I was born. Okay, it's on. It's on now. Okay, it's on now. All right, welcome back everyone. Payment of bills. Resolution number 25-213 authorize payment of bills April
8, 2025 to May 5th, 2025. Do I have a motion? So move. Second. Roll call for discussion. Councilman Casio. Yes. Councilman Sears. Yes. Councilman Olman. Yes. Councilwoman BZ. Yes. Council President. Yes.
PSA for May 5th, 2025. Primary election date change. Please note the primary election will now be held Tuesday, June 10th. All voting takes place at town hall. Hours are 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Scout Troop 321B and 321G and Cuback 228
will be giving out American flags along with VFW Post 6192 on May 20th and 21st, 5 to 7:00 p.m. in front of town hall in the circle on Pascak Road. The New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission Inspection Unit will be at the Bethany Community Center on Thursday, May 15th
from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Please note, this is for vehicle inspection only. Registration is required. Please visit our website for further details. The New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission mobile unit will be at the Bethle Community Center on June 2nd from 9:00 a.m. to
3:00 p.m. Please visit the website for more details. There are currently no available appointments. Um, appointments are not necessary for for surrendering license plates, handicap veteran or purple heart placards, or the purchase of red GDL
decals. The Quantis Club of the Pasak Valley meets on the second Wednesday of each month at 6:30 p.m. at the Westwood Community Center. If anyone would like more information, please contact Paul Ralph Cardulli at 5165818319 or Pascak Valley
Kowanas@gmail.com. Our next council meeting will be held on Monday, May 19th, 2025 at 7 p.m. Thank you. At this time, we will have a recognition for the uh NJCAA small division state championship
and NJDCA group two state championship cheerleaders. Uh Victoria GPY, varsity cheerleading coach. Gabrielle Rivers, assistant varsity cheering coach. So, the following girls participated on February 23rd for the NJCAA Group 2
state championship. Charlie DeMarco, Emma Depalo, Gwen Gog, Jamie Presia, Mariah Hernandez, Adriana Denobyl, Erin Riley, Gianna Segro, Kendall Dempsey, Brooke Hornri, Maya Morgan, Jaden
Farrell, Luchana Flaya, Aaliyah Terabaki, Terabaki, I'm sorry I butchered your name, and Ava Magnificico. So, we have a a resolution tonight. The certificate is proudly presented to the Westwood High School competition cheerleading team. On
Sunday, February 23 23, 2025, the team won the NJCAA Small Division State Championship and the NJCAA Group 2 state championship. Their coaches are extremely proud of them for putting in the time and working extremely hard this season. Proudly presented this fifth day
of May 2025, Mayor Peter Calamari, Council President Michael Denna, Council Vice President Steven Casio, Councilman Thomas Sears and Michael Alman, and Councilwoman Daisy Blesque. Congratulations. Who's going to accept the uh Why don't you girls Why don't you girls
come up and if you want to have a group gift, you're taking it. You want to come in a little. It's okay. Okay. Thank you. Don't till we get a cheer. One quick.
Yes. Goodbye. You girls. You girls could you girls excused if you want to leave. I know you have better be here at our council meeting. Thank you everyone. Bye. At this time, we have a presentation
from the Township of Washington Public Library. Mrs. Ripken, the director, if you want to come to sit around the table, I don't know if you presentation. Come up with something. Thank you very much. Thank you. All right. Good evening. Good evening
everybody. Hope everybody's doing well. And yourself. This is good. Thank you. This is just our recap from the 2024 year. I know you guys have a full docket, so I'll kind of try to go through quickly. Um, under usage, library card holders were up about 2%.
We had a new 91 residents sign up for library cards in 2024, bringing our total to 5,6 residents with library cards. Program attendance in person was 7,36, up 4% from the previous year. Um, virtual program attendance was down
to 7,458, but brought us a total between the two of 14,764 attendance at our library programs. Circulation, we did have that closure between June and October for our renovation. So, please keep that in mind
as we're kind of going through the numbers. Um, circulation was down slightly, about 12,9% from the previous year, bringing our total circulation to 119,994 items. During the closure for renovation, we did still have our locker
system available for part of it. Homebound delivery was still in use and whenever we were in the building, permitted in the building safely, we did do curbside pickup for residents as well. uh detailed circulation breakdown. Young adult and adult materials contributed
24,715 items. Children's was our biggest hit due to the closure. We were down to 25,531. Our electronic was 69,748. What does in branch service? Excuse me. Yes, sir. What does uh what is
electronic circulation? What? So that's our Hoopla um fold anything that you're borrowing. So whether it's a streaming video, ebook or audio book. So usually it's our Hoopla, anything that you're downloading on on your Kindles um Libby and Overdrive, things like that. Thank
you. Of course, door count again because of the closure we were down about 15%, dropped about 10,000 people. Um reference questions did go up and this is not counting all the reference questions we got about what hours we were going to be open. These are legitimate reference questions that we
got. Those were up about 3%. And you did and you did close was it June, July? June, July, August, part of September, part of October. It was your hottest month to have it open. It was brutal. Totally. Don't remind her.
Slightly like it's it's it's truly shows that the value of the libraries during those months. Lend and send. So lend are the items that other libraries lend to our resident I'm sorry that we lend to other libraries borrowed are the ones that we borrow from other libraries for our
residents. So sending out was down about 25% again because we didn't have access to our our collection for a portion of time. Um borrowing from other libraries was up about 4%. Uh same reason in 2024 building improvements include we
replaced windows in our storytime room. We added additional shelving to expand the collection in the young adult room. Added additional shelving to expand the collection in the adult collection. We included a new projector screen in our program room. We added on the ornamental grasses to block the mall parking lot.
And we had a new ADA entrance and ramp that was both town and grant funded as well as the parking lot redone and an additional handicapped space included on that. Web services. Web services include databases, computer sessions, and Wi-Fi
sessions. Database sessions went up about 25%. Computer sessions only went up about three. That's in-person terminal usage. Our Wi-Fi sessions went up 135%. Even during our closure, Wi-Fi was still accessible on our outside. So, we were
able to still operate Wi-Fi services. That includes any time that you are using your laptop in the library as well as any phone usage where you're actually doing research on your phone. This includes World Book Online, Brainfuse, Help Now, Vet Now, Job Now,
Ancestry.com, Fold 3, Mango Languages, Wall Street Journal, Old Yoga, US Major Dailies, all sorts of different reference points. Laura, why do you think it went up so much from 64 on the Wi-Fi sessions? Part of it is that we upgraded the Wi-Fi system at the very
end of 2023. Okay. So, we included new Wi-Fi hotspots throughout the building which expanded the the signal range. So, I think we picked up more than we usually had been before. Okay. Thank you. Sure. Um and then on the last page, I did include a visual for everybody. I
know that Ricky's going to put it on the the TV station as well. Um, and just a quick statement that the library extends its great thanks to the Bergen County um, development grant as well as the township of Washington for their funding assistance in 2024. The funds provided our residents with a new ADA accessible
entrance, a freshly paved parking lot and an additional handicap designated parking spot at our land. We also did move the locker system, pickup locker system into underneath that awning so that people are not getting wet or having snow issues accessing that. Any questions?
Yes, sir. On uh page one, the usage, is there anything um that you could call out regarding the virtual programs and understanding coming out of COVID there was a decline. Last year we saw an increase and then a
decrease. I think it's starting to even now because we dropped further in 2023. We were up in 2022, then we were up in 2023. I think it's starting to even out. People who are like real hardcore v virtual program users have stayed the whole time. Sometimes you also we get
hits as far like all over. It's because it's global. So I think we're starting to really kind of navigate just to our Pasak Valley area as well. Um some of it has changed. Uh you know, we did a lot of programming around there's different things that people have trends with. It's kind of like the ocean. There's
waves with different stuff. So for a long time we had food related programs that was we'd have 400 hits on one video that's starting to get more like under a hundred right now. So we're trying to find new little trends that people are getting into. Our takeaway programs are
very big hits. We're not seeing as many um huge attendance on musicals which we used to have before whether it's jazz, classical, rock, whatever it is. We used to have 150 people. We're starting to see a decline there, but having a huge number of people come to the mozzarella
making class or the tiling class, more hands-on fiber arts kind of stuff. So, we're increasing that instead. There's always a certain amount of transition when it comes to programming and I think virtual is starting to see the same. And then um aside from funding, is there anything
that the council can assist the library with in terms of you know your Thank you very much. No, I appreciate it so much. The biggest thing we can do is just continue to get the word out about library services and being library advocates. We are
restarting our friends of the library group. We have a new friends president starting up. We have a meet and greet with her this Saturday from 11 to 1 if anybody is available. Um they're going to be starting a whole new fundraising endeavor. They've been fundraising right now for a saltwater fish tank in the
library. We've had a number of corporate donors assist us with that. Um the biggest thing is to keep people drawing in. Uh we do a lot of children's programming. We do a lot of family programming to continue to have people recognize all the different resources that we give. So the more you can draw
people, make sure your library cards are active. We appreciate it all. Mike, may I just make a quick Sure. Laura, I want to thank uh you and your staff and my fellow board members uh for all the progress you've made through the years. Uh you know, you brought it a long way, especially I look at program
attendance numbers. To me, that means, you know, you're doing the right programs to draw people into the library. That means a lot. So, you and your staff, you know, should be commended for that. So, thank you. Thank you all so much. Thank you for everything. Thank you everyone.
