##VIDEO ID:3zbJLBZ5F2Q## I call to order this regular meeting of the aronal council for Monday the 3rd of February 2025 Madam clerk would you please read the open public meetings act Appliance statements the notice requirements of the open public meetings act have been satisfied with respect to this meeting of the township Council the meeting time and date were included to the public meeting notice along with the public internet link and telephone Callin information said notice and meeting agenda was posted in the municipal building and sent the official newspaper to the township the RO of times and the Star Ledger at least 48 Hours proceeding the start time of this meeting the agenda and handouts can be viewed online at Verona nj.org counil meetings a public comment period will be held in the ordance listed on the meeting agenda and instructions on how to comment will be provided the appropriate time thank you madam clerk would you please call the all councilwoman Holland here councilwoman McGrath here Deputy Mayor makoy presid mayor tamboro here mayor I councilman councilman Roman will be joining us shortly yes also on the meeting is Township attorney Bri lawyer Township manager Joseph Deco and Deputy Township manager kivan myself municipal clerk Jennifer K thank you madam clerk everybody please rise The Pledge legance and remain standing after the pledge thank you pledge legance in the uh everybody wouldn't mind standing again thank you uh in the last couple weeks brona lost two beloved members of the community uh who were not only so loved and appreciated by many and did so many for so many other people um but we're also members of our Municipal staff team so at this point I would like to call for a moment of silence for Kelly Lawrence and Rich bird Kelly was a technical assistant in our building department and Mr bird was um and staff member at our recycling center uh so please a moment silence thank you let's start today with our mayor's report um I said earlier we do found Lawrence both Kelly Lawrence and Rich bird um the it was also wonderful to see the uh how the community rallied around the families um and it really shows that Verona is such a special place um to live in to work in in uh and to be a part of um I had the opportunity um to serve as a judge for the uh the junior Women's Club Spelling be last week which is a great event so I congratulate all of our winners there it was a tough competition um Everybody did well I also attended the New Jersey state first aid Council um swearing of officers with the deputy mayor um our own sud wit who who worked in the Verona Municipal government for nearly 40 years uh and our Police Department was sworn in as that organization's president um and as an interesting fact way the Verona rescue squad has the most presidents of the New Jersey state for state Council um ever so there we are and we were joined by state senator Kristen Cado who was in The Gallery today and alaras as well who were kind of enough to swear in the officers um I was invited uh by the college Ford to attend um a surprise Award of a $40,000 scholarship uh to Jenna McGrath um a junior at ver High School uh which was very exciting the College Board is giving scholarships for people who use their College and Career planning software um and you don't enter you just do it and they came out a surprise J during fet class which was which was wonderful uh this weekend I had the opportunity to attend the family and friend soft opening of nomada the new Mexican restaurant in Verona uh that is run by sca's Hospitality Group the same folks that own Parkside social it was an excellent uh evening and I I highly recommend that you patronize and and try out that restaurant um the uh one of part owners is a a grw up in Verona and they're pretty invested in our community um but it is really an exciting place and a good place for families as well um yesterday was the Unico uh brona Sunday gravy dinner which is always one of my favorite things of the year because I like to eat um but also because it reminds us of the importance of taking time to sit down and share a meal with others and break bread and celebrate those TI that bring us together um we realized as we were there that there were six current reformer Mayors in attendance um so there is a photograph of everybody uh on my social media but uh it was great to see that outpouring support from our current and former mayors uh I also had the opportunity to attend a uh a dinner for uh students from North Stars Washington Park High School uh that will be attending uh brona high school at the end of this week week for an immersive experience um and was able to welcome them to Verona um yesterday evening as well I ate very well yesterday for sure um and uh wonderful wonderful very impressive group of students will be joining us so I was pleasure to welcome them as as well um and I'm going to reserve just one item for the end of my report um but this time I'll call on Mr Jay ctre our s County liaison do first we're we're GNA wait on that just for a second well good evening mayor and Council Ando pleasure seeing you here this evening um couple of things are happening um let me get my deer management card out we are continuing to have deer management at Hilltop and they will will be on February 6th 13th 20th and 27th and just in case we have a rain date it will be sometime after that depending on the weather so we are doing that we do not give out statistics yet until we do a final since I know that question was going to come up and yes we do give the meat to butcher who gives it to a nonprofit and we do feed uh other organizations and the homeless Etc uh other things we have a job fair on February 22nd at the turle black Zoo it's at the Bryson Center and that is also on the website if you need something we have a teen uh arts program on the parks website again and it's February 14th is online and for your Runners we also have the opening of the foral for the tank p r which is on April 6 this year so if you're running or starting to get in shape uh please join us it's at the CH Branch Park uh cherry blossom Center and finally Mr diarco we hate to lose you but I know where to find you I know where your house is and I know but that being said uh on behalf of the county executive and myself it's been a pleasure working with you here the hat if you I know you need it and just another little shirt just in case uh you want to go play golf but it's been a pleasure working with you um enjoy I'm always around out of problems I I filled out my application for the SC course you're more than welcome to play with me give me a call anytime Uh Kevin you're filling very large shoes I know you know uh but if you need something we're always around I'm be County Executive Joe you did a great job thank you very much any question or we oh do you have oh couple other things I forgot there was ice skating the last few weekends on the lake so yes we have had that we don't there's snow on it right now so we don't know if we're going to have it in the future if it continues to get cold then yes we will probably have it and yes do you have a question there no I was asking if anybody else did every good to certainly thanks J uh I have an appointment for the Shad stre commission Katherine tamask for alterate number one her term would expire 1231 of 2027 um at this point I'm going to call up our environmental commission to uh provide a brief summary of there good evening everybody and thank you mayor for inviting us to this meeting and realize it was going to be so well attended um I'm Jessica Pearson I'm the chair of the bur environmental commission and I'm joined by Vice chair Shan dearo who obviously not only wears different hats in many different capacities for the town but also different shirts um the environmental commission is a body of seven members and two alternates who serve must be a resident and serve without compensation except for the awesome pats on the back and compliments that we do get from our residents uh currently our liaison is Mayor Tambora we serve multiple functions in the town including acquiring property for conservation making recommendations for the use of open space calling for joint meetings or activities with other similar bodies uh making recommendations to the governing body and the land use boards on issues concerning Water Resource Management air and water pollution control Solid Waste Management even even that noise control soil and Landscape protection environmental appearance and protection of Flor and fauna but among all of those respon responsibilities and helping with policy recommendations we also are required to present an annual report to our governing body and so tonight we just wanted to give you a short wrap on what we did last year and what we're looking at moving ahead next year so in terms of public events we held three cleanups in addition to many other cleanups that are Partners in this wonderful environment uh the uh Hilltop conservancy and the Verona Park Conservancy had cleanups we joined them at theirs as well we also helped organize and participated in sustainable Verona's electric car electric car fair this uh fall and in terms of policy we toiled with the township officials on adopting and or presenting the new storm water management ordinance that you all adopted last March and then a revision of which you adopted last October we created uh the recommended planting list that's before you this evening and because it was lacking in so many grasses and perennial types of plantings we really uh tried to add those in we also recommended that um ever field remain natural grass that steep slope disturbance and tree removals remain minimal uh in the renovation process and moving on to presentations meetings and actions we meet monthly every month except for August so 11 meetings a month unless we call a special meeting and we also attend your meetings uh via Zoom most of the time and sustainable Verona meetings we also introduced last year the first Veron uh junior environmental commissioner program which invited two VHS students to join with us and work with us for the entire year and that culminated last month uh December 9th oh two months ago now oh my gosh we're in February um at their U exceptional presentations of their projects and we also held two webinars this year one on backyard composting and one on recycling 101 Sean uh continuing on the things that we've done this year uh