with that
possibly imagine the dust control order but by the way in the future we used to say put the TV TBC on like you know Council Dayton Council Park whatever Can we do that again so we know who's putting them on the TV thank you Go ahead
This was me All right What's going on with control and I'm going to also loop this guy in a little too And you can blame me cuz I wouldn't do anything until you all hear it Okay One two three There's there's a lot of stuff on
So we're discussing a dust control ordinance just so the public Go ahead Not not as as enticing a name though as could have Um okay So this was brought to our attention for the environmental
commission regarding um dust control when people are doing uh construction projects The actual plastic and environmental uh debris that happens when you are you know either adding
additions or doing different development So what happened uh pretty recently was that in Hawworth uh end of February they passed an ordinance saying uh con contract contractors are strictly
prohibited from blowing debris dust or plastic contaminants into the streets and or storm drains Uh I'm going to have Dan uh Councilman Park just pick up for me in a second uh contractors shall cut and drill in confined spaces to keep
dust levels at a mil at a minimum and that basically there's guidelines to control dust trash plastic contaminants in at work sites Now so this was brought up as environmental issue It's been making the rounds like I
say Howard just uh passed this and Councilman Park told me that um previously we'd actually done some work in this regard I think before I I came on council So um then uh our council
here had said let's bring this up here before she even goes to what we already have to amend But I'll let Councilman Park talk about what his understanding what we've done in the past So this is already built into our ordinance That's what I thought And you might have been
there too but um I was like in the summer when you're when you create dust it just it's everywhere So it's up to the contractor or whoever's working on to keep it wet or so it doesn't fly away You this would just be an addition to that It's like the next section would be for the new materials are considered
plastics or recycled stuff ASAC TX So it's just expanding on that Are you just looking to add to the list of materials you're not looking to change the mechanics of the you said that it's already in there It's Yeah So it's just
adding the new because materials have evolved We're saying if you use this stuff then maybe it's a it's a hole in the ordinance like add to it So right now if you if you dig up your yard you're creating dust it's
your job to keep it moist so it doesn't fly away You don't want to widen the list of materials that Next if you're going to cut plastic like you know your deck has like the fake plastic wood or whatever Yeah that's it But they are guidelines and suggestions
that those construction But is it a there already it is an enforcable thing We've enforced it We we have enforced it a ton of flour Your neighbor calls and you send someone and they water it down So let's just talk about an example So let's say a
mason or your heartscape landscaper is putting in a new Belgian block driveway okay and they have to cut all the angles and things Well if they if they dry cut it you have dust everywhere If you have if you wet cut it you don't have dust And then on a windy day in the spring when it's blowing into the neighbor's
barbecue party they get upset They call the police It's enforceable It's enforced in town That goes on everywhere You're taking down a building Everything I'm cutting tile on my lawn right now and my guy has like a sheet that he puts
up so that Yep That's part of that That's part of it got all perhaps we have Wendy uh do a draft ordinance to circulate to the council so we can see what the changes are that you're recommending with a red line I
guess no it's additional it's additional be an additional right now you have soil movement more about the soil not materials right so so let's do the draft ordinance circulated to the council with the goal of getting this on the next
agenda There you go Okay we're done with the dust uh conversation How was it all right we're going to move on to public comment Audience members wishing to speak for another three minute time limit to address the governing body on any items
on or off the agenda Large groups are requested to have a spokesperson representatives Who would like to speak come on Deborah You'll sit up first Every give us your name but don't give us your address You're not allowed to do
we're not allowed to ask that Okay Could say where you work I was going to say that address Deborah Davidson I'm the executive director of the Tennifly Nature Center So thank you very much Which
that's the address Um good evening mayor and council members Thank you for the opportunity to speak with you tonight As director of the Townai Nature Center I have the privilege of seeing every day just how vital our preserved open spaces are to the health and identity of this
town These natural lands are not simply extra space or undeveloped parks They are rare living ecosystems They are places where native plants grow undisturbed where wildlife thrives and our environment maintains a sense of balance These areas offer a kind of quiet and
wild beauty that simply cannot be replicated with landscaping By preserving land in its natural state we protect more than trees and trails We protect biodiversity clean air and water and the mental and physical well-being of our residents here Natural spaces
offer something irreplaceable a connection to the rhythms of the natural world and a chance to experience something unmanicured authentic and healing The financial support this council has given to these efforts has done more than maintain the property It
has safeguarded a legacy It tells the story of a burrow that values open space not as a placeholder but as a priority Your commitment elevates this town's reputation As a leader in conservation forward thinking and quality of life as
development pressures grow around us your support becomes even more critical I urge you to continue protecting these irreplaceable spaces not as future parks but as preserved natural environments that define who we are and what this community stands for I know me many
residents today are grateful for this foresight of the past representatives as was seen throughout the pandemic the vision of the future and the partnership we have in keeping our town not just green but wild alive and inspiring Therefore we are asking for annual
assistance from the burrow for the necessary maintenance as we have since the bureau created the nature center in 1961 of the almost 400 acres that we provide care for so that we may continue to support necessary conservation efforts in order to preserve this