Report of the administrator. Thank you council president. Good evening council. Good evening everyone. This is my um resident council question followup from the meeting on April 7th. There was one resident council question. Uh it was pertaining to the grant writer
David Puno. was requested to look for any grants regarding the redirecting of airplane flight. Mr. D caller, hold on. Library board, you don't have to stay here. You can be excused since I excuse the cheerleaders. You wanted to be part of the cheerleaders. You're more than welcome to be excused, but thank you for
everything you do. Thank you. Go ahead, Mr. Carl. They're staying. Uh David, grant writer David Buuno was requested to look for any grants regarding the redirecting of airplane fight patterns. As far as council questions or concerns, Councilman Sears reported that there are
numerous parking violations occurring at the shopping center. Chief Calamary was informed of Mr. Sears complaint on the evening of April 7th, 2025. Chief Calamary advised that patrol supervisors were reminded to prioritize parking enforcement at the shopping center.
Additionally, Chief Calamary was pleased to report that the SEO1 officers recently graduated from the academy class and will begin field training. Parking enforcement will be an assignment given to the SLE1 officers. At the April 7th, 2025 council meeting, administration updated the council on
the condition of the library roof and the need to make repairs. Administration would like to use existing funded capital funds and go out to bid for a roofing contractor. Council President Desenna requested that we obtain the opinion from our architect as to the best material to use for the repair as
asphalt or metal roof. The shingle roof on the library is 23 years old and they have had several leaks that have cost $12,6854 in repairs. I spoke to our architect Anthony Iino in order to receive his review and opinion on the best product to use on the sloped
library roof. Mr. Ayavino believes that the asphalt and metal seam roofing are both excellent products. Mr. Iavino stated the cost of the metal roof will be two to three times that of the shingles. administration is recommending the ask for shels. Uh numerous updates to advise
everyone of uh a reminder to residents regarding the property tax reassessment appraisal systems will be posting locations of inspections on their website www.asingj.com. You may also visit the website for information pertaining to the reassessment. A total of
1,569 residential properties have been visited, which is approximate approximated at 46.5% of all residential properties. The current entry rate is 60%, which is about 628 estimates/refusals. 100% of commercial
properties have been visited. Income and expenses statements, chapter 91 forms for all commercial properties are being prepped and mailed via certified mail by ASI no later than April 25th, 2025. Progress is on track for timely
completion. Once all initial visits are completed, a follow-up letter will be mailed to all residential no access properties indicating we have been unable to gain interior access and give it a second go. Recreation Superintendent Dan Scooyieri and I
visited all four recreation fields to assess them for the start of the sports season. The mayor and I are very proud to report that Mr. Scooty has done a terrific job with the infield rehabilitation project, the revitalization of our batting cages and the replacement of playground equipment
at Gardener Field. We also want to recognize the terrific job that DPW has done getting the playgrounds and fields ready for nice weather. Other than some cosmetic work to be done at the recck fields facilities, they're in great shape. Thank you to Mr. Scooty and DPW. We have begun our 2025 mill employment
liability best practices program in order to maintain compliance with the program. Administration will be working on updating our policies and procedures manual and employee handbook to align with the municipal excess liability latest revisions, recommendations, and requirements. Additionally, supervision
and management training for supervisors is mandatory, and anti-harassment training must be completed by all township employees, mayor, and council members. I respectfully ask the council to complete the online training at their earliest convenience. the benefit for complying with the program's
requirements and having an updated loss control program. The township will receive the standard employment practices liability deductible of 20,000 per claim plus a 20% co-pay capped at 50,000. Municipalities without an updated loss control program will have a
deductible of $100,000 per claim plus a 20% co-pay with no cap. The new members of the plan zoning boards have been requested to complete New Jersey D required stormwater training titled asking the right questions. I appreciate those members that have completed the training. I
kindly ask those members to get that have not to get the training completed. The township has officially acquired the property of 450 Pascac Road and the DPWU has made major progress at the location by performing cleanup, landscaping, and the removal of recycling materials such
as scrap metal, cardboard, and plastic bottles within reason. Although the location is township property now, we kindly request the public to refrain from entering the property and structures as we work towards making the property safe. We will be applying for
the 2026 New Jersey DOT grant by submitting for the resurfacing of Ridgewood Boulevard North. This application is due by July 1st, 2025 with the grant award a grant award announcement is expected in November. This evening administration has presented a resolution to the council
seeking approval to bid for the Coolage Avenue resurfacing project with the council's approval we hope to advertise this week. It is anticipated that Boswell Engineering will be conducting additional soil contamination delineation at the old Swing Club property this week. And lastly, Boswell
Engineering anticipates submitting the revised New Jersey D application for the restoration of the Musqu Brook project the week of May 12th. That concludes my report. Thank you, Council President. Thank you, Mr. Report of the Mayor. Yes. Thank you,
Mike. Good evening, everyone. Thanks for coming out. um 450 Pasc Road. I am excited to share that the closing of 450 Pasc Road has been successfully completed. This parcel adjacent to Memorial Field spanning over 3 acres and was acquired by the township for
approximately $750,000. Notably, up to 550,000 of that amount is funded by a grant from the Bergen County Open Space Trust Fund, which is funded by your taxpayer dollars. I am proud to bring some of these funds
back to benefit our community. This acquisition adds yet another valuable piece of property to our open space collection. During a meeting with the open space committee, I presented a vision for the property's potential use. The plan includes a nature trail, exercise area, landscaping, benches,
sidewalks, and parking. Our immediate focus will be on cleaning up the property, and I will keep you updated on its progress. Ambulance Corp., It was an honor to be invited to their installation of officers dinner and to swear them in. Also, they have literally opened their doors and are now sharing
their space with crews from the county ambulance corps. Having a county ambulance stationed in our town when possible will allow for a quicker response to our residents when our own beloved corps is not in service. I appreciate them researching this arrangement with the county and bringing
me in at the appropriate time to finalize the deal. I am also glad that many of us had the foresight when the building was designed to add an additional bay. Recreation news. The 2025 summer camp registration will close on Sunday,
June 1st. There is a limit of 600 registrants for the program. If the limit is met before the end of registration, a weight list will be created and implemented through the end of the registration. The 2025 lacrosse program is on its way
and positive feedback is being received. We thank all the volunteers who always make it a great and fun experience for our children. The men's 2025 over 33 softball program season started on Thursday, May 1st. Want to wish good
luck to all the teams. The 2025 introduction to cheer program registration also started on Thursday, May 1st. Teen night at the Westwood Recreation Center is completed for the season and will resume in October. I encourage you to please visit the
recreation page on the township's website and follow TWWP of Washington, New Jersey 07676, recreation, parks, and public affairs Facebook page for updates on these and many other programs. There's a
section on the website dedicated to information about sports upcoming sports camps for the summer season. Police Department news. Department members completed their first ever defensive tactics training and the initial phase of the annual police
officer tactical response training. Fire department news. The department responded to multiple calls for activated CO alarms and smoke detectors. They remind the residents that CO alarms have a life expectancy of 7 years and should be replaced at that point. The
department responded to a mutual aid call from parameters for coverage during a working fire. They also had a fence fire which was quickly quickly extinguished. Additionally, they held their annual pancake breakfast and Easter egg hunt. The members are always happy to see so many of their neighbors
show up to these events and they appreciate all the support. I attended both events and I'm proud to say they were both well attended and enjoyed by everyone. DPW news. Weekly garbage debris collection is ongoing. Household debris
collection took place during the week of April 7th and is taking place again this week. Metal and white goods were collected on April 15th and the next collection will be on May 14th. All town parks, fields, and properties are now maintained and landscaped weekly. Catch
basins in zone 4 were inspected and cleaned. On April 27th, crews responded to both a tree in the road on Hoover A and a downed limb on Devon Road. Cleanup operations began at the newly acquired property at 450
Pascat. Public affairs planning is underway for the Memorial Day parade on May 26th. The Department of Public Affairs, the Green Team, and the Mayor's Wellness Campaign hosted another 5K walk run and health fair this past Saturday. My wife and I were happy to participate
in the walking part of the event. It was great to see so many people turn out. I want to thank Councilman Sears and Councilwoman Valz for always doing so much outside of their council duties for the residents along with all the volunteers including members of our fire department and ambulance corps who
always go above and beyond to make these events successes that they always are. Zoning office. There were a total of 35 zoning applications reviewed for the month of April. library. I was happy that library director Riiffken attended this evening to give her annual
presentation. April celebrated National Library Week and the staff was grateful for all the appreciation and support they received. April offered a large variety of programs and learning opportunities at the library. Stitching groups, chair and matt yoga classes, and
now storytime yoga for ages 2 through six. movies, bingo night, music classes for babies, and special needs groups, a wonderful jazz concert, and an adult tile art class. They are very thankful to the association for learning and
mentoring services organization grant for their sponsorship of a senior group trip to the play paper mill playhouse to see take the lead. Alms provided the bus for transportation. The library provided lunch and all had a wonderful time. A
big thank you to all the local businesses and residents who have participated in their many fundraisers during these last few months. Thank you for all your generosity and the I'm sorry. Thanks to all your generosity, their goal of installing a fish tank will be a reality soon. May has the
weather warming up and lots of outdoor learning opportunities to be had. Parents, please take a look at the new monthly outdoor storytime schedule. May also offers a teen felting night and a teen succulent pet art program. Adults, there is another painting evening as
well as a wool spinning class. And don't forget free CPR AED classes the week of May 12th. Please check the library website for days and times to register. Last but not least, municipal court. 250
total traffic tickets were issued in March with 222 from the Township of Washington Police Department and 28 from the state police. The court collected $7,28912 in revenue to the township. That completes my report. Thank you again, Council President. Thank you.