we've increased Recycling and warehousing compliance at the Verona pool uh we attended uh over 10 informative webinars sponsored by anj which is the um the associate of Association of New Jersey environmental commissions The Watershed Institute and Ruckers and other organizations uh we held our annual fourth grade poster contest which culminated with the winners receiving awards at the uh April Verona Town council meeting uh We've created and presented six Elementary School assemblies at Brookdale and Forest a schools uh to teach our students about recycling uh we attended special meetings and worked with the sustainable Bona uh surrounding the production of a special study on Centennial Field graded by uh MSU monair State University interns um this was a program sponsored by PSG and led by stable Verona uh we helped sustainable Verona achieve the silver certification for the township of Verona by submitting 185 points through research and written action submissions excuse me uh began a VC the environment commission quarterly newsletter to better inform our residents about what we do and we drafted over 20 site plan reviews uh for owners land land use boards uh and I'm moving on to another section here installations and ongoing maintenance uh We've maintained our social media accounts with educational posts throughout the year some of our original reels have received over 1 million views uh we maintained our website which contains a concentration of important environmental information our meeting documents and event information just a couple stats here during 2024 the VEC website averaged 600 to 800 visitors per month during the 2024 calendar year the VC website received 6,397 views and 5,10 visitors since the VC website went live in June 2020 on its plat new platform it's received 13,528 views and 9,680 visitors through the end of 2024 uh We've maintained in care for a perennial garden at grow Park which is something that we sphe headed a little while ago with the Women's Club uh junior Women's Club excuse me also welcome new faery house installations by the Verona scouting organizations uh We've maintained Verona's treasure tree program which I think we' ramped this past year uh and we maintained BC's geocaching program at two locations in Verona uh since 2016 the growth Park geocaches have been logged by 194 users that visited that Park since 2021 the hilltop reservation geocache placed in conjunction with the Verona Cub Scouts have been logged 50 by 54 users and then uh the EC had released three trackable items that originate in baruna that have traveled just about under 60,000 miles cumulatively through users moving them from geocache to geocache since 2016 yes and then just a brief looking ahead um we will be celebrating Earth Day again with our fourth grade poster contest I'm going to have to get in touch with Madam clerk to ask what dates look good for the presentation it looks like April 21st is one of your days but that school is closed I think yes school's away so that won't work um but we'll figure that out um I'll be joining the amazing Sarah ofarrell to present our um assem at the elementary schools this year we're also besides uh Recycling and do not idle we're going to talk about Verona's awesome green spaces we just want these kids to really understand how lucky and fortunate Verona is to have those um we've scheduled a native plants lecture getting started with deer resistant native plants um with Master Gardener and ruer Stuart Deb Ellis from the Native Plant Society of New Jersey and and that's going to be Wednesday April 2nd uh 6:30 to 7:30 at the Verona Public Library we're hosting a native plant sale you can go online right now becc I'm sorry Verona ec.org yeah thank you.org back education and download your order form they're all going all the plants um are at wholesale prices um and orders must be placed by April 11th uh and finally uh looking ahead uh we're continuing to work on creating and installing signage at the pekman River Wood sign kiosk behind FN Brown something that's been on our agenda on and off for the past year and a half we're going to work on it this year a little bit more uh we're hoping to incorporate invasive and Native species identification education walks into our cleanups this year so residents that attend can better know what uh may be growing in our own backyards uh we have two new Junior Commissioners this year who have interest in Native species clean water measures as well as River and open space cleanups and Restorations so we'll getting be getting them uh on top of those topics our quar newsletters are set to continue in 2025 this year we are tasking our Junior Commissioners to help with ideas for Content research and drafting of Articles uh we're looking to place a third geocache in 2025 near the community garden to highlight that space and I think that was pretty much our annual you guys have any questions please L questions for the must answer them all well a comprehensive report and the commission did send that to us in advance it is a pleasure to serve as you Aon why we have everybody who on environmental commission stand up real quick stand up stand up all right we have obviously more folks but been around is a true working commission who does a lot for our town so thank you all for that um right well uh tonight is a it's a Bittersweet evening um it is a little more bitter for the Town Council a little more sweet for Mr dico uh in that Mr diaro after 57 years of Public Service in the state of New Jersey and years of the military before then uh has decided to retire uh and I think we all when we announced Mr ain's appointment um shared some of our thoughts on on Joe but um Joe I just I want to thank you for coming into this municipality during a time we had so many conflicting and competing projects and initiatives so many needs um and coming in and just taking head-on uh showing kindness and Leadership among the staff um and really getting and providing the council the information and strategy that we needed to go forward for this town uh your expertise has been invaluable um and I think it's the best decision this council's ever made to appoint into that position and the second best decision Mr solivan then well then when Mr solivan retires that was the best so but you know but anyway I we can't thank you enough and we have a couple presentations uh this time I'd like to call up our state senator Christen Cado and our state assemblyman Christa Phillips thank you for being with us here tonight Senator pleasure we apologize assembly M baras could not be here with us tonight um but we wanted to be here to congratulate um and celebrate an amazing career 57 years is truly unbelievable starting with your service to our country it's not lost on us that after serving our country you continue to serve um our community in another way and truly made such an impact on so many lives um you will truly be remembered for what you did we had a conversation recently talking about serving in government and whether it was serving in county or state or local and what impact and we were talking about about how local was so important because you get to know the people you serve on a day-to-day basis and you get to see the impact that you made um and I know for myself and Chris serving as a mayor um in his hometown of white clock we we said it was our favorite and I know certainly for you you have made such an impact in the lives of the people that you have worked with over the 57 years and so on behalf of state of New Jersey on behalf of our district we really want to congrat ulate you on an amazing career um we wish you much success and joy and happiness in the next chapter and knowing how you serve the community in so many other capacities I know as one door closes another opens and you're going to continue to serve in different areas but we hope you enjoy this time from getting to spend time doing what you love to do being with your family well well said Senator 57 years so how did you do it what what what is the secret no idea I know I'll make some of my council members laugh when I said it all the time when I got here I'm just having fun right well first said you're gonna have time now to do what you love but I think you've been doing what you love 57 years so I mean an amazing public servant a veteran as the senator said a family man as well and the proclamation that we're going to present to you from the state said say all of that and more about your contributions um I believe you have a lovely wife and four kids and as a father of four I always I always connect with other fathers of four and you also have three daughters and one son which I just read which is what I have um and you have multiple grandchildren as well so your legacy your family Legacy and your public service Legacy and your legacy as a veteran is is amazing and the proclamation doesn't even do it justice it's only one page it probably could be 57 pages each year so congratulations thank you so we promise not to read the whole thing but just very briefly the strength and prosperity of the state of New Jersey depend in great measure upon industrious citizens exemplified by Joseph dioro who utilized their unique skills to enhance our cities towns and Burrows and improve the quality of life for our neighborhoods it's Al together are fitting and right for the members of this legislature to pause in their deliberations to acknowledge Joseph dioro as an individual of remarkable character and boundless fortitude now therefore be it resolved by the Senate and general assembly of the state of New Jersey that this legislature hereby salutes joose diaro pays tribute to a sterling record of commitment and extends sincere best wishes for future success in all of his Endeavors congratulations and best of luck to you in to do thank you now the most picture know that we wanted you just the thank you so much that's what I thought when you gave him the Hat I was like that's perfect thank and to continue our recognition ofo I have a proclamation as well and I'm going to read the whole thing so hang on your seat bels here um whereas Mr Joseph oaro has served as the tent manager t r since February 7th 2022 and whereas during his tenure as T manager Mr diaro embraced and fostered the team spirit that distinguishes brona government while expertly leading substantive change for the betterment of our community Through multiple urgent and complex projects and initiatives