environmentally sensitive land groundwater natural features open space all while protecting the character of the burrow and its residential neighborhoods This support helps us to ensure environmental resiliency so that we can combat the realizations of climate change and protect flora and
fauna I've submitted um documentation to you earlier um that out that letter outlines what the needs are for this upcoming year for the nature center um especially after we've had really dry falls and the potential of wildfires we
at the nature center have taken a lot of great efforts to ensure that the land is safe maintains a healthy a healthy space and that we are considered one of the um healthiest forests in the state we've been told by the state foresters
The fact that we now have emergency management plans for these issues is a huge step that we actually know now how to help combat some of the issues that are brought upon by climate change So I would urge you to consider the
documentation that was submitted to you earlier um and be able to help support this organization which this county of this this county this bureau has helped to create from its inception Um we have been taking
great measures to look into other opportunities that can be brought to the to the property Um we had a meeting recently with some of the council members and some of our own board members to look into other ways that we
can provide more non-p passive but more active recreation opportunities at the preserve and we are continuing to look into this as as quickly as we can So thank you and thank you for the great work you do and the board of course and
all your all your staff Uh question for you So We're not you're not available to come to the next meeting as I understand it Unfortunately I'm not Okay Are you available to come to the first meeting in May yes Okay So what we'd like to do is put you on the agenda for that This
way it gives the council time to review all the documents uh questions they may have to you directly They can obviously communicate with you directly on that and then we can flush everything out in that first meeting in May Beautiful Does that does that work yep Okay So we'll
get Omar will get that on the agenda Yes First item Okay And then any council members who have questions for Deborah reach out to her directly And then we can go through the whole process
Okay Any other questions or shocking i just want to say thank you to our director because I actually get to sit on the development committee of the nature center and I know that her staff and her team have been tirelessly looking for funding sources and grants
and private uh donations and have been doing this 247 knowing the political climate knowing that funding might dried up dry up And so I request that our council take this uh nature center ask very seriously because we do not want
our DPW having to maintain 400 acres of this land If I could just say because I I liazison with the nature center and I see that a lot of times people might not realize just how much maintenance there is with trails you know we kind of have an
impression that oh you know you just walk and the trails are are somehow clear but I know they have a lot of work that they do with land and facilities So to Councilwoman Dayton's point regarding um if our DPW had to take over that you
know it would it would be a very ownorous situation So it's just something for us to consider as we review the paperwork Okay Thank you All right Thank you enjoy your uh time away All right Who else would like to
speak come on up Namely we go with address please I'm Kui I'm uh also a board member of the nature center But most most mo most importantly is I'm actually a father of two children in Tennifly and I'm a resident and and we go to the nature
center quite a bit And obviously I have a little bit more information about the nature center than most uh regular residents do So uh but mixing those two I just want the uh kind of the council to really consider exactly what's been said before I think nature center is about a quarter of all the town's
property Now you know there's fallen trees debris there's maintenance there's clearance there's also education that happens on this Now if the DPW were to run it I'm sure they could do a great wonderful job but you know it's it's
almost like like so when I'm hearing things sometimes it's saying that the nature center should have uh you know whether it's be revenue neutral or having to kind of uh fund their own fund you know for their uh for themselves I I'd like to think of well we're not asking you know the Roosevelt common to
fund itself We're not asking you know all the different parks to fund themselves They need maintenance they need you know trails to be cleared and they need to make sure that it's safe uh for everyone to be able to enjoy And this is one of the things that you know I really want to uh kind of impress upon
the board especially during COVID It was amazing to have that resource to walk around and have nature when we were all uh kind of really in need So this is very rare to have in in most other towns And I know that we might have gotten a little overwhelmed during COVID with other visitors but this is a jewel that
we have in town And I know that uh you know the real estate folks sell that jewel and and say hey this is the reason why you should want to come to town This is what sells the houses This is what you know helps me with my home price uh helps uh everyone else u with that tax
base and it helps us and so we have to preserve that because if that goes away if that gets developed or that gets turned into an amusement park where you know it gets destroyed we will no longer have this rest bit So I really implore uh that we continue funding it in the proper way So if this is a you know
green acres open space fun bond if it's a quarter of the town's property it should have at least a quarter of the town's available funding to make sure that we keep maintaining it just like we would maintain Roseville common and all the other open areas Thank you Thank you
Who else would like to speak anyone else here in the chambers come on up How you doing tonight Andrew good Give us your name No address Andrew Mesh Uh no address right halloween How
about Halloween Central uh I'm not here to talk about the nature center Okay I am even though I'm wearing it and all that Um I'm here as the team leader of the Northern Valley Greenway along with my
fellow team member over there and I'm going to give this to Omar So I'm actually talk about a another project other than the NA Valley Gateway but it's related to the
NA So part of our mission as part of the resolutions that you guys approve on a regular basis is to coordinate and lead and facilitate active transportation bicycling running type activities to enable the Nor Valley Greenway And we
take it a little more broadly to include keeping an eye on activities and other projects in the region that could have an impact on the greenway and our plans along the parameters within the scope of the resolution of bicycling running and
