##VIDEO ID:5RWt6WJtIWU## a well welcome everybody uh those joining us uh virtually and in person to our October 29th uh Township council meeting we're going to begin our conference agenda tonight uh with a proclamation for the West Orange High School RC Madame mayor president council president I to do the oh I'm sorry one second Madam mayor too quick okay uh can you open us up Madam clerk sure this is to inform the general public that this meeting is being held in compliance with Section Five of the open public meetings act chapter 231 Public Law 1975 the annual notice was emailed to The Star Ledger and filed in the township clerk's office on November 21st 2023 and published in the West Orange Chronicle on November mber 30th 2023 councilwoman castelino present councilwoman gber Michael she's joining virtually she's in the process of signing on okay thank you councilwoman Scarpa president councilwoman Williams council president Rutherford mayor McCartney uh Madame mayor thank you council president Council colleagues this is H very exciting tonight that U we have General major Joe marasini here and his Cadets uh we're Gathering to celebrate a remarkable achievement by this dedic dedicated group of young individuals who have not only represented the town with honor but have also set an exemplary standard of EXC Excellence within the Air Force Junior ROTC Community it is with immense Pride that we recognize our local Air Force junr RC unit Mountaineer Squadron for their outstanding accomplishments this year in an era where leadership discipline and community service are more important than ever our Junior RC Cadets have risen to the occasion this year they have earned not one but two prestigious group Awards the distinguished unit with merit award and the Silver Star community service with Excellence award these distinctions are not simply titles they are a testament to their hard work that dedication and unwavering commitment to our Cadets and their instructor to put this achievement into perspective consider this of the 831 Air Force and special force units worldwide only 17 earned both of these these Awards this year so the distinguished unit uh merit award is earned when the unit receives an exceed standards rating standards ratings during a formal in-person inspection from Air Force Headquarters during this intensive look at all Cadet operations and training the unit received a perfect score this is the second time in the West Orange Air Force junor Roc has won this award the prestigious Silver Star community service with Excellence award is reserved for the top 5% of all Air Force and space force Junior Roc units based on the highest per capita average hours of community service to their schools and local communities this is the first time the West Orange Air Force junor Roc has won this a so tonight as we acknowledge these young leaders to today let us also acknowledge the roles of their family school in the entire Community who are supporting their Journey the values instill through the air force Junior RTC program Integrity respect and service are mirrored in the heart of our town and we are committed to support and encourage their continued growth in closing let us express our heartfelt congratulations to these Cadets their instructors and their families your hard work and commitment to Excellence and unw wavering dedication have brought Pride to our T we look forward to witnessing your future endeavors and the positive impact you will continue to have on our community and Beyond and I also want to thank councilwoman celino and I saw uh downtown director bril when they were members of the Board of Education they approved uh this program so we welcome them here this evening and thank you for that AB so we do have certificate for I know yeah pleas ago a stretch SP wow double up maybe or yeah double up a little bit maybe just turn little side sideways yeah we do the sideways do you want the rest of L yes oh wow this is a mar oh this is awesome chief Master Sergeant yes me should now I wantan I want to thank you thanks mayor McCartney for having us tonight thank you to the council we're proud to be members of West arish thank you to all the families who came today uh really anything I could say uh we just uh be praising the cadets they win all these Awards everything that they do as a matter of fact I'd like to introduce our Cadet Commander to say a few words can have Michael greo good evening everyone I'd like to thank you for having the West Orange afj RTC program here tonight it means a lot that our hard work is being recognized within the town as you know we won distinguished unit last year and that could not have been done without each and every single member within our KC Corp everyone played a role in our recent inspection and also in achieving our community service award so overall the cadets are the backbone of this program but the cadets they're number one the person that they go home to is their parents so I would like to thank the parents who had their Cadets in the program because the parents are the people people who bring them here we train them up and we couldn't do it without the cadets so thank you parents and thank you for having us so we do have certificates prepared for each uh Cadet there are 53 of them here uh plus an extra one for the program director thank you that's good everybody look this way stand okay everybody look this way and hold pose I think there's some proud parents here that want to get some okay all right parents God bless us the great work love very oh good huh yeah exactly well I clear the room quick there their numbers dropped around 125 Mr Fagan any chance you have water and or coffee not right now just either water and or coffee water and all right can I do and water and yes when whenever you are whenever it's convenient have a cup yeah absolutely yep she have a cup I just but thank you though well that uh that cleared us out um we have a presentation on breast cancer awareness month we do because we're going to take every opportunity to raise awareness about early detection and the ribbons are still here I think they're still out on Sound Hall where the pink Warriors came through town that we were one of 20 stops only the beginning of this month um you know unfortunate to those that have succumbed to breast cancer but those are survivors and uh this Proclamation is declaring October as Breast Care Cancer Awareness Month um and just the importance of early detection because it says here early detection through screening continues to be essential for improving survival rates according to American Cancer Society breast cancer is detected at a localized if it's detected at a local stage the fiveyear relative survival rate can be as high as 99% underscoring how annual mammograms and regular self-examinations remain a highly effective screening tool so we're taking every opportunity we can to remind people to get their annual uh mammograms any type of screenings uh just yesterday we got word that the mayor's wellness program received a $10,000 Grant oh nice so what we're doing in November for men the same thing men to do their screenings we part with RJ RWJ Barnabas to do additional screenings with them and then start our winter wellness program okay we're member for men to do the same so that this Proclamation I'm going to give to the pink Warriors to continue the charge thank you councilman thank you Madame mayor uh Mr DAC you have a best practices survey for us thank you council president Council uh so every year uh the division of local government services uh requires municipalities to complete a best practices inventory the best practices inventory or the results of that best practices inventory uh determines how much of the final 5% of the state aid payment is is made to the municipality in our case uh you know our final 5% is worth $227,500 IP alties um for this year uh in order to receive the full 100% of the final 5% that $227,000 I mentioned you had to have a score of 35 uh the township of West Orange achieved a score of 41 uh points giving us the full 100% of the uh the final state aid payment uh after this meeting we will post the results of the best practice inventory uh questions and our our respon responses on the the township website um I'm not going to go through all 69 questions I I will say that a lot of the unscored survey focus on affordable housing and implementation of third round uh there was also some some new uh questions on Le abatement uh which the township uses uh LW environmental to do its its visual inspections and Lead certifications and all that so that's that was really what was new for this year uh a lot of the questions are repeats from from prior years uh and as required every year uh the CFOs are are required to do a discussion so there's no action that needs to be taken uh like a resolution approving this it's just we I had to discuss the results of the the survey so thank you very much Mr dettin uh detc colleagues any questions for Mr detc thank you thank you so much uh I have questions for my colleagues do you guys recall uh this being presented to us in the prior years I don't it you do okay okay just question every year okay I don't recall Mr Gro presenting it but it's a lot happening uh Council liais on announcements we will start and Mr Fagan is uh Council G Michel on can you hear us uh councilwoman I'm on good evening great thank you um thank you Mr Fagan uh we'll start with our Council leaz on announcements uh councilwoman Celina sure thank you council president so um that was a great presentation with our uh our our Cadets here this evening I can't believe it was 12 years ago when that program first started and um and just because we do have a couple minutes um you know uh Miss BR and myself uh 12 years ago on a Schoolboard meeting um we had a long a very long meeting and the room cleared and there was a young man a eighth grader named Dylan panel in the audience and uh he came to the podium late at night around 10 o'clock and he made a pitch for this great program that he would love to see our high school have and that was this Cadet program and um just one idea from one student just blossom into such a great program uh with the help of of Congressman uh Pastor grow he was very instrumental in bringing that to West Orange High School for us so um it's just great to see the students here this evening and miss brillent and myself I can't thank the cadets enough they are ever so helpful and volunteering part of that community service a lot of it they are instrumental and helping us with the street fair the holiday openhouse uh they're just amazing and you could always count on them give them instruction and and and and they go so we really appreciate their help and look forward to seeing them at our this year's holiday open house which be be the first Saturday in uh December so we're looking forward to that I want to thank Mr Kio and the recreation department they did an awesome job um with our Halloween event down at Cold Gate Park this past Saturday night a lot of families came down a lot of great costumes um and a lot of fun was had so a lot of great in uh great uh imagin ations with these families it was it was a lot of fun um the mayor is here I'm not sure when you'll be ready to announce um but I know there's a a million dooll Grant coming in for Crystal a compliments of the advocating of our Senator uh uh John mcken and so um if if anyone has any information on that to to share with us or when we'll have a resolution for that uh that would be awesome and um also I want to thank the downtown Alliance and the uh Museum uh they had a nice event uh Halloween event too with uh with the scary movies on this past Saturday so that's all I have for my report council president thank you thank you councilwoman councilwoman gbra Michael good evening everyone um the open space and Recreation commission's next meeting is November 7th and The Pedestrian safety Advisory Board cancelled its October meeting so our next meeting will be held on November 13th and that concludes my Bayon announcements thank you thank you councilwoman just for everyone's uh knowledge councilwoman is sick uh she alerted me earlier today that she would have to join us virtually uh so thank you councilwoman for not spreading the germs yes yes uh councilwoman Scarpa um the seniors are on the move again tomorrow night we are going to see the community band at Liberty Middle School at 7:30 it is a free event and I encourage everyone in our town to come out and see them we saw them at OAC this summer and they were so wonderful that the seniors asked if they could come back and see them again so the bus is full but if you have wheels please join us it's a really fun um free event in the community band could use your support uh in terms of Economic Development everyone's been asking me about Rock Spring and my understanding is that um we have applied for the Green Acres funding and there are some plans to develop an RFP to um work on the clubhouse restaurant or food for the for the clubhouse if the administration wants to give us any more detail about that that would be great because lot of people are asking us about it either now or later yeah great so thank you thank you Council things thank you for that um the township you all approved uh putting the whole 138 Acres of Rock Spring Golf Club into Green Acres application so that was approved and we received a letter back in July that we received the first installment of one 58,000 um toward the purchase price of that um of that project so an RFP is pending we're working with our planners to put out an RFP uh the only thing we are going to refurbish is the clubhouse uh because like I said the entire 13 acres have been preserved by green acors and councilwoman celino thank you for that other news about the million