whereas Mr jarco faces challenges with his inapproximability which resulted in realistic and well-conceived solutions to significant issues facing the township and whereas when making decisions recommendations to the township Council Mr diaro is considered the best interest municipality its residents and staff while considering long-term stre calls whereas Mr daro's exceptional service to Township of Verona has been the Capstone of an extraordinary 57-year career of service to New Jersey and the United States of America and whereas Mr diarco began his Public Service in the United States Army during which he was engaged in combat in Vietnam and honorably discharged in 1967 and is a distinguished advocate for veterans causes as a life member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars post 711 Vietnam Veterans of America chapter 510 the Disabled American Veterans Chapter 14 as Mr diarco a licensed Health officer began his career in municipal government as public health officer for the Township ponfield in 1967 and later served as Chief Municipal administrator for calwell burrow Rockway burrow South Arville sville bur the town of Carney pisb and the township of Verona and whereas Mr darle holds a Bachelor of Science and public safety administration from William Patterson College a master of public administration fa Dickson University hold a labor relation certificate from Ruckers University is's a senior certified professional by the international public management association for human resources is a registered municipal clerk and environmental health specialist and whereas Mr diarco serves the community is a third and fourth degree member of the Knights of Columbus and Clifton Bloomfield Friends of the Library Bloomfield Historical Society the Bloomfield Newark Elks Lodge 788 and The Rona Lions Club as Mr diaro is an avid motorcyclist classic car ficado and traveler who enjoys spending time with his wife Lise palagano Joseph Danielle Jennifer John and Andrea and Grand children Maxwell Alexander Liam Ryan and Luca as well as his many friends whereas Mr aro's career and volunteerism are shining examples of dedicated public service from which government staff elected officials and community members can learn valuable lessons for the betterment of their communities whereas Mr Dio's most deserving of an enjoyable retirement and public recognition for his exceptional service now therefore I Dr Christopher tamboro mayor of the tant of Verona to hearby honor Mr Joseph o diarco for his 57 years of extraordinary public service and designate Thursday February 6 2025 as Joseph diarco day in the Town of Verona I further call upon all residents Municipal staff to join in the celebration of his dedication to Veron and the greater New Jersey communities congratulations Joe all right now this it's our first one we've done a legal siiz paper so it it seemed appropriate so come on Happ be re mrod we got any municip staff that are here come on come on come on come on former Municipal staff anybody um Paul can you take picture for us okay whoever I need a second row tall people in the back we'll take a bunch just keep clicking yeah see if we can get there we go got everybody finger thank you members of the council to as well mayor minutes yes good evening everybody well Joe I've been here 41 years been for a lot of town managers a lot of town managers and just when I get you guys where I want you believe now I got to work on the new guy good Joe it's been a pleasure working with you um you always were there either to ask me how my day was going solve a problem or just say hey what's going on how's the town of Rona running it's always been a pleasure and honor always treated me and my staff highly you always took care of us you always worried about us every snowstorm you checked on us you need anything you were always there for us so good luck on your new Ventures your retirement with your family and so you don't forget the employees of the township of Verona we always do it the AR's wife we're overo a happy retirement perf nice nice see deputy mayor ready Mr Deo uh I thought a lot about what I wanted to say to you uh obviously congratulations but we for many many years before you came here I can't believe it's three years old but for many years before we went through obviously the affordable housing then Co there were so many projects that we put off because we were spending so much time on so many other things so when you came here we we were full we we needed someone who could come in was organized knew what to do and you came in and interviewed very well with us and it was your ideas you could tell it was your experience is what we needed in this town uh and for the three years uh we really appreciate all that you did and organize we didn't always agree on everything but you you always could give us reasons why or myself I'm going to say give me reasons why from your future jobs and and your experience that made total sense so I appreciate that it was a pleasure working with you for the last three years and we're it doesn't end here because for the last over a year you've been and I've noticed we've all noticed little by little pushing more and more towards the deputy manager giving them more responsibility uh and we really appreciate that and we will appreciate it for years to come and I thank you very much for your time and for uh you started your service right around the time I was born so that's that's that's that's a lot time we appreciate it and I grew this for the last month just a happy retirement presid but thank you very much and good luck thank you C WR thank you um I just want to say thank you um you know sometimes when you're looking for someone to fill these positions the exact right person comes along at the right time for what you need uh kind of my running joke with Joe's uh we told you we were going to keep you busy and I don't think that he 100% believed us or knew how much we meant it when we hired him now he definitely believes us when we said you were going to be busy um the amount of work that we did here the major projects um that are that have put this town in a much better place you know the measure of a leader in any organization is how they leave the organization when they lead and when they depart you know our infrastructure is so much better our internal systems and processes our succession planning all of these things are in a really good position so I just appreciate what you've done for the citizens of the township of Verona um it's been just a joy to to watch you put all of these things in such a in such good shape uh it's been a pleasure working with you personally um just want to wish you all the best in retirement or whatever you choose to do next uh that uh you enjoy it Tak some time for yourself and uh just thank you for what you've done for our community so it's been a pleas working with you so bre um thank you um this is really hard to say goodbye um you know when we first met I was on Zoom um because I had Co at the time because that was the time that we were living in but I could just tell even through the screen that this was uh that you were really a special person and not just the right fit for Verona but the right fit for the five of us um it's a lot of hours spent together and when you said yes to the offer which I had the pleasure of being with um councilman Roman at the time went gave and you said yes I ran around my house and my kids were like what's going on I was like he said yes he said yes he said yes CU I just knew that you were going to be such a great fit and I thank you for all of your hard work and for taking on a lot of really difficult burdens that we you knew full well what you were getting into and the iceberg was very deep um the most important thing is your values and we appreciate I appreciate on a personal level learning from you but your values were so in line uh with what we need in this community and that's a lot to that's a lot um now in government we really are looking at our leaders values and I appreciate um what you brought to this community um and you made it really a lot of fun even when we had very difficult and challenging things um there was always um the ability we knew we were in safe hands and you're very fun to work with and I really appreciate that too because we're feeling the burdens of this community but you never made it feel like working together was a burden so thank you I I'm so excited to see how your family grows and expands as the years go on I know we'll keep in touch um and congratulations on your multiple Decades of experience working in local government thank you councilman Hall thank you so um I think it's interesting that so often we we we find ourselves mentioning how much work we had for you when um and I I kind of chuckle because when I ran for office in 2021 like that's what I ran on I was like oh we've got all these infrastructure projects we really need to get started and then we lost our Township manager so you know what we really needed to focus on hiring a new Township manager before we could even get started on those projects more meaningfully and you know being in the room interviewing you we just knew that you you were the guy to get the job done um and then that was only more solidified for me when I was tasked with checking your references which was you know entertaining enough but looking at your references being some of the most preeminent people in local government services in the state of New Jersey who also were mutual friends um so that was actually not only did it make checking your references really fun um but it also just go to show that you've built this reputation over 57 years of service in the state that of course your references were the top people in local government services um for the state of New Jersey and I think one of the things about you that is so um impressive is that in 57 years of service you know that credibility is something that's really hard earned but easily lost and you have such credibility with all of these individuals with all of us but across the state Across the Nation you've been honored um in in so many capacities and that just goes to show that you govern with Integrity um and that is a really impressive thing and it's not as common as perhaps it once was and so I'm so grateful for the service that you provided here in Verona for the turnaround story that you've helped us um to achieve over these last several