all that So one of those projects some of you guys know about it is actually out of New York State It's funded by the New York Metropolitan Transportation Council part of New York's DO and it's
called the U states shared youth path study and I think some of you I don't know mayor and I talked about it and they share some of you guys know about this this is a study it's only a study to
create better connectivity between the George Washington Bridge and M bridge along the PIP and we got engaged as soon as the the RFPs went out and we attended meetings and we got the mayor actually
attended one of the meetings I think it didn't have to be about it We tried to influence because the original goal was one multi-use path on top of the Palisades and we got we and our
communities because we reached outreach and got the communities engaged to change that to the realization you cannot squeeze every type of trans active transportation fast bikers slow bikers runners walkers into one 10-ft
fair wide pack And because combining different speed kills that's where accidents happen So we actually got them to incorporate the idea of multiple paths east west connectors i.e the northern valley
greenway is in their study now which wasn't before It's mentioned in the study which and other things like getting butterfly included as opposed to just um angled with cliffs and alpine with
nothing about it So the good news is they just finished the study They have a draft proposed report which is on the website It's on the handout So hand has a little more detail of the project and they have open
houses next week So I'm here to let you guys know that it's progressing This is our opportunity I tried to get to have a session for municipalities because I think they're different than the public But hey uh
it's a New York state project Um next Monday is session up in Palisate New York Next Wednesday is at the uh the PIP headquarters in Fort and I think Tuesday
is a virtual session So I briefly went through the report It's in the right direction A lot of the concepts we got the communities to advocate for are in there So I think it's a worthwhile to keep pushing in that direction And the
good news is New York State has to spend Um so that's about it I'm open to questions I'll get you guys more detail and a reminder but there's no if anyone wants to attend the open houses These documents have all the details Correct Absolutely Is there
anything we could do at the open house or is it just for us to listen or public comment i think the idea is for them to continue outreach and take the input because the communities will have input So the be critical is not to
designate their report as final but to have another round of revisions and updates and maybe have another session with municipal leaders within their footprint because you guys would have different considerations than the average bike
rider And the other one that's going on is the New Jersey DO's Route 9W project which is that's an ongoing project funded project that is going to
redo Route 9W from Palace Avenue up to the state line and the two of them don't talk to each other So that's part of our challenge is to coordinate that representing you guys Okay Okay Thank you Thank you Thanks And
I just forward the email to Omar So you'll get that Is there anyone else here in the chamber who would like to make a public comment okay Is there anyone online who would like to make a public comment please raise your hand or speak Omar are seeing or hearing anyone
oh come on please Ladies and gentlemen I'm a board of too many details Uh my name is Chad Coleman I am a board member of Nature Center I'm a Greenway representative for town I'm a scout leader teacher coach and as my
colleague mentioned also a dad I'm not from here uh married in New Jersey and uh I just wanted to frame some of this for us as we were thinking about the materials that were submitted over the next month Uh this is obviously
beautiful area Um as Mr Mash mentioned we're hoping to advance our greenway initiative and as was discussed previously our forefathers here in town preserved a considerable amount of community for the purposes of preserving
the environment Uh I think that the ideas that were a part of that have been around this town for a long time Um we have our ornate train station which was built because there were a number of wealthy people who wanted to get out of
New York City and enjoy this town that we all continue to enjoy living in because it remains preserved Uh we wouldn't have things like Daniel Atwood and Elizabeth Katie Stanton And uh years later when a bridge was
built and train stopped running um and a lot of people started to move here this was the only time that I see in tennifies history that the town increased by nearly 50% population are obviously uh there was a lot of concern in the
town as I'm sure anybody who has read anything about the history of it is aware of and part of that concern was the continued development Um I'm sure if you go on the Temple Nature C Center's website you'll see some of the ideas that they had for a lot of the town land
A missile silo was one of those Uh at the time a lot of uh community organizations and members came together A strong ordinance was passed by the Tenfly Council Organizations such as the JCC contributed a considerable amount
toward making the nature center a reality Uh we also have to thank the people who established places like Davis Johnson Park Roosevelt Commons named after Teddy Roosevelt because he too was a lover of nature I'm sure any of you who have gone down there and read any of the signage would see that that was part
and parcel of the establishment of that park as well The nature center was mentioned as a place of respite Um I see it as a little more critical than that uh even though it might be stopped at by some we are living through a mass
extinction driven by humans Uh in the New York metropolitan area there are very few areas where we have preserved natural areas intact The Tennifly Nature Center which has the name of our burrow on the title is one of the very few It was mentioned that our forest is very
healthy uh we have an opportunity and a responsibility to make sure that people know about that understand the value of it and to be proud of it as a burrow Uh as a board member I'm a little surprised that there is wavering support for the nature center within the burrow Like I
said our name is on the side The nature center perhaps before I was involved in this town had a lot of issues or financial concerns or a lot of debate but since I've been on it it does quite well The amount being asked is very small very small part of the municipal
budget and a very small part of the nature center budget If you'd like to speak with our colleagues who have been leazons then they would explain that to you and I would be happy to answer any of your phone calls about uh the nature center its value and financial situation