Report of the council. Miss VZ. Yes. Thank you. On April 13th, I also attended the township fire department's pancake breakfast. They did a fantastic job. My little one was very excited for the size of the pancakes. She said that
they were better than IHOPS. So, great job to everybody, especially the sprinkly one. Um, on April 25th, I also attended the attended the ambulance installation of officers. Um, it's great to see the years that these men and
women dedicate to our community. So, thank you so much for your ser service. Um, unfortunately I was unable to attend the baseball softball opening day due to the date change. So I apologize um for that. I already had a prior commitment
for the 27th. I know the weather is difficult um but sometimes it's out of our control. I I do hope it went well. Um tonight uh we will have a presentation from Jordan Schwarz. Love them from the inside out. um he will be
hosting an event on June 11, 2025 at the high school. I will allow him to go into further details about the event during the public portion of our council meeting. I also want to thank um Mr. Bob Stickle from Lifesavers who made a
generous $500 donation to the project. So, thank you to Lifesavers for that. Um, as was stated this past Saturday, we had the 5K um, run, walk, and health fair. It was a
great success. We had 184 registered participants. Um, on what turned out to be a beautiful sunny Saturday, even though we had some threats of a heavy downpour, it ended up being beautiful and much hotter than expected. Our
youngest participant was 7 years old and our youngest at heart was 77 years old. So, thank you for all of those that participated that day. Um, as some of you may know, the township partnered up with the Denovo Harriers running club
for the beginner to finisher 5K program and our 5K was their official graduation race. So, congratulations to many of them for completing their first 5K ever. I also want to thank all the sponsors, the health health fair vendors,
emergency services supporters, volunteers, including those of you behind the scenes, Bethany Community Center for their partnership in hosting our event. Um, Mayor Kalamari, Administrator Dardo, Ranatada Dleski,
the DPW for getting us up and running by 7:30 in the morning. I know that's not easy. and and thank you to all those involved. It really is nice to see our community coming together and sharing these
events. Um it makes the endless hours worthwhile. Um and a quick shout out to all the residents that were out there cheering everybody on, including the scouts who were able to last minute man a second water station because we saw the temperature rising. So, thank you to
everybody involved. We we really appreciate it. Um and then because of the success of our 5K run walk and health fair, we are once again going to be offering the spring into wellness scholarship. It is
a we are offering two $500 scholarships to two township high school seniors entering a health related field. So if you go on the township website, you can see a little more information including the deadline which is May 12th. So, I
encourage our high school seniors from township to look into this. Um, also speak to your guidance counselor at the high school. She will also have some information. And that concludes my report. Thank you, Mr. Sears. Thank you, Council President.
Uh May 3rd, the green team, we had our brook cleanup. Um, we started from Pasak all the way down to the entrance of the lake. Um, we cleaned up a little under 200 lb of debris along the broke and out
of the water. Uh, we took everything from a suitcase to a leather jacket to tons of bottles and plastics and glass bottles and basketballs. Um, it it was a lot of debris. I
I do want to make one suggestion that people that walk their dogs and you do pick up your dog feces, don't throw them in the lake or on the bridge, put them in the can that that's there cuz it's kind of disgusting, you know. Um that
water does flow down to the reservoir and it's something that we do drink. So, uh please just pick it up. Um opening day of baseball, great memories when my son was playing little kids. It was cold day, but they they were running around like no tomorrow. Uh the health day and
5K run. Uh Daisy, great job. Um we had a lot of support and vendors there, which was uh excellent. Uh May 10th, we're going to be doing a flower planting by the bridge and in front of town hall. Uh
we're going to meet about 9:00 a.m. uh and start doing some planting. As we all know, there's this ridiculous public service gas and electric increase that's coming down that is going to be hitting us. Um, I was researching
through Sustainable New Jersey and I want to thank the administrative for working with this with me. We uh we're going to merge with Sustainable New Jersey and offer all residents in Washington Township
um a reduction in trying to reduce their electric bills by um efficient lighting, handing out uh new type of light bulbs. They're going to be doing some kind of insulation work. They're going to be offering pipes, uh, water reduction, and
we're going to be looking to see what else we can do to offset this ridiculous increase that public service is bringing upon the community. So, um, just listen to, um, uh, the council here on the web
page. We're going to put it out on the township. We have a couple of meetings with them. We're going to try and hit the whole community and try and get everybody involved trying to reduce your electric bill. Um, a lot of it's free, which is, well, I say if it's free, it's
for me. So, um, if we can get it out to everybody, that'll be perfect. Uh, the last thing is, um, my Montlair State, uh, group. We're going to be looking at the tree canopy and the amount of emissions that are being produced with
the lack of our canopy. Uh 2019 I I mentioned that we were about 55% of our canopy. We're now at 43%. We lost so many trees within the community. We have to stop planting. The
amount of health issues that are going to happen in this community uh for the young killed children, excuse me, is going to be unbelievable. So uh plant trees, please. We need you to plant trees. And the last thing I have is uh I
have a meeting with a county environmental group. We're meeting every two weeks and their first uh plan of establishment is to do a countywide seed planting to bring back the monarch butterfly. Um I do have the seeds. Um it
it's going to be a countywide issue. So uh if you need the seeds, call me. We're going to be offering them uh this uh Saturday also at the tree planting. Uh that's my report. Thank you, Council President. Thank you, Mrs. Mr. C. Trying to do so fast because we got so much. We
do have a lot to cover tonight. So, I'm going to make my uh my comments brief. I did attend the Anglr dinner. It was nice to see all our volunteers that have been working so hard uh over the past uh 67 years, right Pete? Something like that.
Around for 67 years. And uh I know things are changing with the ambulance corp, but they are still out there giving their all. And uh I want to thank Mr. Glaz, Mr. Sears, and the mayor for their uh efforts with the health fair and the run. It's greatly appreciated.
It's nice to see the community come out and um try and get uh get some community spirit going. But again, um again, everything's pretty much said, so I'll pass it on to Mr. uh Mr. Roman. Uh I have no report. Thanks. Thank you. Very
quickly, uh, want to thank the fire department, police department, ambulance corps, DPW, Knights of Columbus, the VFW, and all of the groups that attended opening day for Washington Township baseball softball. We had to move in unfortunately from Saturday and Sunday, and all the groups were able to scramble
and uh, give us the same great services on Sunday morning. Uh, it was a little windy, but we got it all done. Uh, it was a very well attended event. Uh, everybody enjoyed it and uh, that's really quick. I want to that's all I have for tonight. Thank you
everyone. Moving along. Approval of minutes. Regular meeting April 8th, 2024. Conference meeting April 8, 2024. Do I have a motion? Second. Roll call. Councilman Gio. Yes. Councilman Z. Yes. Councilman Omen. Yes. Councilwoman Deles. Yes. Council President the
Senate. Yes. Regular meeting April 30th, 2024. conference meeting April 30, 2024. Do I have a motion? So move. Second. Roll call. Councilman Casio. Yes. Councilman T. Yes. Councilman Omen. Yes. Council BZ. Yes. Council president to Yes. General public comment limit to 5
minutes. Motion to open the public comment period. So move. Second. All in favor? I. Mr. Denn Council President. Um is it possible to suspend the limit? Yeah. Well, when it comes up Okay. Thank Would anybody like to come up at this
time and adjust the council? Good evening. Good evening. Um, my name is Jordan Schwarz. I'm a sophomore at West Regional High School. Um, and in June, I'm bringing an initiative that I started in freshman
year to bring cardiac screening to the high school. Um, this came to mind because my aunt is a teacher in Mawa, and she worked with a family and their son a couple years ago, he was 16, active athlete, healthy, and stood up
from their dining room table one day and he dropped dead out of nowhere. And later they learned it was from an underlying heart condition. They had no idea. So due to their tragedy, my aunt took my older cousin who was 16 at the time for a preemptive screening just to
be safe. And lo and behold, he had an underlying condition that they never would have known if the screening hadn't been done. And he underwent an ablation at 16 years old. Uh and it saved his life. So, I got screened to be safe.
Thankfully, I'm all right. And I just thought it was really important to make our community and the schools aware of like the silent killer. Um, awareness needed. So many families have no idea that their children might have an
underlying cardiac condition. I think it's like extremely important to bring screening to the high school. It's currently being done in Mawa, Waldwick, and they're doing it every other year at Don Bosco Prep. In Mawa this year, they
tested 142 students, and of the 142 students, they found three students with an abnormality that required further testing. Um, and this doesn't apply to just athletes. Uh, people, that's all
you hear about, though. You just hear about the athletes dropping on the field, dying. But it can happen to anyone. Um, yes. So, why why screen you might ask? The American Pediatrics Association recommends screening children for sudden cardiac arrest every
two years. There could be a genetic history of cardiac issues. Um, a a simple screening provides a baseline of your child's cardiac health. One in every 300 kids in the United States has an unknown abnormality that they have no
idea about. They can be detected early. Uh, sudden cardiac arrest is the number one killer of student athletes. A simple echo EKG test can save a life. And AEDs are simply just not enough. Most cardiac fatalities occur before a defibrillator
can be administered. Um, ADS are reactive, whereas the screenings I'm trying to bring to the school are proactive. The MCOR Foundation, MCOR's mission is to provide education, screening, and research for sudden cardiac arrests in
children and young adults. They currently have partnerships in Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York. And they screen over 5,000 children in a year, and they have a findings rate of 5% screen.