years and um you know the impressive work that that we have the the foundation that we have and and you know the transition that you've introduced us to with Kevin so thank you so much for all of that we wouldn't be here without you and I I just really sincerely appreciate it thank you have any else in the gallery want to address Mr Deo no pressure but please good evening mayor and Council uh it's been a been a year and a half I think since I've been at this microphone but um I wasn't planning on speaking but obviously I just wanted to say a few words congratulations 57 years could have made a three more made it 60 but um pretty pretty nice career we only had a short time together about a year and a half um but I learned a lot of lessons during that time so I appreciate every opportunity you gave me and and the leaders ship you you showed um and all the support so I'm an administrator now in another town only I think because of you and the lessons I learned in the the talent of my my time here in Verona so I greatly appreciate that and thank you best of luck anybody else yes mayor may please um as as much as I don't like taking pictures I also don't like giving speeches but I did want to say thank you to the mayor councel um I think it was very fortunate uh to come here for is an amazing Community Council and all the achievements and all the projects are a reflection of the council you're the policy makers at times I refer to myself as a mechanic uh you set the task and I'm task driven m man to get those things done and you were very supportive of being creative and taking risks which I've done most of my career I also want to thank the staff the department heads here were exceptional um first staff meeting I had with the department heads they were welcoming the uh pulled up their bootstraps and I kind of went over the freight train that we were going to be on and they just really stepped up to the plate pitched in and and really accepted uh the guidance I was giving and I also got their feedback and which avoided a number of mistakes that could have been made on my part uh so I thank them immensely um Kevin uh was a unique individual uh very honestly and and I've mentored one or two deputies in my career in secession planning is what most communities don't think about thank you for that uh it really is very helpful for smooth transition and then one very special lady the administrative assistant that I have I have no idea how she kept that insane calendar that I have had going and I never missed a meeting multiple meetings were scheduled at the same time even when she was on vacation in Florida the meetings were still being scheduled and I didn't miss a beat which was really unique and Brian ayya I know during my interviews when I was asked about uh ordinances and law and whatever and my answer was I'm not the lawyer that's what we pay him for and he's exceptional uh he uh worked very well with me and I was a a good advisor not that I agree all the time but he was a good ad but so thank you and it was my pleasure serving the community of Arona it is a very special place driven through so many times and it was exciting U when the opportunity to came up to come here so I think I was as excited as you were thank you very much and I appreciate it and now I'll have to send the picture of that sign for the street sign my family in New Mexico my dad has a whole highway sign named after him 528 in Rio Rancho New Mexico is named atoro highway so now I can send that picture to the family thank you very much I appreciate everything you've done thank youn and now it's time for your report while I've done this Kevin I you have close just again before to get into my report because I know how much Joe loves the attention I do want to also say I do want to say thank you to Joe as well um when the opportunity came up for me to uh work in the town that I live in and serve the town that I live in and be tutored under Joe for the amount of time that I that we we still had to work together I was very excited about the opportunity I was I knew I had a lot to learn and a lot that I could learn from Joe over that time so it was a very exciting time to be able to come here and learn under Joe and and I do want to say thank you for that time and for everything that you taught me along the way so thank you um to get into the actual business I guess there's a few things to sort through tonight uh form of business but um we uh we've discussed the pool utility a lot uh we have some resolutions and ordinances introducing uh fees uh for the PO for 2025 uh they generally reflect everything that had been discussed previously there were some minor updates to um capture the fees that previous previously been discussed um but they are being introduced in the manner that had been discussed the only um revision of of substance was the discussion about the age for uh kids to come uh to enter the pool without parental oversight uh that was being pushed to 14 years uh after discussion and recommendations from the recreation advisory committee uh there is a little bit of a modification to that the age will be 14 but there's a probationary um 12 and 13 year AG 12 and 13 year old age group that will be permitted into the pool without parental um um um with unsupervised access uh it will be uh there will be uh specific disciplinary steps where that uh permission can be rescinded if any of those in that age group are not uh respectful of the pool rules otherwise the uh the rates and rules are on the agenda for consideration tonight and we'll continue to work with the recreation advisory committee on uh both pool rules marketing um advertising of the pool and growing a lot of theams at the pool that we discussed previously uh the construction project at the pool uh it is lined up it's dependent upon some warmer weather so hopefully we'll have a more firm construction schedule in the next four weeks it's going to be a little bit of a running theme on a few of the projects we have uh to discuss tonight um we uh with the lind Drive well we should actually have the well be returning to service this week uh we do have the final integration occurring today and tomorrow we have some final training for our staff this week and we're just coordinating with our uh water system operator to make sure that the well is um is meeting all the compliance requirements and that should be online by the end of this week uh Fairview Avenue well uh We've slowly been making progress with Green Acres but we uh we uh I have been advised that the final approval signature document for our exemption application is working its way through the different DP divisions uh they've had a few different uh individuals that have been in and out of the office for varying reasons but I hope to have that from uh the DP Green Acres division in the next the next couple weeks so we can push that project out to B as well uh clar Drive Pump Station uh we had to issue an addendum that uh bid opening is scheduled for February 12th um again we have a few uh road paving projects again a lot of them are in the planning phase Lind and Avenue we're waiting to hear back from the njtpa for recommendations so we can complete the final design and get that project out to bid this spring uh DOD Terrace after way and Summit Road are the next roads lined up those will be uh pulled into 2025 Capital budgeting and the County's repaving of Bloomfield Avenue is again dependent upon warmer weather this spring but it is still lined up to be repaved this spring uh and we are continuing to work with the neighborhood traffic and Safety Committee regarding a complete and green streets policy uh we uh kicked back forth a couple versions of a policy and uh the committee is meeting again I believe in March so we're hoping to have a potential policy drafted and for discussion for the council sometime thereafter everfield design we should have the updated 70% design drawings from neglia by the end of this week we'll circulate those to all the stakeholder groups thereafter pickle ball and tennis courts are another project that that is tied up in winter weather we should have a construction schedule hopefully in the next four weeks when we have a better idea of uh winter breaking um with uh our local government energy audit project that we've been working on we have a meeting with the audit team and sustainable Verona on February 11th we will be scheduling a presentation for the council shortly after that um juming ahead we still have the Lakeside Avenue parking lot design uh underway we'll have a presentation for the council before we put that project out to bid um jumping ahead Our Town Hall windows and repointing project is also continuing to move forward uh the contractor is working through the shop drawing process and the manufacturing and The Ordering of the windows the from date of order to delivery it'll be a a 12 to 16we lead time so we're expecting that work to pick up sometime probably in early June um there was a recommendation on the 2025 Professional Services which was distributed to the council there's a resolution on the agenda for this evening uh and then a couple items uh regarding the grants that I have highlighted in my report um just to clarify know we've we've spoken about Evert field uh and we've received a few grants there we've received 700 $50,000 for our Jake law Grant uh we've just submitted another application for the local Recreation Improvement grant for a request for $100,000 we did receive a $60,000 Grant from cdbg uh from last year's grant funding uh and just to to flesh out those details a little bit for so the council and public understand there was also an additional $40,000 grant that the township received last year for some Ada accessibility projects uh we've had some discussions with cdbg about uh supplementing our request for Everett field this year versus where some of the current projects stand so there was uh between back and forth with the cdbg uh Department in the county uh We've the recommendation and and um the recommendation was for cdbg to reprogram the $40,000 award for the Ada projects from last year and the 2024 award Ward the full $100,000 will be fully uh assigned to the ever field project that one's a little bit more uh shovel ready we're closer to putting that project out to bid the new application that was submitted this year was for the Ada accessibility components we're not losing the project but it's just being cycled as