dollars I wasn't prepared for that but I do have um a an email from federal funds recovery coordinator Governor's Disaster Recovery office office of Governor uh Phil Murphy that the township was awarded $1 million American Rescue plan state fiscal Recovery Fund allocation for West Orange this will be used at aspac and aspac we have another Green Acres application uh pending that will couple with this to do work about um the path around they actually helpfully dredge the lake um work on a path around there do seating for OAC shows awesome and yeah so there's the whole plan but uh our engineer and our Recreation director are working on that right now um budget set forth and this will be the deadline of the expenditures the deadline is December 30th 2026 so work to do but it's all good new you so much for all that detail um as far as environmental issues um there's something very important on the agenda tonight in pending matters many of you um may have realized um a couple meetings ago the storm water management ordinance came on the agenda I had brought uh Jessica Pearson who's on the planning board of Verona to talk to us about the importance of storm water management and why it's important to have an ordinance really has some teeth um I had been working on it with her for quite some time my colleagues have seen it uh the Administration has seen it I spoke with legal today um we do need to get um our engineering department to take a better look at it and get on board and Jessica has actually offered to do a presentation for us um for anyone in the administration answer any questions about why each of the Amendments that we're proposing are so important for our residents um Mo many of you know that love Gallard came for practically a year who had a lot of flooding at her home due to maintenance related to storm water management and if we don't have good maintenance procedures in place everything else we do is kind of a mood point the other thing that's so important about that is we needed to include minor development not just major development I worked with a a constituent of ours a resident Ed and I want to thank him for contacting me almost eight months ago with the problems he was having of the flooding of his basement just as a result of a neighbor putting in a fence that was didn't have like the proper management or the proper the proper procedures and this caused all kinds of thousands of dollars worth of damage and this is happening all around our town we have to remember that we are a Township of beautiful Hills and Valleys and everywhere we turn there are flooding issues so I promised Ed and I promised our friends from Rono Len who came last week that I would do everything I could and I hope my Council colleagues will join me in making sure that we have a storm water ordinance that protects all of us so I I don't know who's sticking around to the end of the evening but if you don't get it on tape if you're not here or if you don't stick around because it's a very very important discussion that we'll be having and that's about it thank you councilwoman uh councilwoman Williams thank you council president uh hello West Orange just wanted to bring to your attention uh that the municipal Alliance committee met last week and they were primary um information was discussing the allocation or reallocation of opioid fund and how that would be distributed um the art center Gallery also met and a new um exhibit is forthcoming and the historic preservation commission also met since our last meeting and there was a presentation from Mr James Howard uh about the black inventors Hall of Fame Museum uh presentation discussed uh the project uh that is taking over and under contract at Mayfair Farms um and that completes the end of my liaison reports thank you uh thank you councilwoman um joint meeting um I don't recall ified announced this last meeting or not a joint meeting has um substantially completed our work on the budget uh for those that don't know the joint meeting is our Sewer Commission um 14 member municipalities uh collaborate to uh handle sanitary sewer together um the budget in is going up 3.56% this year which I think is uh I thought that was a great job um and uh as you can tell the budget is on time uh because it's not due until January so that work is done it included a negotiated pay raise for all of the employees of three and a quar perc uh and it is less than CPI um I would hope that we can do a little bit better than our budget here um recognizing the challenges that um you know we face as a municipality uh but getting things done on time or early uh certainly does give you a few more options than being you know up against the clock uh tomorrow night there is a uh special meeting for the planning board uh we are looking at the West West Essex Highlands development for those of you that are interested or affected please uh make sure you go by the township website to uh either get the the uh to get the zoom instructions um uh if you cannot attend I think that one may be in in person yeah so it will be in person if you want to comment you'll have to be in person to comment um and yeah we're dealing with West desic Highland tomorrow I don't think there was anything on insurance uh this month at least that I can recall and I wanted to know councilman Scara when is the next Economic Development uh committee meeting I didn't we had one I missed last week but I think it's not going to be till next month yeah I didn't see it on for November but maybe I missed it all right um that concludes my Council liaison announcements to and it's only 7:03 uh so we're doing pretty good on time Madam clerk this is to inform the general public that this meeting is being held in compliance with Section Five of the open public meetings act chapter 231 Public Law 1975 the annual notice was emailed to The Star Ledger and filed in the township clerk's office on November 21st 2023 and published in the orange Chronicle on November 30th 2023 councilwoman celino present councilwoman gber Michael present councilwoman Scarpa present councilwoman Williams present council president Rutherford mayor McCartney will everyone please rise for the Pledge of Allegiance Al of the United States of America and to the it stands one nation under indivisible with li the council is now on their public meeting thank you madam clerk we are going to begin with public comment that's on the agenda Aon who's here she's gonna take about oh I do see that yeah 10 minutes welcome yeah I did send an email but uh right here is fine Mr Fagan if you don't mind thank you sir say hello to May partney council president Rutherford and the governing body and this Carnival who's been helping me this month and Beyond um my name is Karen Masano I am the director of government Affairs and Regulatory Affairs for Comcast I'm here tonight to renew your present comast franchise and um I have a statement that I'm going to read into the record and um I'm here to answer any questions or concerns you might have with our cable franchise plus we are in the final stages of the cable television franchise renewal process which is governed by both federal and state statutes and regulations Comcast began the renewal process on or about October 10th 201 2021 by sending a letter to the buau indicating Our intention to seek renewal of our non-exclusive franchise under Section 626 a of the cable communication Policy Act of 1984 and 1996 following the state's timeline ccass filed an application for renewal of Municipal consent on or about April 11th 2024 the application has been available for publican inspection in the clerk's office tonight's hearing is on that application no action of the council is required this evening however tonight's hearing is an opportunity to hear from the governing body and the public the governing body must judge our application on the following four criteria have we complied with the terms of the existing franchise has the quality of service signal quality response to consumer complaints and billing practice practices been reasonable in light of community needs does Comcast have the technical financial and legal ability to provide service as proposed is our proposal reasonable in order to meet the future cable related needs and interests of the community two things the governing body in order to meet excuse me two things the governing body may not consider in deciding to renew or deny renewal are rates these are governed by the state federal statute not a municipal decision and programming the cable operator's channel lineup is protected by the First Amendment just as the newspaper content is and that is my statement I'm free to answer any questions you may have concerns or suggestions from the governing body first colleagues nothing for me uh no I mean I would expect Administration to comment I assume you questions before you ask them my question would be if there were complaints how would those how would we know of that they exist as the governing body that we have a complaint line and they would if you called into the Board of Public Utilities they would contact us I have received no complaints hi okay thank you okay I also want to share with you our um not sure to give it to so we have an affordable internet program so you can hold on to those keep them there if you need more grur I'm happy to hand top thank you thank you and the affordability is based on income requirements yes yeah is that available um it's just available to anyone who meets the income C absolutely yes okay thank you I'm happy to give you more information if you have someone that needs it we can help them out do you have a card or other contact for I put them on my ask and I left without them and I apologize but um Ken knows how to reach yeah I apologize for that that's all right I thought about it driving there like no I can't turn around but you know we're happy to have your municipality and I am so proud to see the cadetes walk in my daughter is a West Point grad and she recruits in Northern North Carolina oh nice so I sent a picture to her she goes that's an that's a um she know ex that an RC program yeah I said yeah 56 that's pretty good number for kids 110 in the program actually yeah wow that's really impressive for for today's children I think this is a good program which show you have a great Community thank absolutely I have a statement um before you go um before you go were there any questions uh from those that are present seeing none thank you st for the perfect thank you Mr Moon okay I thank you thank you so much for having me thank you oh wow have a good night good night Mr fan whenever you're ready thank you council president I apologize I'm having some technical difficulties tonight I'm going to try and work them no wor I want to return to this logo here uh from the um Roc and uh it's important to note that there's two symbols in this logo that might be misunderstood and they are the um West Orange High School Cowboys and the mountain Rams uh uh which were the two high schools in West Orange and they both comprise an important component of that logo as they do the West Orange High School logo I'm often asked about this uh what do these things represent and there's there's your answer uh it's often stated too that uh the the two former high schools are forgotten and they are not forgotten and they never were intended to beot you four Rams right here that's right that's right I'm also a mountain ram that's right the Cowboys is first in the logo the cowboy is first in the logo and I might point out being we're having this debate that the uh West Orange Cowboys actually derived their name from a Stockyard that uh actually existed across from town hall on Main Street so it wasn't just a random Choice it actually has historical significance and I was a cowboy don't worry we just pushed you over moving along uh the mayor has uh open Office hours uh on November 7th uh I can't believe it's November already and um mayor also asked me to point out that the West Orange Public Library is seeking Trust trust candidates uh you can find the application at w.org that of course is the website for the library the library trustees usually meet on the fourth Thursday of each month at 7M of course you can contact Dave Kuby as well um there's also job opportunities that are listed on West orange.org and uh you can find this uh by going to the Department's tab at the top and then just finding your way down to the human resources and employment opportunities uh they will be listed I believe it was updated I believe there is a keyo uh keyboard Clerk and um truck driver with a CDL and there might be other things I spoke to uh Kate Davenport this afternoon and she said the list is going to be updated uh yesterday was our First Responders day October 28th so I just want to give a uh um uh shout out of of gratitude to our many First Responders that helped keep our uh our town safe and of course First Responders everywhere um there is currently a high risk of wildfire due to dry conditions there are some Public Safety Tips listed at West orange.org um I'm not going to read through this list there are more on the website uh really it's common sense I think the most important thing is never use gasoline to start start a fire and fire pit or a fireplace uh but if you have time you should uh it would be prudent to check through these on the website and just familiarize yourself with them of course uh you may have heard about the uh Livingston Wildfire uh as of this afternoon it was still only 90% contained but that's an upgrade from 60% I believe it encompassed over 190 Acres wow and um uh I am told that smoke will will be in the area until we have the first rainfall so uh the roads are open through the area but uh it's a great I I point this out obviously this is a neighboring Community but this is a great