Um, so I started this freshman year, various meetings with people all over the school, the superintendent, the nurse, the guidance counselor, the principal, the athletic director. I've been going around uh trying to fund raise this, set this up. MCOR charges
$79 to screen a child, and we're charging the families $25 per kid. So, I've been going around fundraising around Westwood and Township Town um to the small businesses, giving them flyers
asking for any help they can do to either publicize it or give a donation. Um, and to offset the cost, I figured I had to rate raise around $3,200. And on my own, I raised about $2,300 so far.
Um, and as Daisy said before, thank you to Bob Stickle for his extremely generous donation. We really appreciate it. It means a lot. So, anything you guys can do to uh help publicize this be greatly appreciated. I mean, it's really
important just for our community to know their child's health because anything can happen and you only know so much about your child's health and anything can happen at any moment. So that's
what Oh yeah, and we have an up andcoming meeting with um the CO CEO of Hackinack UMC hospitals. Um and hopefully they can do something to help. Um but yeah, we're
looking forward to it and it's going to do a lot of good in the community and save a lot of lives hopefully. So yeah, thank you for that. Great job. Thank you for your time. Thank you for your Can I respond? Is Is there something specific you'd like the
council to do? Would you like us to just publicize it, get it out there on the website? What? How can we Yeah. How can we help people the best we can? Yeah. The big thing right now is obviously fundraising. I mean, going forward, the plan is to make a club out of this and to have the club fund raise through the
high school going forward, but obviously this being the first year, we wanted to make sure we got it off the ground and the only way to do it was for Jordan to go direct to the public to raise money. Um, so anything you can do to help promote this to local businesses. I mean, obviously Westwood with the
downtown, he's literally been fantastic. He just walks around downtown, goes in anywhere fearless, explains basically what he just told you. And you know, it's been interesting to see how people have donated. We've gotten cash from people. People just hand us $15, $20.
We've gotten checks. Obviously, Daisy connecting us with Bob Stickle was great. Um, so yes, any promotion to business, we can put this on the website, right? Absolutely. You know what the best way to get it out there is get, you know, some public uh information. Yeah. So, as of this
morning, as of tonight, right, there are 62 slots available. As of tonight, there are 55 of them taken um registered. So, you know, that's where we are. And I know I had a conversation with Bob the other night about making this an ongoing thing. And obviously, the big thing to make it ongoing is to get the
participation. The reason Bosco does it every other year is because they can't seem to get the participation. But MCOR's here for Mawa and Waldwick usually in February for heart awareness month. So that would be the plan is to have them come back and do Westwood High School also in February
when they're here because it's less it's easier for them if they're already coming to the area to do all the schools at once. Jordan, I will uh I will bring this back to the baseball softball board and I will try to match Mr. Stickle's donation. Thank you. So soon as I get as
soon as I get the approval, you you know you you you'll be able to get in touch with me. All right, sounds good. I appreciate that. Thank you. I'm sorry. this. Um, can I just Yes. Um, Jordan, just a question. I I feel like I saw that it was open to
certain groups uh ages. So, can you just clarify who which age group you're targeting? Um, so yeah, at first we were just going to do it for juniors and seniors in the high school. Um, because they're older and it was a test run for
the first year and we thought that, you know, that just made sense. But we weren't really getting a lot of participation like registers and signups at first. So we decided recently to open it up to all four grades in the high school. Okay. And we've noticed
significant jump in numbers over the past couple days. And so yeah, publicizing it. So it was originally for the top two grades in the school, but now it's open to all four grades. Okay. So So 14 15 or 9 through 12? Yeah, 9
through 12. Okay. Just All right. Um and I believe mayor, I think we already put it on the public affairs recreation page. if that's okay, if we could continue to do so. Absolutely. So, we'll we'll keep sharing it on the public affairs recreation page. Um, this would
be great to do a potential booth next year at the 5K. Yeah. Um, you know, and so that people are aware I this is Mrs. Beckmeer who's part of Hi, I'm Judy Beckmire as director of the board of health. That's why I'm here uh to hear
about this presentation and I'd just like to uh suggest that perhaps as a community um with the support of the board of health because I believe it's called silent myioardial eskemia right so they call it the silent killer and um
it's in all age groups I understand and it's it's a wonderful thing that you're targeting the the younger population because we hear about these stories that you know athletes just go on and they don't know what what what happen but from what I understand it's a underlying
condition because that's not usually monitored when you go to your physician it's really you have to do a certain number of tests right and it can affect any age group yes so uh I'd like to speak to my board of health further about this about the board of health and
see um and speak to the mayor and council at at a later note once we get more information about it to see if we could do you know a community- based thing as well good thank Council President. Yeah. Do you have flyers made up on this break?
We have some We have We have uh Ricky put that up when he runs. I I have it. So I think he did put Oh, Ricky's got it to put up. I I looked over but I was listening. But we have it. We We'll get into their regular
rotation. The reason just initially why it was just for 11th and 12th grade was because they wanted to make sure there was a pool of children every year to sort of feed off of. So if we did two grades then the next year there would be sophomore and freshman and so on and so
on. But it was a little tough going to get people to register and so now it's open to all four grades and we're almost full capacity which is great. That's great. Good job Jordan. Thank you. I'm sorry you had to experience but you know out of some
unfortunate circumstance something positive is born. So great job for taking that on. Thank you. I appreciate that. You can call me tomorrow morning if you look on the website the township website. Give me a call tomorrow and I'll have an answer whether we'll make the donation. All right. Sounds good. I'll keep in touch. Mike, may I make a quick comment? Actually, two quick
comments. On the grand scheme of things, I hope insurance companies will look at covering these screenings eventually. uh you know cuz your statistics are quite surprising and alarming to me. I wasn't aware of that. Second, and just talking with the administrator with council
approval, we'd like to uh make a donation if it's okay with the council from the uh 5K healthcare trust fund also for $500 to this cause. Uh ties directly into our mission. Absolutely. And we have the money in there to support. Thank you. So is council okay
with that before you see it on a bill list? Yeah, I'm okay. The the point of the It's a wellness program, right? We want to So, your fundraising is over then. Now you can concentrate on other things. Yeah. Bigger, bigger and better. You did
great, Jordan. Good job. Thank you, Dr. Thank you. Thank you. Would anybody else like to come up and address the council at this time? Good evening everybody. How are you? The five minute time limit is back in effect. Mr. Mabana,
you might as well just sit down. Yeah. So, I just have a question. Um I'm here for the the draft chapter. Is it 580? Um I don't know if I if you guys someone could talk about it just briefly and maybe so I don't have to have so
many questions about it. I know it's still in draft. And uh but it's you know I tried to find it on the website. It's not there yet but uh I know it's about parking for uh several different items. Is it someone that can comment on it before you know
we go any further? I just don't want to see that you know this. So under this under this proposed ordinance that was presented to us from the planning board Mr. M and says motor homes, house trailers, RVs, and travel trailers limited number to one regardless of size
are permitted to be stored on a paved driveway in the AAA, double A, A, BB, or B districts if owned or leased by a member of the household in residency at the subject property. Every motor home, house trailer, RV, and trailer parked in
a residential district shall be screened with fencing or a dense yearround landscaping buffer or both. Height of such screening shall be not less than six feet at time of installation. Fences shall be on a solid design and otherwise comply with all
other applicable fence requirements. An RV and its associated trailer produced by the same manufacturer shall count as a single vehicle. A recreational vehicle shall not be used for household occupancy either temporary or permanent. Okay. No, thank you. I appreciate that
because I I was trying to find that helps a lot. I think the uh so it's got to be screened the kid. I that what about the front of it though? That's the key because then if you put say uh bushes front, we won't be able to get it out then. Can't get it
out. So that would be an issue for for uh for me. But um the other question I have is what if you don't have enough room on the side between you and your neighbors? Speak to your microphone, please. What if you don't have enough room between your property and the
neighbor? Um I I particularly don't have that problem, but I know some that do. Um I don't know if that could be addressed at all, Dorian. I know you're going to discuss it today. Uh something like that. And then for the front of it, um if you can just I I can't put bushes
in the front. Well, it says every it says shall be screened by a fence or buffer or landscape buffer. So, I guess the front you'd have to have some kind of gate or fence in front of it. You need a gate in front of it. All right. All right. This is going to be discussed as far as because you know it's on the
it's on the conference agenda. Okay. Because I did make provisions a few years ago and I moved it several feet back on on purpose to keep it away from the public. But all right. I just want to just make that clear. So, I appreciate your time. Thank you. Would anybody else at this time like to come
up and speak to the council? Is this going to be consistent with commercial vehicles too? I know on the agenda there was commercial vehicles listed on this. Michael, please. So, Mr. Friends, it says in this ordinance that was uh it says every
commercial vehicle and trailer parked in a residential district shall be screened with fencing or a dense year-round landscape buffer or both. Height of such screening shall not be less than 6 ft at time of installation. fences shall be of a solid design and otherwise comply with all other applicable fence requirement.