two larger projects rather than splitting them up so that that application was submitted to this to the county and one more additional update uh in my report report I had listed that the Department of Human Services the agef friendly Community Grant I had noted that we were awaiting a decision but we did just in the past week received an announcement that the uh the township was awarded up to a $775,000 grant for preparing an audit and plan for our uh H friendly Community uh services and that concludes my report any questions for thank you so just going back to the the um accessibility of the community center wasn't there going to be a project to replace the doors and and I don't know if there were doors here and there or just there so there were um there the application was for replacement of ADA accessible doors um for both town hall and for the community center the application again cdbg for Simplicity sake and for their preference the the idea is if they can keep it to a single location single site it's a little bit easier and cleaner for administrative purposes so the application that submitted is specific to the community center it would be for Ada accessible doors Ada accessibility through ramps and some sidewalk improvements and then that parking lot has been uh beat up a little bit with the playground and the well construction so we'll be repaving parking lot so in order to make the entire site more Ada accessible will be ping that portion of the project that as well and then the Ada accessibility needs that are here will be cycled through the uh 2025 capital projects to advance them okay thank you any other questions thank you Mr svin okay now moving on to council member reports Deputy Mayor thank you Mr Mayor uh I too would like recognize the two employees that passed this last week Kelly Lawrence and Richie uh definitely employees that put their heart into Verona and will be greatly missed I just say the only thing we can do is say a prayer for the families and do as much as we can to reach out and help uh I will go from there to also the Unico dinner uh this weekend actually yesterday uh I want to also out as mayor said there were six Mayors there and also a couple Council people couple a few pest Council people that were there also so it's a very well attended uh event and goes to an organization that gives a lot back to the township of Verona uh so I I thank them for all that that Uno does for our Township uh I've also attended the uh I want to congratulate Sue DT uh as president president of the EMS Council of New Jersey uh this is their 96th year uh and I also thank uh our two our state reps that were here tonight uh actually uh Senator al bar I mean assembly MB baras and Senator curado were there uh it was nice to see them and see them tonight they've been very uh present in Verona and it's a good segue into our Comm woman who was also here this past Friday uh I was happy to uh get a couple minutes to come in and talk with her she did uh she was here for the last I believe it was the last hour and a half uh it was very nice to see her and I thanked her for her time in Verona uh I wish I hope in the future uh it was last minute uh that we got the notice as Council uh I hope in the future that we can get uh notice a little more in advanced uh when when it's scheduled uh I was happy that I was in Verona I was working locally so I could get here and see her uh and I thank her for her time uh joining the town and giving the residents a chance to see someone face to face it really uh means a lot uh that lastly uh I want to let everybody know that the Chamber of Commerce is again planning restaurant week uh in the township of Verona and it's going to be February 23rd 3rd through March 1st I believe we have 13 food establishments already registered uh we're planning in advance and social media will be going out I think it's started but next week we'll be putting out uh menus and whatnot for everybody to see but definitely plan a night go out to your local restaurants there's plenty in this town that are very very good restaurants and that's all I have for this evening Mr Mayor thank youut mayor councilman a little bit repetitive but I would just also like to recognize the uh two employees that pass um great people and one of the things that's emblematic of of our staff here at Verona Township is not only are these people uh great at what they do professionally but they tend to be just some of the nicest people that you'll ever meet the community outpouring of support around them uh has been very impressive um I hope we continue to support their families uh they will be purely missed and uh also B congratulations to you go for the very successful dinner and all the service uh they do for our community and Beyond and it was great to see everyone out there had a wonderful time at that event wonderful to see Care Council MC thank you um thank you mayor um I too am very saddened by the passing of our two Town employees um and I do want to say on a on a real personal level about Kelly Lawrence she was a fellow Mom we have children the same age and we uh took a a religious class to together for a full year just two years ago um her and her good friend um who I saw at the remembrance service and we reflected on our time together um by my count uh Kelly was the fourth mother in Verona of school AG children to pass in a year uh that is a lot of lws to bear in a community that's a lot of children who are missing a parent um and so I just uh really keep her children and all the children that have suffered such a great loss at such a young age in my heart um and I um encourage the family when I met with them uh during her service to continue to reach out and I hope we can memorialize both um um for both employees in a formal way in the future when it's appropriate um I had the pleasure of speaking at Bron High School to the girls learn intern club with councilwoman Holland um I love speaking to groups of Youth I love speaking to groups of women and this was the perfect intersection of both they asked us to speak about women in politics and our experiences being elected women leaders we had a lot to talk about um I wish it was longer I could have talked for like double the length of time um and it was a great experience um and I really appreciate the chance to speak with them I also want to thank congresswoman L Monica mcgyver for um coming here and doing office hours as I met with her staff um it seems like they are going to be rotating through and I um agree and I've already passed on some feedback on how we could get the word out even more broadly I do encourage though residents to go to her Congressional website and sign up for her newsletter um her website is mcgyver Doh house. of um in addition if you are on social media unfortunately her official social media had to be relaunched recently so even if you were following her back in December please go back to your favorite social media channel and check to see if you're still following her um because her handles have changed um she also did an excellent um uh Town Hall um audio town hall on immigration rights recently uh which is all the more reason to sign up for her mailing list as she's planning more town halls in the future uh the Multicultural inclusion and accessibility advisory committee met since our last meeting they are very um thankful to the township Administration for clarifying uh budgets and uh money that can be spent on events so they talked about planning even going as far as scoping out when our Annual Pride event will be so they will work with uh Township Administration and then that information will come back to us the superintendent U was also present and gave a very robust update on some current issues that are on her mind as it relates to the school system um and I want to thank her for her leadership um unfortunately this year the Board of Education chose not to do a lunar new year but the it is our understanding that the teachers are planning in a celebration um during um aapi month later this year the library is hosting a really fascinating Black History Month um event this Saturday it is an interactive event with an actor who it will be portraying Martin Luther King to and you can um even ask him questions um and that is on Saturday at 1M uh the Multicultural inclusion accessibility advisory committee is also planning their own Black History Month event it is tentatively scheduled for February 20th at 6:30 it will feature Verona businesswoman Arina McIntosh who is a fashion designer um you can find her on Instagram at sophista Funk Shirt Company she has a very wide following and is a very creative um and vibrant person and it may include a fashion show finally the women of impact uh event is still taking nominations go to the Verona Public Libraries website um I do just want to you know this has really been a very uh interesting couple of weeks and I was searching around and I found our value statement as a community and I just want to reread it to remind Verona residents that this Council um is uh very focused I'm making sure this is a welcoming place so Verona's Vibrant Community proudly welcomes all residents business owners employees and visitors and together we are working towards being a truly inclusive place where our policy services and programs meet the needs of all people and every once in a while you have to go back to basics and really revisit your values as I spoke before about our um Town manager so I just wanted to say that and finally I want to have a clarification on something from the mayor's report about the Mrs McGrath the young woman who want $40,000 at the Verona um high school with that wonderful scholarship unfortunately she is not a relation and is not my child so as someone already asked me oh is that your child I won the $40,000 scholarship unfortunately no that's another mcrath family not mine they're a longtime family yes so that's my report thank you and we'll try to find your 40 Grand CHR yes that that would be look councilman Holland thank you I also just want to extend my heartfelt condolences um to the families of of our employees who recently lost um as councilwoman McGrath indicated um the loss of Miss Lawrence is is particularly stunning as a parent of an hbw student um because we have had several students lose parents um the last year um and and so it is it is quite a stunning thing um I know that our community rallies around people um in need