reminder for us here in West Orange uh also the fire department has issued ADV an advisory um based on a New Jersey Statewide band for recreational fires uh the fire department was receiving a lot of of phone calls uh about fire pits and uh fire it is not recommend Ed at this time that fire pits be used because of the uh of the dry conditions um I I I have this slide up here because we keep getting uh calls about street light outages once again you can report it to PSG directly the uh Municipal DPW does not um is not in charge of changing the street lights uh this information is on the website um also early voting uh for West Orange Township residents um the polling uh the location for early voting is at the South Mount Recreation Complex and that's um from October 26 to November 3rd uh we have a general election coming up actually a week from today uh but this is just for early voting this is not your normal polling place if you're a West Orange resident and I also was informed this afternoon that if you're a senior 60 plus 60 years plus needing Transportation early voting or general election polls that you can call Senior Transport at 9973 325 4134 uh this information is on is on the website um generally speaking they need 24 hours in advance and uh if you need a ride to the general election on November 5th you must register by this Friday November uh 1st and as I say the number is 973 325 4134 um the West Orange leaf collection procedure uh this is also post on the website we're getting calls on this uh and that information is posted on the website um I I reported this at the last meeting about the outall inspections uh actually it's beginning this week October 28th inspections will only take place during regular business hours and so you may see Personnel walking across uh your property to get to river banks and waterways uh they will be wearing safety vests and carrying Electronics to record data uh Governor Murphy visited West St last week uh he was here um to announce the awarding of a grant to Kids Place to uh in in uh on Wong Avenue I believe the mayor was there and uh the um Governor spoke of um more grants that will be coming uh along these lines um I believe uh councilwoman Scara mentioned a free concert tomorrow night at Liberty Middle School West Orange community band and just in case anybody in the audience is contemplating going uh I will not be singing so it is safe to go to this um West AR municipal offices will be closed on Veterans Day November 11th there will be regular Jitney service regular garbage recycling schedule and of course uh there it will be our annual Veterans Day ceremony in front of town hall it's actually at Veterans Plaza which is in front of police headquarters it's on November 11th at 11:00 a.m. and that of course signify the historic significance of that is that was the armis the ended World War I uh the 11th Hour the 11th day on the 11th month um PX sale of Del Lan taxes for 20 uh 23 and prior years will be an online auction November 15th the list of properties uh is on the website um Dali 2024 uh begins on Friday and extends to Saturday now there was last month there was a celebration at the high school for this but this is the actual actual holiday um this is a brochure from turtleback Zoo when it opened in 1964 and I'm using this as a segue uh to demonstrate that when the zoo opened it was primarily a petting zoo but there was also T tortoise rides Turtle rides as we call them well this uh past August this summer there was a fire at the um sea turtle exhibit and the West Orange fire department responded and uh essis County Executive uh showed his appreciation by offering a subsequent tour for the fire department and their families and was also sent a thank you and the West Orange fire department according to Chief Veo has officially adopted pickles I believe is the name of the of the turtle as their mascot uh as a result of this uh fortunate or unfortunate event that turned out with a with a happy ending um November 2nd fall back turn the clock's back one hour overnight we are approaching that time of year I need that Halloween safety tips you may have heard Halloween is this week um so there are some safety tips you know it's a it's a funfilled Festival event but we don't want to overlook some obvious uh safety tips and they're on the website and uh the annual s cloud Halloween parade is Thursday October 31st this is rain or shine this information is on our social media uh this is occurring in obviously the St Cloud uh neighborhood and uh you know this is Halloween so I did I was able to dig up this picture from Mountain High School we talked about that earlier and uh there may or may not be uh a feuture council member in that picture it's really hard to tell uh I'm not going to point out who it is I'll let that person describe thems right there no we're talking about I don't Minnie Mouse Where Minnie Mouse Arrow right there right there yes that is min Mouse she was hom special and I did wonders with phel back then that's you as we great as we conclude tonight uh and this being Halloween uh council president I um I wanted to point out a uh a mysterious thing that has been happening here in council chambers and uh you all look at the back of the room you see the portrait of Simone rollinson he had 45 uh 42 years of faithful Service uh the people of West Orange and that picture has been there since 1937 and as you know I spend a lot of time in council chambers here and they say uh if you look at his eyes they actually follow you around the world uh so he is back there and he is watching over us looks like he could be one of those I hope there as you know there is no public comment from Zoom audience at tonight's meeting you can contact all Township council members via email Council weststar.org I believe council president that concludes my presentation thank you Mr Fagan Mr Pugi can you can you top that first next time it's a hard act to follow um Anthony P representing County Executive Jody venzo want to thank Joe for giving most of my report tonight I just want to add with the SE turt recovery building that was actually the first day that the building was reopened the firefighters and their families were invited to come in before the zoo opened so they were the first people to see the building uh before the public and um I know the county executive had sent a letter to the chief thanking the firefighters for their quick and professional response and really we would not have been able to reopen that building uh so quickly if it hadn't been for the the heroic acts of the fire department so we thank you for that um you had one slide for me you had the November 9th is our household hazardous waste collection day it is it is a little later than in previous years and that was just because of scheduling uh so it is November 9th uh information is there on the screen um 8:30 A.M to 4 pm uh a lot of items in your household have chemicals that should not be thrown in the garbage um so if you look at the list on the Fly those are the things that you can bring to the U to the event that is on our website which is is Essex count nj.org and I just want to say that in a couple weeks um I know Joe had said he's hard to believe that November is almost here but that means it's also the arrival of the holiday lights uh spectacular at turtleback zoo uh that begins the uh week before Thanksgiving and goes until December 31st as always we are collecting um uh new unwrapped toys uh Ed winter coats and of course non-p perishable food items uh to help families in need um I know the Community Food Bank relies on the donations that we collect at the zoo they say we're one of the largest collectors at this time of year so um you can get free admission to the zoo but we do ask that you bring something to help out the less fortune and again in a couple days that will be on the website it's not there yet thank you very much ni thank you Mr pugy I have a question uh councilwoman Williams thank you Mr py I just have a question regarding latex paint I know it's one of the items that you all don't accept do you know where you can discard that I get that question a lot you have to do is leave the lid off and let the paint dry and you can put it in the regular car thank you I know that I didn't need thank you uh thank you sure yeah yep thank you sir we're going to open public comment to those that are joining us in person if you'd like to address the Town Council now as your chance please approach the microphone at your convenience um state your name and address thank you Mr Fagan yes okay thank you good evening Joker kilak Grand View Avenue I've expressed my opinion with supporting fact that the downtown development Phase 2 project in its T current form is a terrible deal for residents I've sought more transparency for the potential for multi-million doll losses from the financial decisions made by the three council members who have voted to move this project forward a missing element has been the absence of the public disclosure of appraisals of the project properties despite my request to the council I filed an open public records act request on September 8th and finally received a response October 21st I now have the August 2021 appra for 55 Lakeside Avenue it represented about 90% of the assessed value of the properties you3 council members approved buying a few weeks later for 122.5 million to settle litigation with the defaulted redeveloper prism you voted to borrow that 12.5 million we now know that 55 Lakeside was appraised at $6.1 three million after accounting for Demolition and removal cost for the building there that's less than half of the total settlement cost for the building there I'm sorry that's less than half of the total settlement purchase price I also applied the ratio of the assess values to the eight properties in the sale to the price in that comparison 55 Lakeside made up nearly 90% of the price at just under $1 million that clearly indicates the council agreed to pay nearly $5 million more than the Township's own appraisal said that property was worth my questions to the three current council members who voted for this transaction are did you review this appraisal before you approved the settlement the purchase of the property and the borrowing to fund it if you did review the appraisal beforehand then why did you agree to overpay by such a huge amount if you don't see didn't see the apprisal appraisal first then why did you make it such a huge decision without insisting on seeing it do you now have the appraisal and if so when did you receive it and Who provided it to you the OPA response also included a non appraise called a Consulting assignment from November 2023 that again was a few weeks before the three council members approved the Redevelopment agreement to accept $10.8 million for the sale of 55 Lakeside and 25 Lakeside which is the home of the public works and animal shelter facilities this analysis valued the due properties at nearly $1.6 million after Demolition and removal costs 8 and a. half million for Lakeside 55 Lakeside and 3.1 million for 25 Lakeside that valuation indicates that the value of 55 Lakeside Rose nearly 39% from the appraisal over a little more than two years that's impressive appreciation and something I would think responsible council members would question especially since the higher valuation was not done on a true appraisal my question to the three council members who approved this transaction are did you review this Consulting assignment analysis before you approve the Redevelopment agreement if so then why did you agree to accept roughly $800,000 less than the analysis indicated the properties were worth especially when the township is going to have to absorb the substantial cost of relocating the two facilities if you didn't see it then why did you make such a Monumental decision without insisting on seeing it do you now have this non-apatitic tax revenue for mere decision to buy all these properties when the state law specifically does not require municipalities to buy property in Redevelopment zones first $200,000 of that amount is subject to return if the Town Council doesn't agree to tax breaks and let me explain how wrong you are about how the loss of this property tax revenue is hurting the Township's finances and those of the taxpayers who have to make up that loss since the Township's purchase in February 2022 and through the end of this year we will have lost more than $92,000 in taxes from 55 Lakeside alone and we will have lost more than $126,000 more from the other properties that you agreed to purchase so that's more than 1 million that we've lost from your decision to buy these properties so I think it's wholly appropriate for you to stop saying that the redevelopers $400,000 somehow balances this loss Revenue relative to this ever Rising loss of property taxes now that you have said that the environmental remediation here could cost $5 million or even more how long do you estimate will it take to sell the properties to the redeveloper and return them back to the tax roles how long to the start of construction on the proposed Studio I assume you've done these estimates from your repeated claims that we must build something new now something transformative because the merchants and residents downtown must have it so when I say you three are responsible for this multi-million dollar loss I'm adding the $5 million overpayment just for 55 Lakeside the acceptance of about $800,000 less for the two properties and the $1 million in lost property taxes so I'd appreciate you answering my questions without the use of the word misinformation unless you specify your claim so that I can have the chance is thank you thank you madam CL anyone else uh for a public comment good evening council members uh James Jackson one Ashley Road West