So it's the same thing as the RDS. Yes. So you want everything sealed in. That's what the ordinance reads at this at present the way it reads. I think that'll look twice as ridiculous as commercial vehicle in the driveway in itself. And I'll say this and I can speak for anybody else who has a vehicle if they have to park it somewhere else.
There are no places to park commercial vehicles or RVs around here. I'm paying $425 a month as it is now because this was enforced on me two years ago. Spent $24,000 in the last two years to park a dump truck and purchase another vehicle to get to and from. So, I just want to let you know when you're when you're
thinking about this, we're going to pass it. This is what you're going to be doing to the people who live in town if they have to get these things off site cuz there is literally nowhere to go. Wherever we have to go park, we're just getting beat to death because they know there's nowhere to go. There's no places
behind gas stations to hide behind anymore. I'm in Hillsdale now. The spot that I'm at, it's probably sold already. I heard it was sold. So then what? Taking it home again. And then the code officer is going to find me again. And then I'm going to get another ticket. So just think about these extra things. The
money the money thing is a big deal. If there was a place to keep stuff, if you had a spot like Gordell used to have a spot where you can park emergency vehicles for for residents. You guys, you don't have that space. If you had something, it' be a different story. But there's literally nowhere for us to go. Like nowhere without driving probably an
hour. So I just want you to know that it's a factor to keep in this iteration. I mean a fence I don't see a fence. I mean you see how big some of these campers are. They're 30 ft long. They stick out to the sidewalk. You're going to make someone put a fence in front of it. It's going to look ridiculous. So if
I just may address that, Mr. Desenna. So uh so I sit on the planning board. Um, this ordinance, this proposed ordinance was in response to a comment in a
re-examination of the master plan. Um, one thing I would say is I don't believe it was the intent when it was uh sent up to the council to have
fencing or a buffer in front of the vehicle. Okay. I think the intent was to uh shield your immediate neighbor to the left, you know, on that prop on that common property line. Uh to
your point and uh Mr. Montto, uh you know, to put a fence before it, yeah, I think, you know, it's not practical. It's, you know, it's somewhat ridiculous. It's 100% ridiculous. So,
you know, I think um I do think uh the proposal to put screening on the side, there is a benefit to that, but in terms of in front, I don't think that was ever the I mean, even on the side, I don't even know how it's possible. Some people just have vans with commercial lighting on the doors. They park in the driveway. I mean, what are you supposed to do?
Just line your bulk your driveways at Arbor Buddies? Like, one, it's expensive and it just it would just look ridiculous. So, what are you what are you proposing? I said, forget it. Leave the whole thing alone. It's been It's fine. Like I've been here for 22 years already and I just had this enforced on
me two years ago. I don't know what the hell happened within 20 years, but there's other people there's people on the lake with boats. Irwin Simon has lived there his whole freaking life. 65 70 years. Now he's got to move his boat. Like he lives on a lake. What the hell is he supposed to do with it? You know, it's just stuff. It's it's he has to
move his boat for no reason. Why does he have to move his boat? I'm sorry. I thought that was in the proposal, too. The camper. See, that's that's the um the piece that I'm confused about because it's come to my attention, you know, people have contacted me that they had to get rid they thought they had to
get rid of their RVs, but this is not saying that people have to remove their RVs. Okay. I took it as and I think took it that and I don't know where that information came from. So, can Yeah, it's a matter of I have to get removed. Well, well, it's a matter of screening.
So, if you can't screen it, well, the way it was interpreted was if you can't screen it, you have to remove it. I I'm sorry. I don't read it that way. But, Miss Bailey, would that be if you were reading this ordinance, would you read it that way as an attorney? I I think that that would have to be clear. I It
doesn't say that. Um I imagine just get fined. That's really what it comes down to. Right. Yeah. That was to me. I've asked numerous times for the police department. Tell me how many people have um had a complaint from another neighbor. I bet it's a very very small.
There is basically no complaints against anyone with an RV or a boat. I find it um and this is not against the planning board. It's just, you know, something that's ludicrous that the state starts to make you do stupid things that don't meet the coming state. It's coming. But basically, because master plan, it's a
master plan. You got to do a master plan. master plan has to include its and these elements are part of the albums that we're talking about are part of that master plan. Now, never seen a complaint against anyone, especially the Simons, right? They have they're like
you said, they're on the lake, right? They have a nice 26 ft class one um pontoon boat, right? Where are you going to put it? Right. It's it's again government gets involved with stuff they shouldn't even bother getting involved with because there's no everyone seems to be happy, right? Does anybody enforce
it on you guys? I'm sorry. Does anybody enforce it on you guys? Like if you didn't do anything about it, if you just said, "We're leaving everybody alone." Not right now. I don't think it's being enforced at all. I'm aware of I just solve the whole problem. There is situations where you have to have
particular ground to park your boat on. Yeah. You just can't park it on dirt. You have to have that being a clapboard down there. You know, it's then government gets too involved with stuff they didn't get involved. I'm just saying I'm already out. I just wanted to let you know about the financial implications that could happen to some of these people. Like you said, it's a
commercial vehicle. There's nowhere to put your your stuff on your property. There's nowhere other commercial lands to do it. We have the problem with our DPW, right? Because we have all this all this equipment. There's nowhere to put it. Councilwoman, correct me if I'm
right. It was something to do with the commercial vehicle actual from a four-wheel to a six-wheel that they were talking about the type of a truck that's being parked on a property. U that's originally how
some of this started that somebody has a six-wheel vehicle and it's it's bigger than what the weight limitations require it to be. Um that's how this some of this process started. triple axle vehicle. Yeah, we were
trying. Yeah, I had six wheels, two axles. I'm out. I guess that was it. So, that's all I just wanted to let you guys know. If you don't do anything, great. If you do, don't I mean I mean the goal is not to create a hardship for anybody,
right? It's to comply with what we, you know, have to meet. But at the same time, you know, I wanted to be clear that I didn't read it as you're going to have to remove it. So, I guess we do have to work on clarifying. That's how I read it. Everybody else I spoke to, everybody that I know right now it says
if you can't screen it because you're out or you get or you keep paying fines or you're going to get filed. Yeah. Yeah. Financially would have to remove it. There literally is nowhere to So, that's unless you wanted to open up the back of the swim club and charge us.
We can't park at the swim club. We can't park our own equipment there. Can I rent out my own driveway business? But anybody else like Thank you, Mr. Prince. Scott Wager, 23 year town council
president res. I have an issue with the screening now, right? So, there are parameters to put up fences. You have to have setbacks. So, you can't put a fence right at the edge of my driveway to screen this camper. Plus, you have ordinance on height, right? So, 5ft
fence, it's not going to go right. You're not going to block the You're not going to block the camper because it's too hot. The RV, whatever you want to call it. So, it's kind of like a moot point what you guys are trying to do here. I mean, it is going to create a hardship for a lot of people, you know, who have campers. And I don't know how many you think you got in the town. How
many campers you think are in this town? 30. 50. 50. Okay. So, I only keep mine in my house during camping season. People keep it all year round. But I just think having forcing people to put the fence up is totally ridiculous
because you probably as a township will not even let me put the fence behind my sidewalk at the edge. No, you can't. That's Well, it says Well, it says within within within Fed's guidelines. Yes. So, you wouldn't be able to do that. And like, you know, my neighbor I don't have a problem with my neighbor next door. I see him. It's no problem,
you know. So, I just think what you guys are proposing as far as shrubs screening or whatever is kind of a little ridiculous cuz with with with the properties that we have. Let me take it back. It's not it's not this board that's proposing it. It's the planning board. So, I want to make it perfectly
clear from the Well, you guys have a little influence on the planning board also. That's why we're reviewing it now. You know, but to have us putting up more fences and stuff like that, it's just not going to work. So, if I can just interrupt I I I think that's a misrepresentation. So, the planning
board and I agree. I think where you're going, you know, the planning board is we both sit on the planning board is resp I got that you know is responding the planning board is responding to a comment that was included in the
re-examination and one of the things they have to do or uh have done is crafted a draft ordinance to the best of their abilities. is to address that
comment and they give it to the council and it's ultimately the council's responsibility to either accept it as is to amend it or they don't have to pass it but it's uh I don't think the planning board I I think Mike spoke not
the planning but that's the that's the recommendation you got from the planner right as the planning board correct well it's the recommendation of the adopted master plan. Okay. And the re-examination that I'm sure the council
actually approved. So, I mean, I just I didn't mean to throw it out the plan. It is it's a issue that was raised that is being brought to the council and there's certainly work that could be done on the ordinance. I mean, we're hearing it now,
but uh I you know, I don't want it to be mischaracterized that the planning board is telling you to do something. The planning board is making a recommendation and the council uh in conjunction with the administration, you know, has to react to that. Well, I
mean, you just keep saying like a comment was made, right? A comment. So, it wasn't like something that has to be done. It was you're getting a comment from from who? There were, I think, five I believe there were five uh
recommendations. I mean I I call it com I believe it was actually uh a recommendation. It's not a mandate. It's it's a it's not a mandate but there it requires a response from the planning board. And in the case of this the
response is a proposed ordinance for the council to consider. And and if I could just jump into it, um the planner um who's helping us with the master plan, he does a lot of municipalities, so he'll give us a lot of suggestions suggestions to say, "Hey, other
municipalities are looking at this. So, is it something that the township wants to consider and then I could repeat what Mr. Alman said, but there's no need to. The planning board then, you know, looks at it and recommends to the council that they look at it, but council's free to
accept it, deny it in total, or change it. Well, it doesn't seem like it's a problem issue in the township. I don't think anyone is suggesting it is really. I I don't know why you would want to pass something and and make it a hardship. It it it's coming from the state through the master plan. I
understand. And and we every 10 years have to update the master plan. It's and we haven't updated in 197 a long time. Let's put it that way. All right. So the we have a mandate to look at ordinances
throughout the county and and like Councilman Alman stated, you know, they get these recommendations and like safe streets that that's a so they're saying, well, you need a stop sign everywhere, you know, but it's a recommendation and part
of the master plan is that we have to look at these issues that are driven by the state so we can make the master plan whole. And it it's just a process we're going through right now. And um and I agree with with Councilman Alman and the
mayor that you know we have to look at this according to the state's master plan which is but you don't have to act on it. No, but we do have to make a recommendation. A recommendation
to be placed into the master plan. I just think you're going to make a problem. problem. That's my If it ain't broken, don't fix it. And this is where we're headed with this. So, okay. And if there is hasn't been any issues, complaints, then we're just introducing an
unnecessary Yeah. Neighbors don't get along with neighbors sometimes. I I get that, you know, and oh, he's got this, they got that. Listen, the parking is an issue also. You know, a lot of families, they have more than four cars. Some people have a two-car driveway, a threec
car driveway. You have five, six cars now. The kids are all getting older. It's tough. I mean, to to to make it so you can only put your car on the street for seven. Well, no, you can apply for a permit now if you you meet the requirements
for hardship through the uh police department. Good to know. If I were a neighbor, I'd say take me in your RV or take me on your boat once a year. We'll get no complaints. Anybody else like to come up and address the council at this time?