that you are under an obligation as the council of this town to contend with and make decisions about Thank you very much Thank you Chair Anyone else in the chamber like to speak anyone online who would like to make a
comment see anyone online no Omar no No one else okay All right We're going to close public comment time Move on to the administrative report Perhaps should punch you if you come up to the front row here Both of you You don't need to sit
separate Sure do that Yeah it's fine Um so mayor and council or Mor thank you for coming to the administrator's report On the back page of my report is the um introduction of our new uh public works director There's a resolution on your
agenda later uh this evening for officially appointing him So Pat Mason if you want to stand up to the microphone who has questions comments anything Yeah Mr Mason welcome Looking forward to
working with you Um I know I told uh David that um we even have an environmental commission meeting this Thursday that if you wanted to call in for I'd love to like introduce you to everyone you know drive or anything
early but um before we officially start but I'll I'll be working a lot with you and I'm looking forward to it So and thank you everyone for your opportunity that you can uh did you go to say something no just welcome to the burl We're so excited to have you Thank you for accepting Um you know Don and I got
you last so I think we killed you the hardest right thank you so much and thanks for coming all the way out here Yeah of course No problem Thank you So as you can see no I was going to say Pat's first day is going to be May 1st Yes
So as you can uh listen or as you listen to tonight's meeting conversations are all about nature nature center 440 acres no almost 400 both
and 400 it's all about the nature center and u someone mentioned Roosevelt commons and all the different green areas around town couple were on residents regarding trees being planted and tree ordinances so it's all about trees and all about nature That's why
we'll make that's okay in Dave Shelton Park a resident of neighboring town recently passed away and she to the borrow $100,000 right $100,000 to take care of the rose
garden and the trees and the greenery in um in Davis Johnson Park so people are very passionate about the green stuff around here sounds good to me and that's the second time that's happened for the rose garden that's the second time so welcome aboard all All right Thank you
We appreciate it Any questions for us oh I'm sure I'll have some on We'll get there May second we'll be all the answers right no problem You'll get all of us There we go Thank you Don't I want to ask how is the commute
because did you pass the sink holes you don't have a choice Um they push you around through different neighborhoods but you learn where to go That's all My I said my husband goes the opposite Yeah he goes the other way It's actually harder to get west than it is in the east honestly But they have supposedly on May 4th they'll have two westbound
lanes open so we'll see what happens Two out of four I guess it's better than nothing Well even if there's four they're slow So Oh yeah Absolutely Thank you Thank you for making the trip Patrick thank you very much We're very happy to have you join us
We're here with Pat Pat can you stay for the rest of the meeting there's an official ordinance Does anyone have any questions for David on the administrative report right
now this weekend We're in the process of identifying the grand opening We're packing our way into the Yeah So the the work of the contractor is into a punch list scenario at this point Um this skatepark equipment has
been installed Uh at this at this juncture looking at a punch list for them as well Um the skate park officially could be um christened sometime next week once it has the GIF inspection Um as far as the the rest of
the plantings I I'll address that with DPW Um we'll see what's left in the contractor scope and what's left for DPW to plan Um the one of the uh last remaining uh uh aspects are the garden
the elevated garden uh uh uh planters as well as benches Um planters should be here uh sometime in the next week or two There was a back uh back order for them Um and uh some of the benches DPW had
taken out to refurbish and they're putting back in Um the one thing I would point out in my report is uh which is is is a sort of a warning to us is the FEMA grant that we had uh that's what I want to ask about
talk about last meeting Um I had uh emailed out with my report this little post uh which I guess is sort of the federal doge um uh scenario which you know basically
has labeled this building resilient infrastructure communities brick program as as wasteful and politicized Um so the concern is uh you know that any other federal monies that we have anticipated
if they're going to be swept away as well So right so for Tennerly as you know uh from the Bliss Avenue Culver project we're still anticipating the reimbursement of over $2 million which
we should be in the final stages of and then we have the $ 1.6 $6 million Gothheim grant uh through HUD Um so this unfortunate news is about a grant application that was just submitted that they're basically ending that program
with FEMA and FEMA is getting back to its main core according to this news headline Um hopefully these kind of grant opportunities will be reappropriated in other federal departments but it just gives us pause
as we're starting to get some impact from the new dynamic I guess in Washington um as we're looking at federal dollars Go ahead So the letter that New Jersey gave us said anything uh what you know fiscal
year 2024 but I thought so my question really I think you might have answered it was that the Godheimr money for flooding and for a review of our flooding was in 20 fal year 2024 Is that not right um I believe it was fiscal year 2024 Yes And that's that is
officially housed in a in a in a hub But we're not worried about not receiving those funds Not at this point Uh that was not a FEMA grant That's not a FEMA grant So right now this is only CDS congressional funding spending
grant Okay Right Which came out funds from FEMA that is being administered by HUD Now that being said I have no crystal ball but I'm just answering your question Okay Thank you That's much better Everything's possible
Anything is possible until they cover mapping right is that one of the FEMA things or what what have we used so no So the covert so a couple different things So the Bliss Avenue cover was a was a bonafide hurricane Idaho response We put the money out We're waiting for
the reimbursement that reimbures finding that out But we're we're sort of the final stages now of hopefully actually receiving a federal cash for that $2 million Okay What happens if we don't receive it let's say they cut off
that funding If we don't receive it and we have to pay off the bond ourselves unless there's a future grant but obviously we have a bond for it right so if they didn't send us the money I mean that's all in place Um that would be the answer we would