Orange New Jersey um good evening uh I am here uh as you all know CEO of Y K LLC um today we successfully submitted our final application for final approval of cannabis business here in the township of West Orange um we are super excited um to come before you all hopefully sooner than later um I dropped things off at Karen today I know um they've been sent to Chief already um and I know everyone is busy um just asking for your eyes to take a look at the application when you have a chance I'm hoping that we could be on the on the next council meeting um so that we can move forward um again give this Council a lot of credit as we do have our first cannabis business open in town um which is which is a huge accomplishment um but you know I would I would like to uh now be the cultivator that supplies those businesses in town um and more businesses that will continue to open um so we look forward to the opportunity to come here in front of you all um and look forward to the opportunity to be uh excellent community members uh serving the community thank you anyone else uh for a public comment seeing no one I want to thank both of you uh for your comment tonight uh we're now going to close public comment uh we'll start in reverse order with our responses councilwoman Williams thank you uh thank you everyone for tuning in today and uh coming and sharing your concerns and thoughts uh Mr Jackson look forward to reviewing that application uh Mr kovak you have a tremendous amount of detailed questions and I think it be best um that our Administration respond to those questions if you all can whether it be the mayor or our BAS or our CFO thank you councilwoman Scarpa yeah thank you Mr Jackson for coming and of course we will take a look at your application and Mr kak once again thank you for enlightening us and I hope you get all your questions answered Council thank you councilwoman councilwoman Gabriel Michael good evening everyone um to those you in council chambers and those of you online I would like to thank uh Mr kovak for his advocacy and your questions I look forward to hearing uh you know the answers um and then to uh James Mr Jackson thank you I look forward to reading your application you know hopefully get this done then you can open up your your business you know it's a long time standing and you know I'm excited and I wish you all the best thank you all and that concludes my response to public comment thank you uh councilwoman councilwoman castelo thank you council president um Mr Jackson congratulations you're moving forward I'll look forward to reading the application when Madam Clerk's sends it to us um and good luck with the rest of the process uh okay Mr kovak we had fun time last night at the debate and I always appreciate your advocating for the taxpayers in the township as all we all do up here so let's start with the uh $900,000 Mr dinc I know I've had spoken to you that covers all the properties not just the 55 Lakeside correct isn't everything under the one sum well there's the smaller vacant lots that I think make up the what Mr kovak said is the 2022 to 2024 10 and something thousand um yeah we had talked about sort of a a one-year um amount on those smaller properties but 55 Lakeside yeah is is the the largest generator of tax or was the largest generator of tax of the uh and and all the more reason to get I was advocating to for all the properties to get bought from Matrix so this way we could get all those properties back on the tax rols because it is to cting the taxpayers each year but again why we went into the purchase and to buy it you yourself was advocating uh way back when that prism um you know we should default them from being the redeveloper and and we did so we went to court and we came uh to the numbers the appraisal reports I'm not that we went over them one by one in Clos session but there were summaries that we discussed with the redeveloper uh when we were in close session um and then again this was you know Court man mandated at the price I believe then our councilwoman uh our mayor who was our councilwoman then and and the council president of the time uh um councilwoman mat Brown uh went to court to to get this purchase price um where we stood so again um we got to get this developed the longer this sits there you're right it costs the taxpayers money um this property's been going back to 2006 when you know residents put lawsuits on the transaction when it was the Edison LS and we keep trying to get this move forward so um I uh the misrepresentations that I don't appreciate is that this needs to get done it needs to move forward the numbers I'm going to have the administration go over that but the $400,000 is applied to those figures and you need to take that into consideration because that's a real number that's money we did receive towards this from Matrix and hopefully all well and said we'll have this uh project going within two years environmentals are being done now the state um we were we I've asked for us to get a letter in writing for the five million for the grant uh we had conversations with Senator John mcken he came through with this other grant for us I don't see any reason why we're not going to receive uh the grant that we also applied for and uh anything above that I'll credit uh councilman uh uh my council president here um he had advocated that anything above the 5 million that we split with the developer and we had gotten that in the contract um Council wetherford was successful with that so um yeah I G to let Administration answer the rest of the questions because there's some details that I can't remember off off the top of my head right now council president thank you add yeah sure of course uh thank you councilwoman um before I turn it to the administration for a uh response from them as well well I do want to thank both Mr Fagan and Mr Pugi for your uh timely announcements um and Community Information as always um Mr Jackson uh we're excited to have uh a cultivator in town um we're looking forward to moving through the process as expeditiously as possible um and so that is my commitment uh to you and to every uh cannabis um license uh applicant uh in town in the township of West Orange uh we certainly do need to um you know help make sure these businesses get open uh so that they can both be successful and the township can receive some Revenue um Mr kovak so uh my colleague spoke a little bit about the uh reason why um uh the court hearing where we were uh and uh back and forth with prism I think you're very well aware of that um and um and I'll let the administration speak to that more fully uh when they have an opportunity uh but to your specific question was the appraisal review we sat in executive session with the attorneys that uh handled this for us and they gave us a full presentation of the entire uh Financial aspect of the project that we used in that executive session to make our decision um and I rely on that and I don't think to this very minute um that either of them were misleading Us in any way shape or form um so while I did not actually see the appraisal I relied on the information provided to me by the attorneys and again I think they've done an outstanding job and I stand by that um how long till we sell it we just um voted on was it two meetings ago purchase and sale agreement yeah yeah recently within the last month or so we V voted on a purchase and sale agreement it is going to take some time but the expectation is that within the next 18 months there will be a closing or that's my expectation I don't know what my colleagues have or what the administration has or what the developer has uh but based on my understanding of what's needed within the next 18 months there will be a closing um the 400,000 that you referenced uh as not being sufficient uh these developers didn't own the property didn't have rights to develop the property until uh last year so they're not going to pay for prior years when they had no right and no involvement um and they're paying more than the 300,000 approximately that we would have received in property taxes that is something that has been stated from this Podium countless times um to the extent that the 200 the second $200,000 payment is refundable uh you're little either you're mistaken or you're intentionally misleading the public the 200,000 is not refundable if we don't give them a pilot it's if we unreasonably deny it and that is in the in the language right and I see you laughing I'm glad you find it funny um this is a legal matter there are um there are certain uh things we can do certain things we can't do and uh if we unreasonably deny them a a pilot then they would have an argument for the 200,000 um and I think that's fair if we unreasonably deny them in that language is is in the is in the uh agreement that you referenced uh this night tonight last meeting and the meeting before um so if you don't like that it's in there that's fine you're entitled to your opinion but just don't misle the public into thinking that if we don't give them a pilot they get the $200,000 back um and then I would like to understand like do you want them to have a pilot or not because you're making an argument on both sides on the one side you're saying the $200,000 is not enough um in the last deal we got zero right and we were getting zero before we had the last deal as well but the 200,000 is not enough uh but you're going to have to give it back and but we don't want them to have a pilot but we don't want to give it back to 200,000 I mean you can't have it on both sides so either you are for a a pilot a reasonable pilot right or you're not you're either for getting a payment for the right to develop or you're not either way is fine just don't argue against both sides of that same thing and you understand as a former councilman how we have to make decisions to move this Township forward and you know what I've said this at nuseum also I did not like how we got there the difference between you and I Mr kovak is that if I have a set of bad DEC bad options right I'm not gonna hold I'm not gonna hold the town hostage or burn the town down and not select one if the option includes if all of those options are bad right I'm not going to have them start over why am I not going to do that because in the process we have timetables we have money that's coming in and money that's going out we've been paying debt on that uh since we bought it two years ago we've been foregoing property taxes for two years we needed to do something was it right to do it without an RFP no we should have had an RFP I've said that a million times I told the mayor if she didn't have an RP it was going to be a problem and it is a problem but because she didn't do it the right way if it's still a good project I'm G to vote for it not because it's good for me not because it's good for her but because it's good for West Orange right and and sometimes Mr kovak you got to put the needs of the the people the greater good above your own that's something I think all of us need to do but you in particular sir because you try to use these things politically to budgeon people on both sides of the same argument so again should we have done an RP of course but we didn't and then we had an opportunity to one get some Revenue to cover the taxes and two get the property cleaned up and three have a a a movie studio that's going to have five or 600 permanent jobs have the set asides for local hires have uh the traffic that our local foot traffic that our local businesses need that they've been begging for for decades right so while you don't want to do those kinds of things to help people while it's not in your interest to help Main Street it is in mine now I'm happy to have the um the administration respond um and I think the I think I think I answered the ones that I can't answer Mr Abbot or mayor Phil free to respond to Mr kovak I don't know Anthony thought the Joe was hard at to follow my work's cut out here all right so we have a uh appraisal from 2021 and we have a report prepared by Mark Hendricks in November of 23 which is a value opinion for all the prison Parcels acquired by the township as well as the DPW the 2021 appraisal was prepared for possible condemnation purposes which did not proceed after litigation ensued with prism which was settled resulting in the township securing all of the prism owned properties for 12.5 million and settling all claims prism had against the township and other parties which was alleged to be $50 million so that was the exposure we were facing $50 million in Damages looking solely at the 2020 appra 2021 appraisal of 6,130 th000 it could be argued that the township overpaid substantially but the 12.5 million included additional prism Parcels with the collective appraised value including Barton of 7,410 th000 Additionally the township retained $650,000 in funds from the sale for environmental remediation bringing the net amount paid to 8,60 th000 the $4.4 million difference would have to be attributed to avoidance of costly and protracted litigation again we're facing $50 million in exposure with at least with possible exposure to substantial damages which assuming successfully defended would be followed by the time and expense of condemnation proceedings to acquire the properties the subsequent agreement to convey Barton press and DPW to Matrix for 10.8 million was supported by the Hendrick report the report somewhat undercuts the argument that the township overpaid prism as it concludes that Barton was worth 10,440 th000 and the Ashen Parcels were worth 2, 420,000 for a total value of the prison properties 12, 860,000 but it has to be adjusted to 10, 840,000 however because there demolition costs that factored in otherwise so I was down at the court judge Moore mediated this we had you know Premier Council from oance we had