Seeing no one, motion to close the public comment period. So move. Second. All in favor? I do five. You want to do five minutes? Yeah. Could you take a fivem minute recess? Budget adoption related documents ordinance adoption second reading
ordinance number 25-e calendar year 2025 ordinance to exceed the municipal budget appropriation limits and to establish a cap bank NJS NJSA4A 4-45.14 Resolution number 25-214 to authorize
second reading and opening of public hearing for ordinance 258. Do I have a motion? So move. Second. Roll call. Councilman Casio. Yes. Councilman Sears. Yes. Councilman. Yes. Counciloman Bles. Yes. Council President. Yes. Would anybody at the in the audience like to
come up and discuss uh resolution number 25-214? Seeing what's that? The ordinance. Or ordinance. Yeah. Ordinance 25-8. Seeing no one, motion to close the public hearing for ordinance 258. So move to second. Roll call. Councilman Casio.
Yes. Councilman Se. Yes. Councilman Owen. Yes. Counciloman Veles. Yes. Council President Senna. Yes. Motion to adopt ordinance number 258 at second reading by title. So move. Second. Councilman Cassian. Councilman Zers.
Yes. Councilman. Yes. Council BZ. Yes. Council president of the Senate. Yes. Resolution 25-215 wave the reading in full of the 2025 budget. Please note that a copy of the 2025 township budget was posted on the township website on April 11th, 2025, published in the
Bergen record, April 11, 2025, and made available at the Township of Washington Public Library and town hall and by contacting the township clerk during normal business hours. Do I have a motion? Second. Roll call. Councilman Cassio, yes. Councilman
Sears, yes. Councilman, yes. Council BZ. Yes. Council president for the center. Yes. The public hearing on the 2025 township budget as advertised. Motion to open the public hearing on the 2025 township budget. So move. Second. All in favor?
I. Would anybody like to come up and address the uh public hearing the 2025 township budget in the audience? Motion to close the public hearing on the 2025 township budget. So move. Second. All in favor? I.
2025 budget adoption resolution number 25-216, adoption of the 2025 township budget. Do I have a motion? So move. Second. Roll call. Councilman Casio. Yes. Councilman Sears. Yes. Councilman Omen. Yes. Councilwoman BZ. Yes. Council
President. Yes. Ordinance is adoption second reading. Ordinance number 25-09. An ordinance under chapter 87 of the code of the township of Washington setting forth the rate of compensation and manner of payment of employees for the year 2025. Resolution number
25-217 authorizing second reading and opening of public hearing for ordinance 259. Do I have a motion? Second. Roll call. Councilman Casio. Yes. Councilman Sears. Yes. Councilman Omen. Yes. Councilwoman
BZ. Yes. Council President. Yes. Would anybody like to come up at this time to discuss ordinance 259? Seeing no one, motion to close the public hearing for ordinance 259. So move. Second. Roll call. Councilman Casio. Yes. Councilman Sears. Yes.
Councilman Omen. Yes. Counciloman. Yes. Council president. Yes. Motion to adopt ordinance number 259 at second reading by title. So move. Second. Roll call. Councilman Casio.
Councilman Sears, yes. Councilman Oman, no. Councilwoman BZ, yes. Council President Denna, yes. Introduction, first reading. Ordinance number 25-10. Bond ordinance
appropriating 2,352,000 and authorizing the issuance of $2,239,000 in bonds or notes of the township for various improvements for purposes. authorized to be undertaken by the township of Washington in the county of Bergen, New Jersey. Motion to
introduce and pass ordinance number 25-10 at first reading by title. So move. Second. Roll call. Council, yes. Councilman Sears, yes. Councilman, no. Councilwoman BZ, yes. Council President,
the Senate, yes. Resolution number 25-218 authorizing publication of ordinance number 2510 and scheduling a public hearing. So move second. Roll call. Councilman Calio. Yes. Councilman Sears. Yes. Councilman Omen. Yes.
Counciloman BZ. Yes. Council President. Yes. Resolution number 25-219. Authorize temporary capital budget section CYA 2025. Do I have a motion? So move. I'll second it. Roll call. Councilman Casium. Yes. Councilman
Sears. Yes. Councilman Omen. No. Council woman. Yes. Council president the seven. Yes. Ordinance number 25-11. An ordinance by the mayor and council repealing and replacing chapter 244 flood hazard areas of the ordinances of
the township of Washington and adopting the following flood plane management regulations. Chapter 244 sections 101 to 101 and further amending chapter 244 to adopt a flood hazard maps to designate a flood plan administrator and providing for
severability and an effective date. Motion to introduce and pass ordinance number 25-11 at first reading by title. So second may I just ask a question? Um actually it's not this one. I'm sorry. Oh no, no it is. Um who's the flood plane
administrator? Who will that be? nuclear construction code official. Okay, thank you. So um I just have a question. Uh when we were I believe this is what
it was related to. We received an email from administrator that basically this mirrors or it's was provided by the state by the DP. has been reviewed and you can't make
anything. I don't know if that's an accurate summary of your email, but basically it is what it is and you can't do anything about it. Can everyone just turn the mics back on if you turn them off? I don't know if I want to take that definitive of approach, but the ordinance was worked on by our township
engineer and our township attorney and we we went with all the recommendations of the sample ordinance provided by D. It was then sent to the D for approval from the D uh EPA and FEMA and it came back to us
approved by them. So if there was any type of um additions, revisions or you know altering of this, it would have to go back before them and we have a deadline of June 18th. I don't know what the
council would recommend the change based on the fact that it was an ordinance created by by the D. I don't know if Miss Bailey wants to expand on on anything. Uh just briefly um it it's
basically the municipalities are required to comply with the the flood plane regulations. The DP has prepared and published a model ordinance that they say if you want to change it's got
any changes need to be submitted to D but by the way nothing substantive will be approved. So it it is in effect telling municipalities that other than you know dimminimous
um changes this is what they require be passed by each municipality as it relates to the subject matter. How was so but there there are requirements in here
that have no uh you know impact or you know we don't have the township doesn't have housing stock or locations uh topography that you know would be
covered by it. So, you know, why would we talk about coastal Azones and Vzones if we don't have them? If they don't apply, they don't apply like like like anything else. So it it's a matter
of if you you know if this applies this is the regulation this is the standard this is that um and I would imagine it's a shorthand way of imposing the same comprehensive
uh ordinance provision on all the municipalities throughout the state without having to kind of show like one fits all. It is a one it is a one size fit all. It is it is it is Mr. They just leave it in case in case we become a waterfront community, we're
ready to go. Right. Exactly. So if it for instance on page 22 it defines or talks about accessory structures. Um, does that open up the township if someone wants
to, you know, build these accessory structures? Like what you know if we talk about uh items that we either don't want or you know have an existing
uh ordinance on and this contradicts it or you know uh I guess contradicts it or is silent on it or this speaks to something that we're silent on. Does this then become
the you know uh the law of the land? So if I understand your question correctly um the these definitions are applicable only as they relate to to this chapter.
So for example, these ex this definition of accessory structures don't necessarily apply to to the zoning ordinance for example. uh they don't in fact these are limited to this ordinance I mean
similar to the gentleman's comments you know uh is it being mandated by the state you know I feel like you know this is being told to us, you know, is it we have to
is it but is it making the township better? I mean, or is this just a set of rules that they said you need to pass and pass it? Yeah. Certain issues the state has taken control of. One of which are is storm water management, for example. Okay. Flood plane is another
one because it's a it's a problem. Flooding is a is a statewide problem. It's a national problem. So, this is one of the areas where Yes. um they they're taking control and they're they're mandating that the municipalities pass these ordinances to
to come up with a comprehensive way to address it. Okay. And then just one last question because I feel like I'm beating this horse to death, but if that's the case, why would and this is more a generic question. If the state is taking
responsibility and the state is creating these uh ordinances, they are creating the rules, why do we have to adopt it? I mean, isn't it a doesn't it just become
a state issue and well, municipalities have the the obligation to enact ordinances relating to health, safety, and welfare. So the state within that directive finds that this is the
mechanism by which each municipality should be handling this particular issue within that municipal function and power. Okay. All right. Thank you. You're welcome.