have to that was actually funny money is from the natural disasters that should not be impacted this bricks program brick program is you know it's a building resilient infrastructure so you think it's
proactive we've spent some follow question how has been spent committed okay yes thus far you haven't spent anything on brick This what about the grant application what about this study
right Right But no shovel in the ground The good part about that if you will Councilman is that we have now put together a application for the next grant opportunity whether it be federal or state right you just hit submit at that point Yes
Can can you just remind me what was the thing that we submitted that was It was the It was a scoping grant Um that was the scoping Yeah the scoping grant for the U Thanks Going with the the creeks and the
going the next step beyond beyond that first right because he was part Godheimer's money was part one of this Goimer Godheimer's grant grant was for the east magnet and cleaning the scoping grant was to take it to the next
level to maybe do some dredging and other reinforcement reclaiming of the Thanks Okay Any other questions for David on the admin report david just a quick thing I had brought
up to you is um with some of the the funding for the signs for open space that came out of open space the electric signs Did you get a chance to check with Susan if there was money in signage or something like that was you're talking about the state the signage at the
nature center well kind of to I spoke to you about the electronic billboards Um I thought that the time that during budget that Susan was mentioning that there might have been something I could have been mistaken but then when we talked
about it you also said you were gonna because it triggered your memory that you were going to look at see if there was signage money for nature center signage as well Yeah So on that um I don't have an instant answer for tonight We'll look
and see if there is anything open We we sort of comb through most of our our uncommitted capital programs We have the signage money that we talked about the way signage was all
part of the ARP funding which has now been fully uh fully committed Um so there are no funds left in the ARP funds but we'll take a look and see if there's anything else available We do have money is in the U open space
allocation that's for those signs Oh for the wave funding or for the electronic billboard as far as the federal dollars um off the top of my head we sort of Yeah we talked about it all tonight Actually the only
thing that's really out there potentially would be government Hopefully that doesn't occur but that's being out there that we anticipated this week We're
still cut HUD out Yeah One nice thing about that one nice thing about that particular grant is the administrative processing takes so long We haven't been able to actually commit the dollars and spend again We're still working on all
the approvals Oh my god All right we move on to correspondence Thank you Dave The first one here is the uh from John Van Horn the
attorney for the estate of uh Mackenzie McGav Oh it's him again And Mackenzie McGavin Yep Who uh from Anglewood who who left to borrow $100,000 um for use in Davis Johnson Park So
that's just fantastic So I I helped people when we we did a lot of the um rose garden and you know we were so concerned at the time about uh the future of this space and I have to tell you you know my my family goes all the time Um so thank you so much the
McGavin family and the estate because I have now seen so many weddings picture um you know picture shoots baby showers People are truly enjoying this space It's so special um the Davis Johnson If if our residents
haven't been and they're listening please go take a walk stroll it It's lovely So this is just unbelievably incredible Yeah And so David I'm sorry It's It's all thanks to the volunteers who maintain it the master gardeners and the
garden club every morning The crack of dawn Yep At the crack of dawn So can we reach out to the attorney to find out the contact information so we can send you know a
letter from mayor council thanking them Absolutely We should reach out to Van Horn and find out if there is anyone All right So that's wonderful Okay Okay Now the next item on correspondence is an extension to a film permit What's
going on with this why is this in front of us someone looks like they want to come up and talk about So um the applicant is asking for um an extension to film um the extension for the film between hours
of I believe uh 6:00 a.m to 900 p p.m Um our current film um per ordinance allow us to uh have filming done from 8:00 a.m to 700 p.m So um in the ordinance it requires mayor council approval to um
receive an extension of the time um limit on on filming This is downtown This is a This is a microphone So this is in front of AIA Yes There's no houses
Gourmet Ton of gourmet It's full It's full Okay So what Omar just Hey guys let's just help us understand what do they want to do different than what the permit allows longer hours They they're just looking for longer hours because um the time
frame in which we have and our orders allows allows for from 8:00 a.m to 7:00 p.m They're looking to extend it um a little bit earlier So they want to start from 6 a.m to 7 I mean not 7 to 9:00 p.m And you got the cooperation of these
businesses Yes council have any issue with this no Do we need a vote the only thing I would ask is just to make sure that it doesn't um with your noise ordinance So what activities would be done if it would you know you may want to restrict to make
sure that the there is acknowledgement of the noise ordinance before 8 a.m You're aware of the noise ordinance yes Are you filming inside yes Are you going to make any noise outside we'll try We'll have few vehicles coming in now but uh vehicles
Is this that what I would just say is that um if everyone has consensus we'll have a resolution authorizing it for the next agenda which is still before the filming date So it should be fine Will there be no need for police presence with traffic flow or anything that would
be separate from the filming permit This is it's a separate process So you would certainly have to look into that as well But that is school hours and such that area I'm sorry I apologize Resolution for
approval Maybe ask for a So if you need a consensus now or a vote what do you need just need consensus for us to have a resolution Yes You're going to be fine We have the resolution on the next meeting's agenda And you're filming sometime in May Yeah May as well The
next meeting is April 22nd Yes So you officially get permission then making sure you follow ordinance Okay perfect Thank you Thank you Thanks for choosing Tunnel Fly Big Korean movie Glad to get a movie
That's wild We should advertise our town for more like films Really how do we reattract them it's a state people change our ordinance Tell her tell her we're good The first