financial consultants the council was privy to all this in executive session I think best deal that could have been made was made um as far as doing an RFP we could kick that back and forth all day but you know what we did an RFP and we really got nothing we got Michael Wexler and Jonathan Rose want to only develop this if they can develop their own properties that they already own and um Albert Joe Albert only wants to do an affordable piece so you know we didn't RFP and we really got no response so I'm not sure we would have got one for the filming Studio maybe we would have maybe we wouldn't have but I won't go as far as to say it was done wrong because the law allows for the township to select a developer so again differences of opinions agree to disagree maybe it could have been done differently and it wasn't but I wouldn't say it was done wrong so I just want to follow that with because I I was not clear in this whole statement I had about bad options um let me give you a better example this was this was an example of not appreciating not um appreciating the process right we we should have done the saying it wrong saying it was a wrong process that may not be legally correct but yes we should have had an RFP at the point where we were confronted with a decision it was either make the decision and go forward with these guys or tell them goodbye right and then start the process over and possibly get something and and possibly not and in the meantime continue paying the debt and foregoing and property taxes that we would have gotten that was the downside when we were presented with it I didn't like how we got to that decision but I wasn't going to kill it because I didn't like the way they did it I can criticize it I have plenty of ammunition at the end of the day was still the best deal for the town give you another example because this is something that you've done you did with the with the debt Mr kovak your argument was that we should not have voted for a 5.8% increase in property taxes last year you said we should not have voted for a 5.8% increase in property taxes last year and again I didn't like that it was late I didn't like that we started out at 16% I didn't like that that we had to forego promotions and forego filling open positions in order to get to 5.8% but those were the options that we were faced with and if we did not vote then we would have given the county the ability to tell us what our budget would be now that's something you may have thought was a good idea that's not something I think is a good idea because there are two outcomes that are likely one it's not likely to be the same thing that we voted on because we wouldn't voted one it would have been higher than 5.8 in which case residents would have had to pay more the other words it would have been lower than 5.8 which means we would have had to layoff Township employees neither of those were acceptable to me so sometimes leadership requires making a tough call and taking a tough vote this development was one of them but it was done in the best interest of West Orange and I hope you can accept that answer for the 50th time councilwoman calina s go go ahead you know I think it's important too folks I mean again it's election time so we're always going to have rhetoric but we all have to be mindful of investors looking in at us in in West Orange the downtown has suffered for many years it's been trying to get something big something uh transformable and and this is it and right out of the gate the next day um our our downtown PR agency um they had dropped a press release because it's important that we get this positive information out there why because that brings in other investors downtown is constantly getting criticize for oh well we need more restaurants we need more shops well how do you think they're all coming here there needs to be positive energy and information out there and for investors to want to come here to West Orange here we have Matrix developers who's doing the buildout for Lionsgate in Newark great opportunity for the township and what did I hear last night at at a debate we we we the three of us we just got hammered for for this transaction it it it just bewilders me how there can't be more support in this community for us to move forward we just got out of covid the everybody forgets four years ago was covid the beginnings of covid this town was crippled from covid we're finally crawling out this is the first year our school children feel that they're away from covid and our business owners and they're still feeling the pinch from the economy we need to be more more supportive in what we do here and I I don't I you know Chief did a great job explaining this these are complicated transactions we sit hours in closed sessions through the year so these aren't decisions made in a vacuum and was disappointing sir you know this because you've been a part of this and so next week if you do get elected I hope you know you you may not have the luxury anymore of just voting no on items we really need to this move this community forward and I hope we're going to be able to do that thank you council president you're welcome councilwoman um Williams and then M Rish It's s right Williams thank you um I just wanted to make this um public statement as well regarding the movie studio those areas those plots of land have set vagrant for 20 years as a real estate professional people who are looking for properties and they're vacant ones they find them the town doesn't have to do anything to solicit business if it's a viable property and the fact that this town and this Administration and us as elected officials have decided to move forward with the purchase of these properties and selling these properties and this opportunity that will will transform our community it's extremely disappointing to understand that you are doubling down that this isn't the best opportunity for this town it's quite frightening because we have an election in seven days and it's very clear that there are candidates who want to move West Orange forward who want to transform our community and there are those that are willing to stop it in mid sentence it is very unfortunate I don't understand as a person who has sat in this seat why you continue to get in front of the microphone and ask us the very questions that you know the policy and the process and how it occurs for 10 years you sat on the council you remind us of that information constantly and you know that each of us does not make the decisions in a vacuum you know that we have professionals you know that we went into executive session you were here you know the reason why we went into executive session because it has to be disclosed so for you to to contemplate that that when when when what information did we have you know the process it's disingenuous it's not fair for the public for you to do that even if you don't agree with the project we are here it is a good project and it is and will transform our community sometimes I wonder is there a contingent of residents in this town that want us to stay stagnant that don't want to see West Orange grow it's a extremely disappointing and I would expect better especially from someone who has sat in this seat and knows how dire it is for our community to stay stagnant I'm glad that you all find this so humorous I'm glad that you do it speaks volumes because I don't take the welfare and the benefit of the residents of West Orange for granted nor do I take my children's Children's future as a joke that's whose lives we're impacting here this is going to change West Orange for our children's children and I wish that both of you would take it a little bit more seriously thank you council president Mr RIT thank you so former councilman um nobody but nobody but nobody was more critical of the Bari Administration for not defaulting on prism this is what we asked for we did it this was the outcome you're an intelligent man there's no way you would have thought for one minute that we weren't going to be sued if we did that but we were sued and it was for $50 million so you know I don't know if that's a be careful what you wish for but that's what you wished for you got it um and to you know just to piggyback on councilwoman Williams you know governing is not an easy thing I said that when I was here at the last meeting it's it's difficult there's difficult decisions you were the council representative to the West ess6 Highlands that's a that's a you're Le okay well I was my understanding you told your Council colleagues that was the best deal we were going to get and and your DNA and your fingerprints are all over it but you know I guess it's a I guess it's a joke name let's maintain the quum let's maintain my my my thing my my point is that I'm sure it one one second one second one second Mr Mr abbit one second so let's maintain the Corum please thank you Mr Abit my point was not to criticize the decision or the decisions of that Council or the planning board or anybody else it was that I believe that when you came back and informed your colleagues that this was the best deal they were going to get you believe that and it probably was I mean so we risked being sued for $50 million protracted litigation and you know having this sit dormant for another 20 years or making the move and spending some money and getting it done I think the Council made the right decision I stand behind it thank thank you Mr rabbit um so I think we've addressed that adequately I I do want to just circle back to one other thing um I'm grateful that uh the mayor spoke up about uh Rock Spring and the uh upgrades to the clubhouse or potential upgrades to the clubhouse just want to say that that is something that uh councilwoman uh gber Michael and me have advocated for for years two years right uh prior Council advocated uh for preserving that property for multiple years and yes we are here now but let's be clear about how we got here it took a lot of prodding and poking and advocacy and uh conversation um from the Town Council to get us to the point where we would do that otherwise we would have housing on that property today yeah all right so so that that's I think that's it for uh public comment uh anything else before we close Madam clerk okay time to review the um consent agenda I'm sorry approval of minutes of previous meeting public meeting October 88th 2024 and executive session minutes of September 24th 2024 and October 8th 2024 consent consent cons report of Township officers none reading of petitions and Communications and bids none Bill list are there any questions on the bills no no consent consent resolutions are any resolutions being pulled this evening yes I would like to pull 292 I have a question on that okay you have a uh you're pull for the question yes okay well also question and to make one Amendment okay anything else being pulled colleagues no I have a question on a 29824 but I'm not pulling it I'm going to vote I have a question on 298 I also have a question on 304 and 305 not to poll okay questions anything else colleagues no I had asked all my questions today uh I've got a I've got a question on 308 um and just so that I'm clear uh councilwoman Scarpa you have a question on 298 yes okay I think is that it m I don't have anything so 292 298 304 305 and 308 correct all right and 292 was pulled the others are just questions well I I'm pulling uh 308 also oh okay all right so do you want to address your questions now and then we can vote on the the consent councilwoman scarper you pulled 29824 resolution authorizing approval of helicopter landing at Sean Hall Prep yeah I just wanted a little bit more detail um I understand it appears that they have um coaching staff coming in from ruter that are going to land there to work with kids um it doesn't really say how many times they're going to be there how often it does say it's a period between October and December of 24 so I'm assuming we're just granting the right for that short period of time for those months my understanding it's the right for that period of time but they'll only be there one day if I can always double check with Hall but that's usually they give themselves a window it's generally when there's a top quality division one player I think they've landed up at West Orange high before they've landed at Fe and Hall before it's not oncom I was just concerned is there any nuisance to the residents in case anyone contacted me I just want to make sure that they're cognizant that that's a residential neighborhood and take all precautions to do it and and the FAA requires the resolution before they'll issue the permit to the B okay that's all uh officer please escort Mr mnir out uh he's not allowed in council chambers we we took the vote you're well aware of it sir it's because you threatened me okay thank you officer um hold on one second what what what is that I thought that was not permitted anything about it how can we remove someone how can we take a vote to ban someone from a public space you you don't recall the vote we took that you voted on I do recall the vote and the vote was not a valid vote because we cannot ban someone from a public space well it was voted on I understand but we voted on a lot of things that haven't been appropriately voted upon so that's inappropriate so challenge it legally right challenge it legally challenge it legally yeah I was threatened by Mr MCM allegedly audibly with multiple Witnesses in this Council chamber um yeah and and for the record um well Mr moon since you you you have the microphone um it's my understanding that the council president has the right to maintain the quum request that the officer remove someone but the the vote to Bar member of the public from attending Council meetings I think it's beyond the scope of that if there's a member of the public that's