Any other discussion? Roll call. Councilman Cassium. Yes. Councilman Sears. Yes. Councilman Omen. Yes. Councilwoman BZ. Yes. Council president. Yes. Resolution number 25-220 authorizing publication of ordinance
number 2511 and scheduling a public hearing. Do I have a motion? Second. Councilman Casio. Yes. Councilman Sears. Yes. Councilman Alman. Yes. Councilwoman Veles. Yes. Council President Denna. Yes. Resolution consent agenda. The
following items have been determined to have the unanimous consent of council and will be enacted in one motion. Should any item require independent consideration, any council member may have such item removed from the consent agenda. Does anyone have any resolution to be removed from the consent agenda at
this time? Uh 221. 221. Any others? Okay. Resolution number 25-222, authorization to advertise for receipt of bids new shingle roof at the library. Resolution number 25223, authorized to authorization to advertise
for receipt of bids tree pruning removal and planting. Resolution number 25-224 authorize refund engineering escrow block 4419 lot 27 in the amount not to exceed $87.50. Resolution number
25-225, authorization to advertise for receipt of bids for local aid grant 2025 Koolage Avenue. Resolution number 25-227, authorized cancellation of grant receivables and appropriated reserves in the amount of
$897.94. Motion to approve consent agenda resolutions as presented. So move. Roll call. Councilman Cassio, yes. Councilman Sears, yes. Councilman, yes. Councilwoman BZ, yes. Council President
Denna, yes. Resolution number 25-221, authorize application to Bergen County Open Space, Recreation, Farmland, and Historic Preservation Trust Fund for 2025 Municipal Park Improvement Program to obtain a matching grant in the amount of 97,000 for improvements to Memorial
and Clark fields, which include ADA improvements. Do I have a motion? So move. I'll second it. Discussion, Mr. Alman? Yeah, I just um with the acquisition of 450 um I guess my question
is one are they considered two separate properties for these types of applications or are we looking at it as a now that it's been acquired is it one property that we're working towards? Uh,
are we eventually Will eventually shouldn't the Texas assessor remove the property line? You asking me? No, I'm talking to Mr. Carlo. I don't I'm sorry. I don't have that answer. I don't know. I believe that's what happens. So, it'll become
one lot. Mr. Okay. So once we get that far, I guess my question is are by create by having it as two lots or two pieces of property, are we increasing or decreasing our chances of
securing um grants? You know, are we negatively impacting us by keeping them separate? Is this memorial does it contemplate any of the work being done on 450?
No, they're they're separate separate projects. We, you know, we have two grants for 450 itself. One was the um land acquisition, the other is the local recreation improvement grant. Um so the intent of this resolution is to do um
ADA compliant improvements at Memorial Field and Clark Field. So that so the grant application actually does have two separate properties. So I can certainly ask my experience with it. I don't think it would ever harm us from getting you
know grants if it's one property or two but I I don't technically know that answer. I'm just giving a reasonable response but I can certainly find out. I mean, if you know, if we go to them and say we want a grant from Memorial Field and a grant for
450, do we have a better opportunity of getting, you know, 100,000 each or going for 200,000? I mean, I I guess strategizing. I don't know if there's something that we can do to sort of improve our I
can certainly Yeah, I certainly don't think this grant application part of this anyway because like I said it was it's two different properties now we and we got you know we're hopefully going to receive the grants we applied for from Memorial Field. Okay. Thank
you. Yeah. Also, those two properties are very different in their use, anticipated uses at least for the foreseeable future. There's no plan to incorporate 450 into Memorial Field or anything like that. Um, so again, I think the grants we would be applying for would be distinct to each property
for the foreseeable future. So there how well that was that would be a different discussion, but I mean I would think that 450 at some point there would be an integration. I mean sooner rather than later in terms of a a master plan of those recreation space.
Typically typically when you have owner the same owners on two contiguous lots the the lot line disappears. If you can visualize like 450 in your mind there definitely is a topography difference Mr. Alman like memorial and I
think we might have some repairarian restrictions up at the back in the back property tributary. So that's why and again it's not set in stone but when we went before the um the board with our idea it was passive recreation so it was
like you know you just had to have an idea it wasn't set in stone but I think it was like a parking lot in the front with a you know passive um way that kind of three acres and came back but as you go deeper into the property if you can vision it's even a
worse topography change so you know Um, okay. I don't see us ever being able to like expand it as if it was one field and be able to put like another softball. I'm just making stuff up. But, you know, don't make stuff up because we Well, I always I always have a disclaimer. I always let you know. Okay.
Thank you. Roll call. Councilman Casio. Yes. Councilman Sears. Yes. Councilman, yes. Counciloman BZ, yes. Council President Sennetta, yes. Motion to adjourn to the conference agenda. So move second. All
in favor? I. Next meeting of the township council will be on May 19th, 2025 beginning at 7 p.m. Sign up for Nixl. Text 07676 to 888777 key code TWWP of Bergen. Conference agenda for May 5th,
2025. Master plan update. Mr. D Carlo. Sir, there's nothing. That was just a placeholder in case anything came up from the from the close session. Okay, we're good. Uh, chapter 307 noise ordinance. Does anybody have any comments? Are we happy with
it? Something you want to change? Miss Belly, where do we get most of this this information from? Ordinance? This is a mo again another model ordinance that if you want a noise ordinance, this is what you have to follow. This is pre is a preempted the
issue preempted. You don't have to have a noise ordinance like the flood plane. But if you want one, this is what you got to do. Okay. And the the requested changes are redlined or black lined. Okay.
That the council discussed last night. Yeah. And we talked about the um excessive auto automotive noises, right, with I call them zipper cars, right? Yes. Um that really comes under
the purview of the uh police department to enforce that. That wouldn't be in this one. I one of the um changes was requesting that the police department be automatically designated as page three. Yeah, I see
that in here. Yeah. What are those problems to ignore investigators? Yeah. Notice control investigators control. I mean, I think to me that, you know, living on a one of the major roads in
the township, that's all police officers in the township of Washington are designated notice control investigators subject to the requirements here. And that's on page three. Right. And I I think Mr. See would agree because he hears it from Washington Avenue all the time. I don't know if you've heard from
your vantage point on Vanenburg there. We hear it on Beach Street every day. You can set your watch to it with some particular vehicle. So I want to make sure that's in there and that we have the police. I'm I'm okay with the the changes Mrs. uh Bailey made at our
request. Yeah. So, I'm okay for next meeting to introduce this this particular ordinance 307. Is everybody okay? Yes, I'm fine with it. All right. Uh, chapter 223,
parking, standing, and stopping. Um, I believe the request there had to do with a minor change. Yep. That one. Yeah. on the first part first of any individual or government agency with authority in the case there's a state
declared emergency that would be falls under this ordinance as well. Everybody okay with that one? Yes. All right. So I'm okay with that one coming next week. The next one I'd like to re think about now that we've had the so the draft
ordinance 580. I'd like to now with the comments from the uh citizens that came up tonight, I'd like to hold off on making any decision on that till I read read that and ad, you know, take that into a comp. You know, the mailbox damage, snowplowing, um I'm okay with
the way uh the Oakland one is. I don't know what everybody else's thought is. Oakland. Well, the first one, what's it? Well, the first one's Oakland and then there's a Wick Flake one, which I I like the Oakland one because it's it's less is more sometimes.
If I Council President, if you don't mind, just point I just want to point out one big difference. The Oakland Let me just get Oh, never mind. One of them only refer to damage by direct snow plowing, like if the plow hits it. I'm
trying to just make Okay. Franklin Lakes only applied to direct contact. It didn't apply to thrown snow. So, as long as it wasn't Burrow of Franklin Lakes, unless uh unless the council doesn't want to cover if it's thrown snow, the
difference I'd like from Burrow of Oakland and Woodcliffe Lake that just Woodcliffe Lake um has a definition for landscaping and hardscape and it addressed the responsibility of the homeowner in the town there. Um, and again, I had no comment on the on the
amount. That was, you know, totally up to uh, you know, council on council on that. I'm okay with the open. I don't know what everybody else is. Michael, yeah. Do you mind if we just go back to the one with the commercial legals for one second? Which one? Yeah, the one that we 580 or
580 whatever it is. Yes. Okay. So with that particular one, if I'm going to ask Miss Bailey if you could for the boats there are we have it at 25 ft, right? We we highlighted if we could change that to 26 because uh the state and the
government recognizes a couple different classifications of boats. So if we want to stay consistent with the terminology, a class A boat is uh zero boat can be zero ft long but up to 16 ft. That's class A and then a class one
boat is up to 26. So if we can change 25 to 26 just to keep it consistent. That would be um that would be my one change on there. So I don't know if that makes a difference to anyone but just to keep the nomenclature the same. Uh, I would I
would appreciate that. I I you know, yes, I know one of it doesn't make a difference, but you know, one or two things, consistency terms, that's all. So, is everybody okay? Which does everybody prefer, Oakland or uh would like
I'm happy with either one. Just I'd like to I think the Oakland one is is is sweet and to the point. It's 100. Why do you Yeah. Why do you prefer Oakland? Cuz it's sweet and to the point. It's a h 100red bucks. It's your fault for having your mailbox in the wrong spot. And if we damage it, we give you
100 bucks and we we we walk. Is that the amount council wants to do? Is that the amount council wants to go with too? 100. I think 100's one of them. We can't get anything from that. Not my fault. You put your I
bought a mailbox for 15 bucks at Home Depot the other day. So there you go. How How quickly did it rust? It still looks great. It's only good for two weeks. All right. Which one? Oakland or Oakland or uh or with the or would the flag? Uh did you say Oakland? I said Oakland. I like Oakland. You good with
Oakland? I'm fine with it. Mike, are you okay with Oakland? Uh yeah. M you okay with open? Yeah, I mean either. All right. So we'll do Oakland for the next meeting. Thank you. For 100 bucks. For 100 bucks. Okay. Yeah. Just wait for Thank you. I appreciate that. Uh financials, nothing.