thing is the the ordinance and the time and we don't come here because of it But the director is from here So she requested that's why we're here Okay Yes Just ask
being put out by the state I believe ordinance which is making things a little nicer and inviting film radio Absolutely Let's look at that one of the next meetings Okay The county should have
No we did too Jared L should have reached out to somebody Okay We're going those emails from the county We're going to start with the public hearings everyone Omar are you ready yes The 25-10 Yes Caller can you please read the confirmation of publication of the
ordinance and the title sure Ordinance number 25-10 is an ordinance that was published in the March 23rd edition of the record Calendar year ordinance calendar year 2025 ordinance to exceed the municipal budget appropriation limits and establish a cap bank NJSA 48
col 4-45.14 I'd like to open the floor for any public comment on ordinance 25-10 only Does anyone here in the chambers have uh comments does anyone online have comments about this ordinance omar do you see anyone see no hands mayor Okay
we're going to close uh public comment time Councilman Clark would you like to make a motion please yes I move to pass and adopt on second and final reading ordinance 25-10 And that notice of same shall be published according to law I have a second please
Second Mark could you please read the uh call the roll please council member Corsair yes Council member Dayton yes Council member Dr Okconor yes Council member Park yes Council member Roer yes
Ordinance 25-11 multi-purpose bond ordinance Omar could you please read the confirmation of publication of the ordinance and the title sure Ordinance number 25-11 It was published in the March 23rd edition of the record Bond ordinance to authorize the making of various public
improvements and acquisition of new additional or replacement equipment and machinery new information technology equipment new communication and signal system equipment and a new automated mo automotive vehicle including the original apparatus and equipment in and
by for the burrow of Tennifly in the county of Bergen state of New Jersey to appropriate the sum sum of $4,369,600 $00 to pay for the cost thereof to make a down payment to authorize the issuance of a bond issuance of bonds to finance such
appropriation and to provide for the issuance of bond anticipation notes in anticipation of the issuance of such bonds I'd like to open the floor for any public comments on ordinance 25-11 only Would anyone like to make a comment on this ordinance in the chambers is there
anyone online who'd like to make a comment about this ordinance omar do you see any hands i see no hands We're going to close public comment time Um council woman adopted Julia Opan Would you like to make a motion please yeah I move to pass and adopt on second and final
reading ordinance 25-11 and that notice the same shall be published according to law Got a second please Second One more Could you please call the role council member Peric Yes Council member Dayton Yes And thank you Susan for preparing the bond ordinance
Council member Dr Okconor Yes Council member Park Yes Council member Roer Yes Where was your voice coming from okay Ordinance 25-12 reappropriation ordinance Omar could you please read the
confirmation of the publication of the ordinance and the title of the ordinance sure Ordinance number 25-12 was an ordinance that was published in the Sunday March 23rd edition of the record an ordinance reappropriating 593,000
to450,000 proceeds of the obligations needed for their not needed for their original purposes in order to provide for other purposes in and by the burough tennifly in the county of Bergen New Jersey I'd like to open the floor for any public comment and ordinate on
ordinance 25-12 only Are there any public comments from the audience here is there anyone online who'd like to make a public comment marty see any hands up see no hands All right we're going to close uh public comment Councilwoman Corsair would you like to make a motion please sure I move to pass
and adopt on second and final reading ordinance 25-12 and that notice of the same shall be published according to law Have a second please Second Please call the role Council member Corsair Yes Council member Dayton Yes Council member
Dr O' Conor Yes Council member Park Yes Council member Roer Yes Ordinance 25-13 open space appropriation Omar would you please read the confirmation of publication of the ordinance and title of the ordinance sure Ordinance number
25-13 It is an ordinance published in the Sunday edition of March 23rd There's an ordinance of the burough tennifly in the county of Bergen New Jersey appropriating 955,000 for the purchase and installation of playground equipment
at Walnut Park for replacement of new electronic signs including electricity to illuminate the signs for recreation and community purposes located at Roosevelt Common Tennifly Road and R River Edge Road and at Route 9W and East
Clinton Avenue for the purchase of benches picnic tables receptacles racks and umbrellas at the Tiger Court for upgrades and improvements at the Tennify Municipal Pool and supplementing ordinance number 24-09 for upgrades and
repair to the Little League field And for supplementing ordinance 24-22 for the swim club security cameras raised flower beds fencing skate park including asphalt and curbing benches concrete footings for benches and fountains
Okay I'd like to open the floor for any public comment on ordinance 25-13 only Are there any comments on this ordinance councilwoman you have your hand up Yes I just wanted to confirm because I know that um Mike has always sourced our in
the last few years the benches from the the recyclable plastic vendor We have a vendor at the state where we get those benches I just wanted to make sure if that was noted that the benches would be that I think there's by the tiger cage and different benches that were
mentioned in this Yeah I think that's our policy vendor that we used last year I believe we use the same vendor we'll use and they're under state Great Thanks This is very exciting all these projects It's about time some of this picnic
table Yeah Yes Any members of the public would like to make a comment on this ordinance only in the chambers anyone online would like to make a comment about this ordinance omar you see any hands on it see no hands ma'am Okay we're going to close public comment Uh councilman roller would you like to make
a motion please got a second please Second One more Please conduct a roll call Council member Corer Yes Council member Dayton Yes Council member Dr Okconor Yes Council member Park Yes Council member Roer Yes
Ordinance 25-14 Omar please read the confirmation of publication of the ordinance under the title Ordinance number 25-14 It was published in the Sunday March 23rd edition of the record an ordinance amending chapter 35 land development regulations of the