disruptive if there's a if there's a threat to a member of the personel and there's like a restraining order taken out or a police report filed that's a different story um but I don't think it I don't think it's really not appropriate to Bar a specific person like indefinitely okay I'm glad you feel that way uh if so that's what we voted on right now if there's something that if there's someone that wants to change that feel free to to offer it that's what we did and that's what I'm going to do instruct the officer to remove him every single time he comes unless and until there's another resolution one of the vote taken to undo what we've already done and if that's taken against the advice of the legal council that's fine that so we working with limit set of effects I also find it interesting how instead of having some conversation about it or trying to clarify it you just decide to go and bring him here um I did not decide to bring decided on his own to just show up and he can do that because he's a resident of this Township so no he can't because the vote was valid not here so let's Mo because he's gonna be respectful but but again let's be very be respectful now that has he's gonna be respectful because he's not going to be disrupted like you are resp that was not Council you're no longer recognized we're on 298 that's that's done as far as I'm concerned I finished with 298 voting for it Mr Abbott I have a question regarding when they will be there how is there any notification with regard to uh the neighboring um residents the problem with this is that seen Hall usually gives a usually receives very quick notice especially if it's a big school last time it was like Georgia that came and that's big now Ruckers might be a not trying to offend Ruckers or our state school but they might be a little more you know closer and so on um when Georgia came they had like you know couple hours notice they let us know so it's tough to we I don't recall any issues from any Neighbors being concerned at the helicopter land or calling or anything like that could have Chief in the resolution it says they have to give the township and the police department two days notice okay well so my my request would be to the extent possible as soon as uh Cen Hall knows when the landing will be to send out some notification I'll call Mr G tomorrow and have a conversation with them I'm sure they'll do everything they can to accommodate us and and maybe my recollection is wrong maybe Georgia gave us two days now for some reason I thought it was very short notice but maybe I'm mistaken well whatever it is is fine I just you know now that more people are working from home you know let's just if we can notify them let's do that uh does that satisfy your question councilwoman I'm fine with it uh okay so 30 I'm sorry 298 no I'm sorry 304 okay so uh I have the same question for both 304 and 305 uh so to ensure transparency and thorness and the project planning and exit ution how will the township ensure timely communication with property owners and minimize the disruptions during the project 30 four and five Council woman I'm just going to read the uh the titles real quickly thank you uh sure 30424 resolution authorizing execution of temporary easement agreement 735 Northfield Avenue and resolution 30524 resolution authorizing execution of temporary easement agreement 737 Northfield Avenue I mean they usually give notice on the door the day before when they do work that's I'm asking the administration so quickly councilwoman just say I spoke to the director today she's actually available if we'd like to get online but she did tell me that this is an old pumping station that's an iore up on Northfield Avenue that the residents been complaining about for years and we're looking to uh knock it down we need the right way to to get onto the properties to knock it down remove it flatten it and um and upgrade the system to become a gravity fed system for the sewer um it's been in isore it's been in disrepair it needs a lot of work so in order to perform this work we need the rideway um or the easement RS to get in there to do the work and perform it a lot of the Neighbors in the uh a lot of citizens in the neighborhood complain about the um the looks of it and it is it's pretty unsightly it's just past the JCC before old TR Hills Road on the left hand side so that's that's explanation I we could bring her on if you like but you know trying to help her I thought this was I thought this was located in the back of um one of the businesses it's on the side there it's it's right on the corner I think it's Dogwood I forget that not Dogwood I forget the exact street but it's right near Ultra those roads it's a big old ugly structure but I think the question was about notification correct I understand the scope of the work I read the resolution I'm familiar my question was the notification we we would just notify like we do normally we would notify if we have to go on properties we've done that before with a lot of our other easement work we we notify the residents in the area that we may be performing work okay great thank you so much okay anything else uh councilman um okay yes sir okay director years council members can everybody hear me yes yes yes so that you know I did meet with the residents in person approximately two weeks ago to discuss in detail the project and each one of them agreed to provide us with the temporary eastmen during construction property on 7:35 will be allowing us to use the property as a staging area for the contractor and property number 737 in which the pump station is more or less um behind this property and we have the rideway access that is approximately 8 to 10 feet but we still need access through their driveway in order to be able to do the work also have provided us with the okay to uh to to utilize the property and basically install the sanitary sewer Main and then remove the uh pum station building thank you you're welcome anything further thank you director you're welcome so we can um vote on the consent well you pulled oh we're going to do those and then vote on I thought we're to vote on all I forgot you pulled that I'm Sor iiz yes okay yes so is there a motion to approve the consent all in favor I any opposed the consent agenda is implemented um resolution 292-2438 the filed map entitled final plat block 173 Lot 2 and block 17229 lot 40-2 Colonial Woods North Township West Orange uh councilwoman gber Michael you pull this thank you Madame clerk the um three four five the fifth whereas where the township engineer recommends that a payment to the township of 23, 275 be accepted from the developer to be used solemnly for the planting of trees that with the consent of the respective property owners were not planted in the development can we just specify with that it's going to go in the tree fund because it's not specific to which fund it's going to go into I would like to make an amendment that the money will go into the tree fund sorry bestone good evening so director the question is first where is this $ 23,27 mentioned in the fifth whereas Clause uh is that going in where would it go today I will assume that the uh money will need to be allocated to a three account in order for our Forester to utilize the money and plant trees in Township so we want to make sure that that happens councilwoman GB Michael wants to make sure that it goes into the tree fund is that the appropriate fund for this money I believe in the three ordinance that was approved a couple months ago there is in there some language in regards to uh the trade funding so I will assume that's the account that will need to be I at you know appropriately okay M Mr Dinia can you weigh in on that so yeah I would I would put this money into the into the tree maintenance fund trust fund um you know really is dependent on how comfortable you are with the language in in the whereas where it's saying uh solely for the planting of trees to me that that would mean that it would go into that tree maintenance fund but I can understand if if you wanted to button up that language with a stronger reference absolutely um you know I can understand that so what should it be then you could say into the tree maintenance trust fund okay uh that solidifies it I second that thank you Mr okay um Council on the amendment Council will cast Ino yes councilwoman gber Michael Yes councilwoman Scarpa yes councilwoman Williams yes council president Rutherford yes the motion carries on the resolution so now there's no is there a motion councilwoman to approve to okay second councilwoman castelino yes councilwoman gber Michael Yes councilwoman Scara councilwoman Williams yes council president Rutherford yes okay the motion carries as amended so uh thank you uh councilwoman Madam clerk MRC director carbal uh on 308 my question is really not with 308 it's um I need help and I I hope the director is still on um I need help understanding what work was done in the Colonial Woods neighborhood with regard to inspecting our sen our storm sewer system um um yeah it's my recollection I I met with residents in that neighborhood multiple times on two occasions I believe Mr gross and uh Lenny leore uh attended those meetings and after the second meeting I believe um it was agreed that uh some investigation of the storm water system uh would take place that they would be cleaned and uh inspected to to see you know if there's something inadequate with the system that's contributing to the flooding that the residents were experiencing um it was my recollection that they were going to use a CCTV use the camera to go down there and actually look um and I think in the last council meeting or the meeting before uh it was stated that that never took place so wa this is 308 yeah no this is so 308 is doing the same thing yeah yeah my concern is that so so one did we did we do that work or not if we if if we didn't do the work or did we have any resolutions where we awarded a contract for that work or do we use our own DPW does our own DPW have the capability of using the cameras so how was that work done or at least so was the work done before that's the first question Oh by us or whoever are we talking about just that Colonial Woods yeah they so residents that live below Colonial Woods are experiencing additional flooding it's only one it's only one now I was just there two weeks ago it's only one now that's still getting flooding one res no there are multiple residents I I spoke to Emily last week there are multiple residents in that neighborhood that still experience uh flooding even with minor rainfall but this was maybe two years ago I can't remember how long but it was quite a while ago um when we initially started going out and responding to the complaints in that neighborhood and then some work was supposed to have been done to remedy that and so my concern is if we're going to do this now like if we said we were going to do it then and it didn't happen What confidence do we have that it'll happen this time that that project the director and I and I let here speak to part of that too but we both went out there met with the neighbors uh we did apply for the dot Grant which you recently approved for us to uh to uh move forward with um that is all part of the project is the infrastructure um of that neighborhood and that particular the person you mentioning because we spoke to her on several occasions um and there are issues there but it's actually separate than from the upper part Colonial Woods I don't know I think we spoke last time I don't know if it was a meeting or not but for those who are um not familiar the colonial wood section we were talking about before that that section of sewer actually goes into retention Pond which goes out to route to 8 yeah the other section of infrastructure is combin is is within that area of of you know those streets some of the streets were paid last summer couple blocks over the next Grant we have is to continue with that and getting that whole neighborhood up to speed and and regraded you know new infrastructure things of that nature um and um so we we were waiting for that money to come in to start working on it so we are we are working on this project it's just that this is you know did we do the inspection that we that defer to the U to the director but I I can tell you that I know that for a fact that we're working in that neighborhood and that's part of what you've approved for us to move forward with the dot Grant and that work includes not just the roads also the storm water management I believe so and again I'll defer to the the director but we were looking at talking in U about having um um gutters and leaders and things of that nature Incorporated to the system so we can alleviate some of those concerns of and I I'll turn over to the director for the more detal details thank you Mr smdo uh director Calo can you hear us yes I could hear you council president can everybody hear me yes yes yep I I could respond to your uh various questions so in regards to any CCTV inspection conducted in the uh Colonial Woods neighborhood I could say that it is the first time actually that I'm hearing about it so it has not been conducted um with regards to our DPW being capable of conducting the CCTV inspection the answer is no we typically have to hire an outside company to do the CCTV inspections now we do have a project that was recently bided and it will start construction next year which is the municipal Aid njd 2023 project which consist of Colonial Woods Drive which is the older portion of Colonial Woods Drive Colin drive and Carlson Road and M now what I could do for that project in order to fulfill the request for the CCTV inspection is to utilize the contract allowance that I have in the project to do the CCTV inspection while doing the road project to ensure that there