um so that that definitely brings me Comfort but at the same time you know I understand that it doesn't make up for that loss and so my heart does go out to the family and the children involved um I also want to note that um as a liaison to the bmac committee and the recreation committee we did have meetings of those two committees um since we last met as a council um you're not surprised to hear that the recreation committee did spend a lot of time talking about the pool fees um and as Mr O elivan already referenced um we did get some further feedback um and I appreciate the administration for for taking those notes from the recreation advisory committee um and you know working on a compromise solution because I I do think that's I do think the recreation committee as made up of citizens of our community um as an advisory committee and the administration are all working toward a shared goal so um finding these compromises I think is the best way forward and so I do really appreciate the administration for that I also just want to acknowledge um the vmac committee doesn't meet every month but when we do we have such a robust agenda and I'm so very proud of how far this committee has come we're um actually one of the things that was discussed was some of the new programming that we'll be doing including some programming for seniors um and and other groups so I'm I'm very excited about all of this um the committee is very engaged um and is certainly um doing a lot of good in our community so I really appreciated being able to participate in that as councilwoman the grath uh referenced as well it was really great to be able to go to the high school and speak to the young women there um for GLI about um you know just our experiences in municipal government our experiences as women um and it's so important to have women's voices heard especially in government representation really does matter um now more than ever um so I you know as much as I think we were there to inspire those young women I think I found them to be incredibly inspiring myself so I left probably feeling better than maybe I even made them feel but I was like this is great so I was very energized it was a wonderful experience um and I you know I don't have children in the high school yet so I was like oh I don't know if I've ever been this far into the high school so that was kind of interesting for me as well um I also just want to acknowledge that February is Black History Month and just as uh councilwoman McGrath referenced some of the uh some of the programming that we'll be having at the library this past Sunday I was really impressed honored to attend um the absum Jones service in the city of Newark and for those who are unaware absum Jones was the first African-American ordained priest of the Episcopal church and um a bunch of the high school and middle school kids from the Episcopal Church of Holy Spirit attended Services there um and it was very moving very powerful service um I don't i' never been to that um Cathedral before it's a beautiful building right there like at the edge of military Park um and it was just really wonderful in such a great and inspiring way to kick off black history month so I was very honored to have attended that thank you that concludes my report thank you at this time I'll open the meeting for public comment on any item which any member of the public would like to discuss mam clerk would you please read the public participation statement anyone from the public wishing to speak on any matter please raise your hand by pressing the raise hand button on your monitor if you're dialing in by you're not required to provide your street address however if you do please note that these meetings will be posted on the Township's YouTube channel and addresses will not be rejected for any purpose you'll have four minutes to address the council and there could be no cross dialogue during this public portion after everyone wishing to speak has been heard the council May address your thank you madam CLK anybody in the gallery search I was here last month my name is Franko I live on I've been living in ring now for the past seven show you going on e um so was year last month discussing the issue with the parking with the uh and I wanted to thank uh Chief Kierney because uh they actually changed the handicap signs on my block I like was shocked it was like well CU it was within a week which was a nice thing so with this snow and this is another reason why I want the bracket says Chief Canon calls them in the street where you have them on other streets a little note I couldn't print but that that was on my car the other note was on a car of a tentant that lives in a building with me and the neighbor cross the street P citizen of Arona he said uh left that on our car 21st of January uh 10 thing home at 11:30 she had her mom's the note on your car she took a picture and that's the original note um it was right after the snow parking was kind of crazy and and it was the only parking spot on the street pulled in pulled up to get out of the driveway had other pictures showing the distance it was tight car in front of me had plenty of room to pull up I don't know why they didn't but they didn't but the note when the big note that's that's printed was on theant my car so just another reason why want the brackets put on that street so there's designated spots this way if somebody is over the Laine they can get a ticket I mean I went down side Heights for years you know one day I went down there I pulled my right rear tire was on the long they in your ticket they said you know you were in between and I looked I said oh my God but again it's going to get worse the other restaurant opening up I still would like the personalized handicap spot for myself because if you look back I called the town there was a a car parked all night then I realized they must have called and actually got permission to park in handicap spot because the next day there was no ticket on the car and I said oh they thought he called in and they were handicaps so they parked in that spot so I was minus my spot for the whole actually week last week um basically that that's that's it that's it right else Zoom make comment okay time I close public comments Umano I I I'm glad that you have the opportunity to speak with Chief Kieran my best recommendation is is that anything related to these items uh that would require councel action uh would go would come as a recommendation from Chief Kieran and our our manager um so I would follow up with Chief Karan on on those items as well uh I know that years ago well few years ago I don't know how long ago it was we did consider an ordinance about how far you could par from a driveway and then determine that that was not a u a uh a workable ordinance because of how much parking would be lost and the enforcement and all that stuff but um certainly there are non-metered spots like on the South Prospect uh that have the the boxes you know the the lanes whatever they are um but we you know I think keep talking he makes a recommendation I'm happy to to approve it right with any the rest the council does of course right any other responses okay uh we're moving on to hearing adoption Amendment ordinances M cler the next item on the agenda is ordinance number 20 25-2 for adoption which you read the title of this ordinance amending chapter 5 administration of government article two Township Council section 14 16 and 22 of the code of the township of Verona thank you madam clerk would somebody move the ordinance please motion made by council is there a second second second by councilman Roman this time I will open for the public hearing on ordinance number 2025 d02 same public comments statement applies over comments are of course limited to this item seeing no public comment I will close public comment I just have one item of discussion and on the last meeting we had talked about writing in where it says municipal building the municipal building or other place designated so we could have the meeting of community center y looks like it didn't make into this draft I didn't catch it we got the binder but I just saw it now um so we need to script there you've noted there can fix it rep get Codi any objections from the Council on that that's actually how you voted last time yeah so just note that um just put it as any place you know advertised or okay any other Council comments hearing none Madam clerk Council woman Holland yes counc mcra yes councilman Roman yes Deputy Mayor M yes mayor tamboro yes mayor um 20252 p p 5 will be published according to law thank Madam clerk the next item on the agenda is ordinance H1 on first reading which please read the title of this ordinance and an ordinance to amend chapter a 5651 schedule of fees of the township to clarify storm water permit fees thank you madam clerk let the ordinance please so move Mo made by the deputy Mayors or a second second second made by the councilwoman is there any Council comments on this item first reading can we just get a clarification this being the storm waterer ordinance references a fee for an annual uh permit maintenance for major storm water developments there was never a dollar amount assigned to that through our fee ordinance so this now assigns the right dollar amount for fee that's that's referenced in the storm water ordinance and then it so assigns a few of the other fees to the proper chapter and section of any other questions comments on Madam CLK councilwoman Holland yes councilwoman McGrath yes councilman Roman yes Deputy Mayor maoy yes mayor tamboro yes mayor H1 will be numbered 20 25-3 will be published according to law and a public hearing will be held on February 18th thank you madam Clark the next item on the agenda isance number H2 on first reading which pleas read the title of this ordinance to amend chapter a 5657 of the code of the township of Verona pool fees Madam clerk is there a motion so Move Motion made by councilwoman Holland is there a second second second made by councilwoman MCG any Council discussion M yes I think we need to I'm looking at the redline version and I think they're maybe is a clarification Council received version summarize those there were there were two references for late registration for Verona waves and mini waves and the was was stricken so it just refers to the uh is rather than designing the pool parties for nonprofits and for-profit organizations and then the clarification