revised general ordinances I'd like to open the floor for any public comment on ordinance 25-14 only Anyone in the chambers like to make a comment anyone online would like to make a comment about this ordinance only all you see any hands raised see no hands All right
we're going to close public comment time Councilwoman Dayton would you like to make a motion please i move to pass and adopt and second and final reading ordinance 25-14 and that notice of same shall be published according to law I have a second please
Second Mark would you please conduct a roll call customers Yes Council member D Yes Council member Dr Okconor Yep Council member Park Yes Council member Ro Yes I just have a question about the agenda
I didn't see any space for um committee reports Was that just an oversight uh but usually by mayor's remarks That's that's an oversight We'll have committee reports and by mayor's remarks Gotcha Thank you I would like to pull two
things from the consent We're on new business Hold on Okay Okay Uh ordinance R25-198 introduce 2025 municipal budget Council Park would you like to make a motion please
give me one sec I clicked the wrong thing I move to adopt resolution 25-198 which introduces the 2025 municipal budget and set the hearing for May 6 2025 at 8:00 p.m or soon thereafter in the council chambers of
the Tennifly Municipal Center Hearing on the adoption of the 2025 municipal budget Have a second please Second Mark would you please conduct the roll council member Corsair Yes Council member Dayton Yes Council member Dr
Okconor Yes Council member Park Yes Council member Yes Okay Councilwoman you had a question about resolutions I did Um I would like since Pat and his wife are here I would
like to separate out uh R25-247 and vote on that first if possible so we can appoint our new director of public works And I would like to vote separately on R251 195
of 195 Yes the first one Okay the first one All right So I'm going to start with that singular Right Can I do that Omar since it's in numerical order Yes Okay So I'm going to ask for a motion on resolution
R25-195 please So moved I have a second Second Omar please call the role Hey can I just explain to the public so this is the Tennifly Swim Club It's an authorizing change order to add more money for the improvements I'm just letting the public know Sure Okay One more please call the
role Council member Corsair yes Council member Dan no Council member Dr Okconor yes Council member Park yes Council member Roer yes Okay If I get a motion on resolution
R25-19 through R25-246 so moved I have a second Second Please call the ROC Yes Ciao So this is on 247 This is for the consent Oh for the full consent
Yes Council member Carter Yes Council member Park Yes Council member Golier Yes Okay Thank you everyone All right Wait Mayor are we going to do the director of public works separately or do we just do
it separately yeah Hold on a second Hold on a second Make a big deal about it All right It's It's a necessary big deal All right This is for our new public works director Um I get a motion
Drum roll Resolute to approve resolution R25-2 247 to appoint a new director of public works So moved I get a second Second Can we call the role please council member Corsair Absolutely
Council member welcome to 10:00 Council member Carter Yes Council member Clark Yes Council member Roy Yes I don't get to vote but if it was a tie I would have voted yes Thank you Welcome aboard Thank you A
very long trip to be here this evening this whole meeting Thank you Could I get a motion to approve the minutes of March 18th 2025 mayor and council meeting second Second Second All in favor i Any opposed
okay For my mayor's remarks I will forgo my time to do committee reports Councilman Park I have nothing I have nothing No just kidding I have control Um so actually I I I'm going to use my
time to to contextualize some stuff with the advantage that I have in being on the environmental commission Every few meetings uh our DPW director Mike Cassidy supplies us with the train numbers So what are the tree
numbers and I want to explain this uh especially because we we had one of these issues earlier in the in the evening Um so what he does is he supplies us with the numbers of how many trees in the burrow are being cut down
and then how many get replanted And so I just want to I pulled up the old minutes to to review what happened in 2024 So the DPW themselves in just 2024 alone
removed 69 trees and they were able to plant 70 and that's great news So that would be trees that might have fallen in uh the road They are on burough property Those are DPW responsible trees Um
however for residents with permits these are people who have their own homes and of course the the developers who come in and develop a plot of land In 2024 588 trees were removed by residents with
permits But this does not include the trees that we lost in storms and it doesn't include trees that are removed illegally which unfortunately we know happens Maybe someone applies for a permit for one and they actually took down two you know and then there's ones we'll never
know about Um now with those 588 trees that were removed in just 2024 alone it required a mitigation of 714 major trees and 108 minor
trees But because we have a 2:1 ratio calculation you can plant two minors to replace one major What ended up happening was 104 major trees and 82
minor trees those little herbivites those tiny trees were planted So in other words residents were often planting minor trees instead of major trees And uh this is because they don't
really have uh space on their lawn Sometimes they end up forfeiting the money But what that is resulting for our town to have is we're losing so many trees and that's just one year and we're losing so many major trees And it
actually was the suggestion by the environmental commission that in one of our revisits of the tree code that maybe there's more restriction on this ability of replacing majors with minors because what we're really getting is a whole
bunch of little trees and when when we're in a real hole with our major trees Now regarding when they forfeit the money and it goes into our tree fund I want to tell you that one of our issues is we don't always have so much burrow
land for these trees to go on Now one of the programs that we really want to encourage people to do is they can sign up to get a burrow planted tree in the first 10 feet of their lawn and the burrow right away And that allows the
the DPW to kind of distribute trees throughout the town as is with the trees that planted last year which is a great program So please contact the DPW We also look for other places such as uh
this Grove Street Park the Tennifly Swim Club Those are places where trees have been put Those are burrow on properties Uh we have Louise Lane is another place that we're looking to put trees in any burrow and area But I guess I just