is no uh damage or any disrepair to our existing storm sewers as part of the uh Municipal Aid 2024 project that is currently under design which consists of Hunter and Road Warren and I can't think of the other road right now but it's the area met with the residents I do have in there Incorporated a CCTV inspection uh amount per linear foot of pipe that needs to be um inspected in order also to ensure that there is no damage in that area since I know that's the area where most of the resident has been saying that they have experienced flooding also we're adding on that project we're adding additional drainage and also pipe and like Mr maraldo had said our plan is to take most of the roof leaders and then start sending residents letters sometime next year um requesting them to maybe have the roof leaders run to the streets in that way when we do the road project we could take it from there and Tide everything into our stor sewer system so they see less water ponding onto the road and onto their property does that answer your question council president uh it does so are you talking about flooding on Colonial Woods North or lower Colonial Woods um continued flooding there's continued flooding in the neighborhoods below below the new the new construction okay so when I was speaking and saying that there was only one house that was still impacted by flooding that's on Colonial Woods North okay okay so I just wanted to clarify that for the public perfect thank you councilman so just going back to your original question you recall this inspection we approved to have done or you know so this is the I we I don't recall us voting on it yeah I don't but this was prior to her though this was was under L was here okay so so I don't recall us voting on it which is interesting but I I do recall us agreeing to do the work and um and I do recall the residents acknowledging that DPW did come out uh after our meeting and so my my or at least the impression I was under is that the work that we had agreed at that meeting to do was had been done and it just but now I'm being told that it wasn't done so I don't remember us agreeing to do anything I remember us requesting DPW to go out I remember us requesting DPW to go out and do an assessment but I don't recall ever hearing any feedback I I I remember a little bit of Mr laort addressing it but again the the final outcome I know there were complaints so I know it wasn't completed the agreement was made outside of a council meeting it was it was what Mr poor recommended be done uh to address the resident concerns the work that we're doing here now going to remedy the concerns that we have or are you suggesting that this is going over to a completely different project and we still have Colonial Woods that we haven't resolved no my my concern was if so if we were told that it was done before right and it wasn't then why would I have confidence that this $9,000 would actually go to that this time right that was my concern um but you know I'm not going to not vote for this um tonight I understand the director's uh explanation I understand what's going on on Wellington Avenue and I just looked it up again to make sure um so I do understand what's going on over there but that is this just reminded me of what we recently discussed about Colonial Woods and so that's why I asked the questions uh but my questions are satisfied now did you have another one well I I just want to just make a comment to to that and I appreciate your concerns but I think we're in a better the Department's in a better place right now as we I know have we hired an assistant yet uh for the department and we just approved the budget so I know the the different directors are hiring positions there was a turnover there was okay okay so as we get more up and running I'm I'm sure sure we would hope this matter wouldn't repeat itself so um I'm sure miss carbal is doing everything she can to get the Department uh straightened out and I appreciate her efforts because she's been quite busy but I I do get your concern thank thank you councilwoman uh thank you director you're welcome yeah I'm I'm fine with it um do you have another question no I just moved for us to pass 308 okay councilwoman celino yes woman gber Michael Yes councilwoman spara councilwoman Williams yes council president Rutherford yes the motion carries okay ordinances on second and final reading 2876 d24 and ordinance amending and supplementing chapter 7 traffic subsection 7-1 14.6 winter parking restrictions of the revised General ordinances of West Orange is there a motion to introduce on second and final motion a second councilwoman Celina yes councilwoman gber Michael Yes councilwoman farpa councilwoman Williams council president Rutherford yes public hearing we now accept public comment from anyone in council chambers if you'd like to address us now as your opportunity seeing no one public comment is now closed there a motion is there a motion to approve on second and final reading to adopt on second and final reading councilwoman celino yes councilwoman gber Michel yes councilwoman farpa councilwoman Williams council president Rutherford yes the motion carries ordinances on first reading 2879 d24 and ordinance amending chapter 3 section 17.1 of the revised General ordinances of West Orange ordinances and resolutions preparation is there a motion to introduce on first reading motion I'll second councilwoman celino yes councilwoman gber Michael Yes councilwoman scar councilwoman Williams yes council president Rutherford yes the motion carries Council Scarpa is there something you'd like to address with this um not necessarily um I did request that we do this based upon my request for like Redline version of all the ordinances it's just so much easier to to get through um so I would imagine that we would get a Redline version uh the language is kind of subjective I just don't know what we're going to get to indicate that it's new information is it going to be redlined or is it gonna be underlined or I mean it kind of leaves it this was in blue yeah it leaves it open I mean I I trust that we're gonna do yeah I trust we're gonna do you know it'll be highlighted highlighted in some yeah the idea is it's it's it's going to be prepared in a way where it's apparent where the changes are red lines are specific for one exact you might have a different color it's it's not an actual so it's more like like in state legislator they have like little Mark with like pluses and minuses showing what's being added what's been deleted but as long as it's no I trust it will be thank you thank you so much for blue very nice okay pending matters new matters Council discussion uh chemistry LLC amended application for a resolution of local support Mr Moon so as you guys recall um this was one of the oh hold on hold on I'm GNA obain oh so you're recusing yourself yes okay that's different you can be present if you're abstaining I'm I'm recusing okay okay as you recall this was one of the um they were initially awarded an app a resolution of local support it was sent it was revoked and then we were given we provided them some time to cure we had given them 60 days they asked for additional time Council said that was okay they submitt their their application with the new proposed location so that's what's been circulated to all the members and now the question is what do you guys want to do um Council councilwoman celino noted that there were several omissions from the application so I sort of presented there's sort of three options one we could just reject them and say don't give them opportunity in cure say we gave it a chance you don't get it two we reject the application and we give them a chance to cure to get in all the things that they were supposed to put in or three we just ignore it and Grant it so that's what the discussion have it's not a formal vote for anything but just so going off the task force procedures that we started in the beginning um and the checklist that went out with the application so there was a few items which I I stated back to you that was missing now at that point in time are you asking us now like should you communicate with them to let them know what they're missing because I think that would be helpful to them okay um I don't mind us going back if if somebody presents something and it's missing X Y or Z you let them know but at any given time I my point was we everybody needs to be on a a fair playing field and that was kind of the issue in the beginning of the process that any any application this Council receives and it's and it's completed then we should grant them um an interview on the location so we could ask some questions and we could decide to move forward at that point so I was a little confused why we're talking in pending matters tonight because I thought that was just the process that idea is so yeah so the one of the the task for was disbanded so those proced place so you got the application you correctly noted there stuff missing so I look at it as well I it's not my job to decide what to do with them I can't just say okay you get a second another chance to do it so I S I'm asking for you guys what you want to do so what is what is what is missing can we get the so they haven't provided um document of ownership or lease or site control of the new proposed location there weren't the disclosures of the corporate entity uh there was an copy of the operating agreement which was which was requirement it was it's on the application form as listed of required materials um so yeah stuff like that I mean I'm looking at the application but I can't tell what's missing is that am I looking at the wrong thing um I sent back an email I think I email I clicked on the actual application I guess the point being no matter what's missing I do we want to have the attorney to say okay you're missing X1 and Z you need by a certain dat to get back to us so so let me ask this question are they made aware or were they made aware of what was required to be included in the submission it's on the form and was that was that complied with in the initial submission um well the I know there was first time first time they did they the the very first time they were here when we we first granted chemistry they had they had provided absolutely not no because they did not have a valid uh letter of intent right they right okay so they didn't have a lease they had a letter of intent they had a letter of intent which was at the time was allow signed by but it was not signed by the entity right but but the point was they submitted they could check the box saying that they submitted proof of but again it's almost okay but but it wasn't the council revoked the resolution local Bo so no no let me just let me for a second this is this is the I want you to understand why I'm asking the question right I wanted to know if so what we have now is an incomplete application yes I wanted to know if in the original application if they submitted a complete application even if we weren't satisfied with what they submitted they checked off every single box so it's that and this is to establish whether or not they knew what they needed to submit in order to have a complete submission all right chemistry was has a little bit more of a history so there was a period so the way we did this was we had opened this up this is one the they were one of the first to submit in that first batch there were a bunch of them that had bunch of stuff missing and stuff like that so the the task force had decided we're going to give some we're going to give opportunities to cure at that time that was the task force determination and they did by a certain deadline so at that point we had like I want to say like nine or 12 that we were looking for chemistry was one of them that after they had cured that first time they had gotten everything in and whatnot there were some there was there was a debate about whether or not the letter of intent was sufficient or what not but they did have a letter of intent which was one of which was it was either a lease um a deed or a letter of intent which was allowable um so they had everything they had everything in then ultimately there was an issue with the location then ultimately the resolution was revoked they have now come back and they this application is now incomplete because the new location there's no evidence of site control or anything like that yeah one more question on that when we granted them the additional 60 days was it made clear to them what was needed in order to have a complete submission yeah it was it's all the form form didn't change it's on the yeah I'm fine I look I'm good I I'm I'm ready to vote I I'm I'm a no I'm tell you now uh so yeah yeah I mean I I I think the I think we've been making this all so complicated you give you give them a letter there's I don't know I have it in front of me say there's 10 items that have to be submitted they have to submit the 10 items in order for it to be a complete application and then we could look at it and then and then grant them an interview that's for anybody not just this one so if we're not receiving the complete application I mean do so I guess the his question is do you want him to send a letter back or you just you just send it back it's incomplete and they got to cure it and right and we're no longer accepting applications for dispensar that's right so and we have quite enough retailers in the town this size from a marketing point of view and a bu chime in abely I think we do need to be fair I think that Mr Moon should send a letter and and let them know what's missing and make sure they submit it well the the lease is big I mean that you have to have psych control that's the problem that's the it shouldn't even be to us without a letter of pite control I would agree with the councilwoman if they hadn't