that was not captured in the red line that the council received is regarding the preseason concerts there would be a $20 fee schedule was $20 Fe and the preseason concert $75 fee would be or non-residents and again those in the ordinance um the $35 is very steep is there how do we come up with $35 that again based upon it being a preseason concert uh as many people as may want to attend if they're non-residents and they are willing to pay that $75 fee uh is a fee that uh was reviewed considered uh by Recreation and uh Endor with a recommendation from the administration okay but you said that's for non-members and non resid okay you also cross through on the red line the $20 where it says resident members and non-members and you just have it as pool members so right now we don't have a fee for residence or not members so the that's the the clarification that was not captured that that should be 20 preseason $75 so the season concert is available to all residents whether you're a member or not M I think the $75 piece is just like why included in the ordinance nobody's going to pay this I mean it's just it just seems like it's a a very high amount I me you have a family of four $300 you can get concert tickets in like Manhattan sometimes you know so I'm sitting you know it's and you know I I think I paid a little more for my billage old tickets a couple years ago the medicine Square Garden but not that much more um so I I can't approve this with that $75 just it's s at yeah well I think M if I if I were to hypothesize I think they you need to have a non-member I'm sorry you need to have a non-resident fee because someone will show up right so you have to have something I think they're making in this way to make this concert for for h residents but if we if the council is like you know what that's even that's really too steep like I would be open to changing but we need to have some sort of non-resident well if if Our intention is to not real invite out of town people then we just write that this is for Township residents only and just be done with it rather than charging a $75 fee I mean I it's just one of those things like I would be much happier just doing pre-season concerts or for RIT only but um I I think this is just a $75 fee for a concert just unreal regardless of where people come from um and if we're trying to you know pay for the pool I this one of those things like it seems like some of the fees even when we talked about non resident fees right you know $2,000 for a family were design to price people out right so either we need to decide really what the vision for the pool is if we want to have these things as as presidents only let's do that but I I'm sorry I just can't I just can't uh vote to adopt this ordinance if there's a $75 fee let's just decide what we want out of that Deputy Mayor I I will like we Council and I talked about this before and I'm putting up my right and swearing I didn't talk to you about it but that's basically that's why we're laughing it's exactly what I said I just think $75 is an exorbitant fee and I my comment was I can go to the Wellmont for for Less uh it's not the park same amount the park there uh I just think like you got to think about a younger someone in their 20s take someone out on a date they're not going to pay $100 to go to the concert ATA pool uh you know maybe 40 or 50 bucks maybe twice what the what to resident times two if you're a non-resident I think would be appropriate but a band so so you want to try to defay the cost of the B this is our first time doing this so I do agree with counsel the comments here like let's just make it two times and say it'll be $40 if you're a non-resident I think that I think that's in the realm of being reasonable for all of those potential um coupleship that may be coming so it's a little bit more it's a slight deterring but I think we this is something to try so let's see if it works I think this was a new Innovative idea and I B that you need to Pi the I will add as councilwoman said earlier when we were talking privately there how many concerts do we have preseason there's not many and we've never done it so okay so it's a new thing so I I think if we're I I tend to agree if we're trying to pay for these things let have a reasonable rate and then you know and then if somebody wants to bring an out of person they can bring it somebody want to move to amend the I will move that second charge twice I'll second the amendment okay all those in favor of changing 75 to 40 I anybody opposed okay the eyes have it thank you um just have one kind other General comment and I will make more comments at the when we uh have this on second reading but um I I have to say I am going to be anxiously awaiting the end of year financials on this I am concerned that uh with the the rise in fees we just don't know how many people will join we're going to have additional or um if uh you know people are be able to stay we have heard some from some residents that they uh they may not be able to stay in the pool um I'm glad that we are opening the pool to our Township staff I think that's a that's a big U development as well um I will kind of renew some of my comments I think there are definite cost savings that are not reflected this ordinance but my request from the administration because this doesn't have anything to do with particularly fees except make sure we have enough money at the end is to really look at the efficiency right um we we talked with Mr Robo and was here about the number of staff and well I know that it's always kind of been done as having five people in the office I think some some who Innovative looks at that can potentially change that and save some money um I think looking at the the rec tent as well uh which was you know something that the the rec uh pool committee has suggested that we remove um and I do agree with them on that uh I understand that you know for some families that is a um it's a nice option um but at the same point we're asking all pool members to pay for that when it's not used by everybody especially our you know our adults you know things like that um so you know I think if we have a shortfall at the end of this year our first place to look at before raising the fees even more I mean this is the first fee raise in a schedule three fee raises if we if we move forward with that is to potentially look at how that recent operates or offer some kind of subscription option to see how many people would really use it um be willing to pay extra to use that um and I think for this year um we have to to see what transpires with that but at the same point um that would be be something just to look at even looking at hours and um things like that and not forgetting that that is not um Central to the mission of the the pool itself um so those are a couple things what I do anxiously await I'm hoping that we could have some interim Financial reports um and membership numbers relatively frequently because if we find ourselves where our membership numbers don't sustain with what the with what the budget's going to look like I think we need to make some decisions in May rather than making them you know rather than suffering the consequences and making those things so uh I guess my point this is not the last conversation I plan to have for the seon on all right Madam clerk Council Mand yes Council mcra yes councilman Roman yes may maoy yes mayor T yes mayor um ordinance age2 will be number 2025 D4 it will be published according Law Public hearing be held on February 18 thank you madam clerk St on agenda is ordinance H3 for introduction you please read the title of this ordinance into the rec fixing the salaries and compensation of the seasonal employees of Township thank you madam clerk would anybody like to move this ordinance I'll move I'll second it motions made by the mayor the second is by the deputy mayor any Council discussion on this one there none to call the please Council Holland yes Council McGrath yes Council Roman yesy mayor maoy yes may C yes mayor H3 will be numbered 20255 and will be published according to Law Public hearing will be held on February 18 thank M clar for a consent agenda this evening we have set of minutes from January 20th we have 10 resolutions um just note the resolution we got a resolution La labeled as K10 in our packet which was to appoint the township attorney is not reflected on the consent agenda so we'll do that under new business um but so K10 is the executive session listed on here just so we're all on the same page that that didn't uh that didn't align uh would anybody like to move the agenda y the motion is made by council molland is there a second second second made by the deputy mayor now is time to public comment on consent agenda items only the same public comments stting by Mr Ryan Brian you mute ask can you hear me now okay okay thank you it's Kevin ryatt on the resolution that you have that's labeled K5 where the uh manager list the number of uh uh I guess appointments uh I noticed down here that I don't see a uh a recommendation for the board of adjustment attorney is is that an oversight or or did I I miss something that the end of your comment any other comments Mr Ryan before we respond uh and just when you get to your resolution about the uh area in need of Redevelopment uh I would hope that you would be able to explain to to the public what exactly uh the approval of that resolution uh entails in terms of Taxation and and land use thank you Mr Ryan any other public comments mrvan I'm sorry public comments closed mran sure the appointment of the zoning board attorney is under the jurisdiction of the zoning board so they will take that up in their course of business it's stop at the council tonight thank you um and yes planning zoning um and on the um resolution K9 um the um sandwi you mind just addressing that just want to know if the taxation piece is not no it doesn't discussed but anything else you know sure so um so just to uh remind everyone um on the uh Council um in August of last year you had a planning board to determine if that particular property satisfied the criteria as an area in need of Redevelopment Redevelopment as per the local uh Redevelopment and Housing law um there's a particular process through which we did that the planning board um there was a public uh meeting on uh Jan 23rd and they found that this uh particular property certainly met the criteria statute so it's that's the process