wanted everybody on the council especially to hear what type of deficit we're talking about hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of trees just in one year I think you could use your own eyes You look around town about you know
just the the deficit we're under I just wanted to share that with you all because like I say it is numbers that I and Councilman Park come across when we're because we are part of the environmental commission We get that report from uh from Mike and I just want
to put some numbers to what you might be seeing with your own eyes So um one of the ways that we've also been able to chip at this deficit is that we have the nature center has taken a lot of trees
uh because they are trying to get native trees in their space They're trying to get rid of invasives and replace with natives So that again also paid by our our tree fund So we we use the tree fund
as best we can and as David mentioned earlier we may even be tapping into it for these inspection reasons themselves for man balance Uh and just this year uh Mike Cassidy our DB current outgoing DPW
director uh has requested the following native trees for the Tennifly Nature Center which would be 25 magnolia 20 crab apples 30 shad bush I think that is and 25 red butts So those are all native
trees And again optimally we really want these trees planted throughout the town but it's just one use of our tree fund So I just want to share this information with everybody because um
what we use our our shade tree trust for is very important I also want to just say that on April 27th we do have a townwide trashathon You can register at the nature cent's website but the
environmental commission green team nature center we all work together It's a fantastic day to go out and uh clean up the community So it's April 27th and please I know the mayor's message has been talking about this on Fridays Please please sign up Julie can I add in
there there's a shopping cart in our brook near the school bridge near the high school parking lot School bridge There's a shopping That's a cultural That's That's culturally Yeah it's an institution That is That is a piece of art That's a landmark
Yeah that's a piece of art That's a That's a Tenniferly landmark Well the to-do list Um okay Go ahead All right Let Julie finish I I also want to see so please sign up for the trashathon I also want to say the annual gala for
the nature center is May 17th at the spring house That is also available for registration uh on their website as well You can you can sign up for both things I mentioned on their website Also the the nature center has just received an injured
redtailed hawk from New Mexico So another fine feathered friend to visit Uh one other thing uh I wear my hat on the board of health Uh the there is um unfortunately you've probably been
hearing about bird flu Uh and um there is I think a little bit wider concern by certain people in the government than they're really letting on So um we now have been tasked with um the D I think
it's sorry division of fish and wildlife under the D for the state has now created a dead bird reporting form So if you are walking and you see a dead bird uh Omar has put uh on our the newslash
part of our website as well as where else Omar in the board of health page to help us Please complete the form if you see any dead birds It could they're just monitoring things It could be AV and flip Um and so I wish I'd ended on a
happier note I should have done the other thing but that those are my updates Thank you for the time John do you have anything okay do you have anything to report on um I do Um I just absolutely
As you can see beautifification green spaces wait till you meet Wreck you know fields and wreck We got lots for you to do but we're so thrilled So Phil you know you're you're coming um on the heels of an excellent director We're sad to see you go but we're thrilled you
could step in and step in immediately Thank you Um I wanted to put the planning board real quick Just want to everyone know our meeting for tomorrow is cancelled but we do have some applications for some very interesting mixeduse um apartment buildings small
apartment buildings in the downtown So if anyone wants to come and hear some of these uh discussions I think they're excellent I think they are trying to fill um little small spaces downtown to allow residents to walk and utilize our downtown and live there Um and at the
same time use areas of our town that have just been neglected or not looked at for a long time So you know we appreciate the applicants and uh I just for the public you know our meetings are usually Wednesdays Please come on out um senior services We were not able to
apply this year for our ARP grant David Rhysa and I met we had a discussion We're having a little bit of a blip with our grant process So the senior services grants are too small for Millennium but
they're too intrusive for internal grant writing So we do need to find a solution And and I know David and I and Reese have spoken about this We don't want to hire millennial for a $10,000 grant and it cost us $10,000 to hire At the same time we don't have a grant writer
designated for these And you know we have great aging in place grant opportunities that we're missing Uh one of them is benches We could have possibly covered some of our benches you know so we do need to find an internal solution and I look forward to
continuing those conversations Do we have Millennium still or Yes Yes Okay Millennium excuse me Sorry Um and then just the fire department Um the fire department um was short um of staff
We've now filled it And I just want to thank um somebody who used to do the position is now taking over that paperwork And it would be who to consider whether that is an appropriate person She's knowledgeable
Um again if that's enough the appropriate workload for that position So I I do want to continue that conversation may be closed Um and that's it And then again I'm going to promote the nature center enchanted evening at the spring house I
hope to see all my councilmen and mayor there with guests filling it up Absolutely Come for a drink She needs me That's right That's right Um so I hope
you support Please bring friends and family It should be a lovely evening Actually our very own Jenny Jackson head of a chamber of commerce is u helping to create it So I think Jenny's going to make a beautiful evening and our the TNC board is really excited to host it and
raise some funds Thanks Okay Thank you Uh I'm just gonna Patrick I'll close Welcome aboard again It's a pleasure to meet you Okay I'm also going to say you know thank you to our outgoing director Hassy
cuz he's smart Thank him He'll be um you know he'll be working nearby here so he won't be too far away If you ever need anything he'll be more than happy to help out But uh thank you Michael Cassidy And uh with that I'll ask for a motion to adjurnn So
have a second Second All in favor hi Have a good night everyone Thanks for being here [Music]