Township recycling garbage provider update. Miss Vez. Yes. So, I had a resident reach out to me um regarding regarding recycling and garbage in our town. Um, and I share some of her
frustrations with our recycling and garbage. I think we have improved, especially since I moved in here, stepping away from those awful purple bags. Um, so that just never made sense to me to put a bag inside of a bag. It
was the only way to it was the only way for the provider to pick up and not pick, but it was still silly. Yes. So, I just wanted an update with from the administration on where we stand in regards to our recycling and garbage and what we're we're looking at towards the
future now with the potent with the DPW facility. So, if they could please provide an update on that. Well, we're two years away, Mr. Dal. We're two years away from a new climate. Yes. So we we cuz I asked if we can eliminate some of
the other providers and possibly go to one provider. Well, the garbage is is completely on the owners of the homeowner. They they can select whoever they want to contract with. Recycling data uh was awarded the bid by council
in 20 I would say early spring 2024. Speaker, I can't say please. The residents contract for garbage pickup like kitchen pickup on their own. They can contract with any any hauler they wish to. The township provides
recycling. Council awarded the bid early spring in 2024. So we're it's a three three-year uh contract. So we just started our second year. So we'd be ready to go out to bid again early 20 um
27. But is there like my my whole crux with this whole thing is on my street and every street in Washington Township, there are garbage cans out on the street every day of the week, right? So I I
understand why because you know Joemo his people don't know that it's that house and that house and that house. So without having the bags like MZ just says, you can't know which bags are yours and which ones aren't. But it's gotten out of control cuz there's like
like just on my street alone, there's five different people picking up garbage, you know, running down the streets with garbage trucks, running down the streets with pickup trucks full of garbage, then dumping into a garbage truck on another block. Then we have recycling, then we have town pickup,
which is great, but all these vendors that everybody is is, you know, like we used to have we used to have the choice of two, right? We had waste management and um and Bulldog. Now there's like there's like six different trucks going up and down the streets because you know
this guy gives you $25 a period for a limited time. So everybody goes to him then he raises his price then everybody So I know we talked to Mr. Per before going back to a similar agreement where we go out to bid and only allow two of them to provide. We did that and then
No, we didn't. And then didn't like right postco we went out to bid and we didn't get enough right. some wasn't that No, no. I'm saying I'm saying so we can have a town the town garbage pickup one unified so it made sense and doesn't
wear on the streets. The the price was about the same as the residents paying for it individually and we only got one bid which the council did not necessarily like with my recollection. But I'm just saying just go back to the way the ordinance was written previously
where you could only contract with Bolo and Waste Management or whoever it may be. I'm just using Is that legal? Can we tell people who they can't deal with? Well, you know, I'm sorry. Go ahead. No, no, I I I'm not What is the suggestion that we limit how many haulers can
service the town? Oh, I Yeah, I don't think you can. I wouldn't think so. Well, we've been in the past. I mean, we've had in the past. I I I can't speak to the past. Mike, if you're if you're concerned about having all the garbage, you know, all well, just make just set a
date that that every that all those haulers, those six of them pick up every Wednesday and every sun, every Monday, just like and that's it. All the bar because right now, one picks up on Monday, one picks up on Tuesday, one picks up on Wednesday, then we pick up on Thursday, then the other one picks up
on Friday, the other one picks up on Sunday. So there's garbage. There's cans of garbage in our And it drives me crazy because then people leave them out an extra day because they can't bring them in time. So now you got a week full of garbage cans out our street. It looks like it looks bad, right? Yeah. You know
what we can what we can do is say you do sideyard pickup and then you don't have to worry about garbage cans in the middle street. It's a very simple issue. And if they want if you want to go with Bulldo, he's going to charge you $75. But Bulldo does sideyard pickup, but I don't use it because of my dogs. So
that's that's on me. But what I'm saying, Stephen, your garbage gets picked up by such and such on Monday. Mine gets picked up on Tuesday. Yours gets picked up by JC on Wednesday. Uh this one gets picked up. I guess my question you does it bother you is the
garbage cans are out and you have trucks coming down your both. Why can't we revisit 2021 like potentially having just one vendor that services the whole town? We can't because then when this
contract Well, that's what I'm saying. Maybe we got to wait till this contract's upycling or garbage. Garbage. Oh, we don't have a contract. I know, but why can't we visit that idea? Look at it again like we did in 21 so that we can sack out area garbage. Yeah. I mean,
I looked into this. We had, you know, informally last May around this time and garbage pickup would be like $800,000 million for garbage for the township. The township was going to pay for Mhm. Yeah. The
township valley pays for it. It's a lot more than the individual. There's something about it because we ran those numbers in 2020. Yeah. But I'm just saying I'm just saying can we can we maybe put our heads together and limit like or forget about limiting how many we have but they all
pick up on Wednesday and they all pick up on Mondays because if other towns can figure out how to have one vendor service the community I think we can figure that out too. Well they were it is but what are what are we
spending as individual households? It depends because some people like have sideyard pickup and get multiple twice a week pickup. Some people get once a week pickup. Some people get one bag pickup. Some people get unlimited pickup. So it's all over the place the numbers. That's the problem. But my problem is
just if you go down every street in township any day of the week, there's a garbage can out there. But in addition, hundreds of garbage cans out there. In addition to just the garbage was also, you know, I wanted I brought this up because of the recycling. You know, we do have recycling, you know, every two
weeks. And in the world of Amazon, that just it's not work. Well, it's better than it used to be cuz it used to be once a month. Yeah. And if you miss, forget about it. Your cans and your or your recycling all the recycling. Why asked one time if we look like at one
point in time, single stream? No, but at one point in time, we were allowed we were paying Westwood a nominal fee to be able if you missed to go to their to go dump by them. And I know that's when recycling had a value, correct? That they would sell it. Now they don't. So So I mean from the just bring it to
another town and drop it. So what you didn't say that so what what are we looking at for the future? You know, because well we need more recycling. Recycling that's two years away. That's two years. And that's fine. But you know what? The way
government works, we have to have these conversations now because it just takes too long. Yeah. So let's you know put it into our you know front burner. Okay. So that we will keeping in mind that it's two years away. So there's a balance of
Okay. So what would you propose? I mean so is it pick up once a week? Is it pick up twice a week? Is it I think some towns have it in the summer it's twice and in the winter it's once. I mean, we
can specify, but it's all the buyers the most the most the carriers the the most the carriers are picking up is twice a week, right? Like it's Wednesdays and it's Mondays and Wednesdays, right? That I think bulldoz that's their best service, right? It's Mondays and it's you put out Sunday nights and Thursdays.
What's that? I get Mondays. Mondays. Yeah. So, those are two days, but it's the other ones that the one comes on a Tuesday, the one comes on a Wednesday. Then it's it's even more the days that our recycling falls on it and bulk goods falls on it and leaves fall on it and then it's like you know garbage can
heaven now I would say. But can we I guess this is a question to Siobhan. Can we mandate because isn't carding is highly regulated. I mean can we mandate uh what days they can be on our streets?
I don't see why not. I can certainly look at the to me it's almost like you're treading on thin ice there because then you're going to say, "Oh, well, Amazon trucks, they're on my street five times a day. They can only deliver Monday and Thursday." You know, where does that line get? I'm not I'm not No, I'm talking about garbage cans
in front of the house. Not really. I agree 100%. Um I'm not worried about Amazon trucks. I'm worried about like these, you know, cuz cuz now like by me there's a there's a pickup garbage truck and he drives around and they have two guys just thrown into the back of the pickup truck
and then he he goes two blocks over and he dumps into a big garbage truck, but he's dumping stuff all over the street and then I got to call Mr. D. Carlo and get him upset. He never gets upset. No, he very good. So he did when he dumped all the recycling.
Well, to Mr. Councilman Olman, to your, you know, to your point, to your question, I mean, in an ideal world, I'd love to see garbage twice a week and garbage once a week. I know that may not be financial, financially possible, especially as we consider our older
population who don't produce as much garbage as us. So, that's definitely something to think about. But I I do think that we we need to revisit this conversation as we get closer to the end and when the time comes we can put out the bid multiple ways and let
contractors bid on it and you know see what happens. Yeah. Okay. Thank you everyone. Thank you. Uh motion for resolution number 25228 for close session potential property acquisition. The township council anticipates that we will not be back after close session.
Motion to enter into close session. Second. All in favor? I. Thank you everyone.