um by resolution agreeing with their recommendation to designate or not it's um you know the final perview is yours uh in terms of um in terms of Taxation a designation does not do anything to a particular property The Next Step would be adopting a Redevelopment plan um and at that time again it's at your discretion whether um there would be a long-term exemption tax exemption granted um this uh you know payment in low of taxes would be worked out by who developer is and your attorney um and that's how it uh works so are the Redevelopment plan that will you know hopefully should you designate that um that's the next step and the taxation portion is after the plan is adopted and they're actually in the process of uh develop redeveloping is that's when you have a Redevelopment agreement and the stat very clear and what percentage of that as okay okay thank you s just for the record that is s our Township planner um I mean Council discussion I we'll start with Deputy Mayor we'll go this way okay I want to go through a couple things on K8 with the full rules rules all right first on the top we already have uh Mo was made by and seconded yeah I know right that I was looking at rules I just obviously sorry find this before but uh item 25 following it was strictly enced in the pool perimeter and just because of the talk we I've had over to the meeting I went to for the mayor uh talking about electric vehicles and devices do we want to add something some wording in there uh motorized vehicles we have East Gates or you know the hoverboards should we because we we have walking of bicycles within pool gates water pistols are obviously we we mentioned skateboards in there that's why I kind of started thinking about these hover boards but obviously no electric vehicles can be driven around in there but should we have something in writing that says so yeah and really nobody's riding anything right right ex you know accessibility uh keep items broad just say motorized vehicles you can't do that because of uh scooters um or disabled individuals so I I think we can just write in any any creation yeah any any non you know any um any recreational Mobility device not intended to not intended to for the accommodation of the dis or to improve accessibility or something like that we can Brian can parse the we'll leave it up to you words on that okay uh and then 29 uh with under 14 uh I'm glad they heard what I was talking about at the PO at the last meeting uh but I think if we could simplify this it just says children ages 12 and 13 May per minuted to enter uh without an adult that during this progression every period but we basically just say that children 12 and 13 have to abide by the rules and regulations but everybody has to abide by the rules and regulations so why don't we specific to just 12 and 13 year olds because if the 14 and 15 and 16 year olds don't abide by the rules and regulations I think they get the same First Defense warning and then removal so if we wanted to simplify and say children 12 and old uh just a thought uh we can talk about it or not that's my opinion but I'm glad we did something with allowing kids under 14 to be allowed in thank you Jeffy mayor I have a couple more good uh in 49 uh our G Zebo fee in here we have each 2hour rental is $75 uh on our fee schedule gazebo rental it said $100 and I'm guessing that's isn't that per hour or is that a twoh hour period and then the rain date fee we have in our in here is $25 but on our P schedule rain date says $50 at the very bottom there each 2our rental is 75 I'm guessing that the $100 fee on here for rental right it's the change the old for okay uh and in number 52 uh our our dates are a little we have is open what's that uh I did it's still hold on they a lot of changes yeah they still have pool open full time February June 20th 2024 it's still in the red line version in Black though should be was 2025 but don't we open the pool the day after graduation and last year graduation was on the 19th so Friday the 20th we opened the pool so I think they just copied last year this year graduation is on June 18th yeah the last last day of school is the uation off the last days so it stays to Friday the 20th okay but we got to change the year to 2025 yeah 52 and then uh that's it but at the end there just simple pull out uh being further resolve at the township of Council of the township over just pull the of out counc ROM I didn't have anything on Council um regarding paragraph 29 I had um a comment on that and proposed Redline um noting that the deputy mayor asked some questions about it um I will note that my understanding of this provision is that it's actually an enhanced uh discipline uh procedure for the children in the probationary um age group and that's because originally the recommendation from the administration was to no longer allow 12 and 13 year olds to come to the pool unsupervised because of you know some vandalism issues and some other behavioral issues that had occurred in the past year so um however upon hearing a lot of push back from the rec advisory committee they came to a compromise where this is actually a graduated um I guess disciplinary process where you get the warning and then your second offense you're you're no longer allowed to come unsupervised whereas my understanding is that the typical procedure that would apply to like the 14-year-old and up is that there's actually a more Progressive discipline model where you're not re your privileges aren't remoke revoked on your second warning is that accurate that's correct yes so that's what they're trying to make that distinction however some of the feedback that I had from residents was that they didn't fully understand how this paragraph Was structured so I would propose just before you start the second sentence to include the word however um with a comma as just an introductory transition so that it's made clear that the rule is that 14 and up are allowed this kind of unsupervised attendance at the pool however there is this probationary model that's available for 12 and 13y olds but it it doesn't have the same privileges as the 14 and up because that's because you know essentially there there was some bad behavior and so they need to have this Behavior mechanism um and that was the compromise between the rec committee and the administration or it was intended to be a compromise so do we want to table this and then just get some specific language on this and just look at all these and just stop it next meeting or is you know we just had some ideas I you know without l which um it's not like it's you know it's a vital that we passed this tonight um the yeah all right so what my suggestion is maybe we do you have language Mr alya that you can read off or Mr solivan I just want some specific language to know what we're voting on you I don't want to vote on an idea so comes talking about paragraph 29 29 yeah well I mean I was just proposing the introduction of that one word at the beginning of the second sentence so however commy mayor another suggestion paragraph 25 and so far I have other than a syst of devices for people with disabilities the writing of any type of and then I S do my descriptor okay bike skateboard hoverboard um EAP electric not electric motorized and motorized Mobility device that work yes can you grant a level of discretion to like the the pool manager so like if it's not specifically defined they at least have a level of discretion and on on 29 um Mr T attorney your recommendation is you've heard from the deputy mayor you've heard from the councilwoman I like the comma with the word okay councilman do you have anything else me yes uh no but if we're going through all the changes we're just clarifying the fee in on at 49 and there was a typo equalized under 52 just the year yeah just the year5 okay so I think personally I feel comfortable even though we had toam a conversation with where we land are nonpol rules are okay um Revolution K1 um two call them just the bottom of out has extra zero problem which one K1 uh left call bottom says $85,000 instead of $88,500 yes that would be important for the audit right okay anything else all right let's call the rooll please cand yes coun M yes councilman Roman yes May m yes mayor Toro yes mayor ordinances K1 through K10 will be number 41 R including 50 thank you madam all right we don't have any addendums this evening um we do have one appointment would somebody like to move the appointment of Mr Schmidt as a member of the running Municipal Alliance committee so made by the deputy mayor is there a second second seconds made by councilwoman Holland any discussion on this item I will call for public comment on appointments close public comment mr's appointment any discussion Madam clerk Council M Holland yes Council woman mcgr yes Council m r yes Deputy Mayor maoy yes mayor Toro yes mayor motion thank you uh and as I said previously we did have the one item that the resolution that we were labels K10 for the appoint of our excellent attorney uh it was left off the resolution um the consent agenda so I will move what was previously listed as K10 which is not K10 which is the appointments in the contract with our ATT attorney Brian alya are a second second second by the deputy mayor any discussion this time open public comment on this item same public comment statement applies public comment is closed s lawyer I would like to reflect Mr um Dio's glowing um uh feedback about you we are lucky to have you here um and it's I am especially grateful that we have a Verona resident uh serving in this capacity deeply cares about this community grew up here um and is an excellent attorney and counselor for all of us so thank you m clerk councilwoman Hol yes councilwoman MC yes councilman Roman yes of course mayor M yes mayor Toro yes mayor motion passes 5 um and it will be number 2025 d51 thank you madam clerk at this time I open public I'm sorry is there any other new business okay now for public comment on any item anybody would like to address with the council the same public comment statement applies this a general comment period nothing Mr nothing just here for okay he's just here for the show today okay see no public comments I will close public comments um we will be going to Executive session as per our previously cast resolution will we be taking any official action tel no excellent well we'll see you all in two weeks have a wonderful night in session we need like yep yeah