already been notified that they needed to provide this this is not new news I mean I if you form inir you but I have the form up my computer one of the and then my my concern about being fair in this matter is if we're going to continue extending and extending for them I mean we've already shut the the door on people that wanted to come in like I don't know that that's fair to other other folks if we're making it's not concessions for one and not for other for years we're going on that's it really is I mean look the truth of the matter is I I don't expect you guys to rant this application because there's obviously important things missing the question is do you want to give them a chance to file a corrected that's that's basically what it comes out to look I I'll compromise and give them a week but they if they don't have sight control now like I'm not willing to to to you know extend this indefinitely I don't think be well well two weeks then yeah I I I be I'm because I'm I think they already know um I think they already know like this is the second go around with an application for a separate site they've already been through the process they know what's required to submit and made a submission that was incomplete I will also say this as far as the ownership disclosure analy they they there was a there was a particular attention to their ownership disclosure the first time around so the fact that they omitted to put it in this time they knew it was a requirement there was no this was right so if you recall that there was a bit of controversy based on who was part of their ownership structure I think there needs a procedure if if an applicant is applying and they don't we ask that they 10 items are man mandatory and they're not there it shouldn't even come to us until you have everything so who's gonna filter that yeah I'm I'm I'm coun but my question is do I tell them they can fix it or do I tell them councilwoman gber Michael you wanted to chime in I think that we should let them fix it and give the time frame how much time have they had to fix it four years and these are major things that are missing that they know they need to at least at least how much time have have they had since their notification regarding the old location right and that they had to get it in by a certain time with a new location it's been I I believe it might have been prior Council that fact that was the the revocation occurred during the prior Council over four years ago yeah I give counsel you know I'll tell you this this particular one has been Frau with difficulty from the very beginning um I think we've been very gracious uh in in extending concessions to them um I mean I understand your position I'd compromise and go two weeks um till the next council meeting but you know my inclination is to not give them any opportunity any further opportunity given all of the further opportunity we've already given them okay so is there is there a recomend is there a is there a motion to allow them another an additional twoe period to cure I make that motion I I I can't no I mean I I I I'll agree to a week because I they have a lease they have now what's going be next council meeting 112 1112 is the next council meeting I I think we should give him that time period till the next council meeting did let me ask this question then Mr Moon I sent that this email was from a couple weeks ago a month ago well the date is August 19th did did you ever have any correspondence with them that they were missing the lease since then listen my mentality was it's not my job to do their job so if they can't correct so that's so what I was looking for was I was waiting for everyone else's comments I got yours and then I said okay well no one else commenting so let me find out what they want me to do that's kind of what happened I'm not willing to go to that long I mean I'm it's forgot it I'll be honest with you I don't I don't know what the issue is I don't know if this if it's literally a clerical issue that they just forgot to add stuff or whether they don't have a lease or pych I can't tell you that ask them why don't we ask them all right there's a motion on the floor for two weeks if you're not in favor of that I'm Nots well we got to Second it first um and and then have a second um I I'll second it I I would give them two weeks okay okay um councilwoman castelino no councilwoman gber Michael Yes councilwoman Scarpa no councilwoman will oh she's uh recused council president ruford yes okay so the motion fails I'll make a motion to give them one week because if it was a clerical error I I would like to give them that opportunity second a motion we already just did that no I mean we we could memorialize it but if if if they forgot items they'll have it right away it's this is not something you're not so that's why I'm saying the week is because if they forgot items they'll haveen within a week if they don't have a lease then this is crazy we have to give somebody else an opportunity so the motion's been offered and seconded who seconded I'm sorry I second okay thank you okay councilwoman celino yes councilwoman gber Michael Yes councilwoman Scarpa yes councilwoman I'm sorry council president Rutherford yes okay the motion carries a clear it up with them to see if they so that's a week from when you notify them not a week from Tuesday I'll yeah quote them tomorrow and give them an opportunity they for I'm okay with that as soon as you have the answer but if they don't have the documents we we gotta like get this moving along okay next item is storm water management ordinance okay all of my colleagues have received it I haven't gotten any feedback I did talk to Legal today to Mr Janeiro and and he is reached out is reaching out to uh zth uh I did call her and she was busy so I haven't talked to her but uh Jessica Pearson if anybody has it's very complic it's a complicated thing there are two elements that are critical uh minor developments must be incorporated in there because that covers the problems I've experienced with residents where the neighbor puts in a patio or a pool doesn't grade it properly and it floods the basement every time in fact Jessica was telling me she goes people do these things and they flood their own basement because they don't do the proper manage management of it and the and this has to be done well and the minor has to be included in there and then the other thing I reached out to a very competent experienced planner who thought it was really uh liked it he said it was a very aggressive but very good and everything in there should be done and he said the maintenance also is the second thing that must be in there because he said if you don't maintain this stuff it's all for nothing the the maintaining of it and we saw that with love who called over a year was getting her home was getting flooded because we weren't maintaining properly and that those two elements must be in it I think all of the other amendments that we've made are important and if we need to go through it line by line Jessica will talk to any of you I gave you her number you can talk to her individually ually she has a PowerPoint she will come and and talk specifically about each of the items with our engineering department our legal department and anybody else who wants to be here so I appreciate your advocacy with this and it's important however where are we at with the engineer does she have time to look at this I I mean she needs to be involved let ask her I mean she she's a key person she should look at well she's huh she has she gave a Redline copy back to Legal okay so she she did look at it okay that's my concern because I don't want to she's a person exactly and then also I mean what does this incur to the homeowner and well yeah that's the question for minor site if you're doing a patio what is the additional or incremental cost going to be and not not that I'm not for it I just want to understand it it's nothing exorb I mean we have to really look at cuz I'm going to tell you now tree ordinance there's a resident that got hit with $16,000 so we have to be balanced with what we're doing and also you know we got we got to be careful I want to make sure that we're not Mak it more and more expensive for homeowners to make improvements on their property again well they can't they can't cut corners and flood their NE no they they I mean stuff has to be done right a absolutely but again we I we can't just push things through true I want all eyes on it we live in a community and we have to be respectful of our neighbors and that our actions impact our neighbors whether it's cutting down our trees or putting our patios and and pools in properly with a proper grading or whether it's cleaning out and maintaining what's what's happening councilwoman I don't mean to interrupt you is because when we make it too expensive or unbearable they're going ahead and doing these things anyway and that is another problem so we to balance it out could someone refresh me on where we were with love Gaylord's property I don't understand was Park involved to right well Chief you want to well um but her property was flooded because of coming down the hill back from the well and park it was it wasn't cleaned out right well no that's not I'm not gonna say the maintenance couldn't have been better however a lot of that washes down during those major storms right and that's why the maintenance is so important the issue with love Gard starts at the top of the hook right so that is why we need to have the entire Hill taken care of not just the one property um that's at the top of the hill so yes um are we are we doing it that way well you know we're in still in the middle of that thing so I don't want to talk about it too much in public here I don't think it's been to court and fully resolved so I you know I just want to encourage the administration like let's we can solve that problem with multiple parties you know contributing to the cost so that it's not totally on the township and then be done with that and then we can look at the next neighborhood and the next neighborhood but the point is you know let's let's from the top of the hill all the way down to Main Street um let's solve that problem uh the director wanted to weigh in director carbal yeah she's working on some kind of plan Cor are you are you able there we go I am here everybody can hear me y yes um in regards to the storm water um I did review the ordinance um councilwoman's carpa and I did provide it to Legal um if anybody recall last year I believe it was on the uh May meeting I did have submitted a minor development ordinance to complement basically our stor water ordinance at that time um it was on first reading um but it didn't move on so I did review the ordinance now with regards to the minor development and I did make some changes to it and just to be clear every time that a property owner makes an application to put in a pool or to put a new dwelling in their property they do get review by engineering meaning myself and when I do review it I do request that the additional runoff coming of the site due to the improvements is detained on side whether it's via a dryw or some other type of uh detention system yeah don't you have to look at right you get the surveys with the as built surveys too with the especially with an inground pool well typically we get a survey and that goes to the zoning department uh to be reviewed and when the survey is admitted yes uh the existing condition survey is provided to engineering as well and as part of my review I also request an as Bill survey at the end or completion of the project but throughout the process before they even get a permit we do review the grading we do review the strong water management and they do not provide any strong water management for the proposed Pool and Patio around the pool we do request that they provide calculations for the existing and proposed conditions and detain the excess runoff of the site due to the Improvement I just want to ask did you find anything that cumbersome anything that was put in that and in that Redline version over really cumbersome for the uh residents uh yes under the definition of a minor development because it basically I think said anything over 5,000 square feet will fall under the definition of a major development and the reason why I disagree is because most of the um po applications that have come in for review are greater or about 5,000 square ft and if you do classify them as a major development then you are making the individual homeowners then subject to major development requirements which will require for you to not only detain the water but also to treat the water those uh water treatment devices which basically are utilized to clean the stor water are very uh expensive okay so what was the number that you thought was how many square feet did you uh amend it to oh I didn't amend it to a to a square feet instead I just uh amended it so that it would be you know basically what I'm doing right now which is to provide the tension for X number of inches which is equivalent more or less to a 25e storm which is about six inches for Essex County which I think it will be more reasonable for a property owner which is what I'm basically making them do now when I do the reviews what what is oh you're doing that now I'm sorry can you repeat your question so you're you're currently making them um have a system where they can uh retain the water uh for a 25e stor you're that is a requirement now I do require it when I do the reviews yes and is that in writing because I know the resident that I worked with it was not um properly evaluated and uh he had to work for about eight months with the mayor I think yourself and a number of other people so I just want to make sure that it's in writing that we're doing this correctly when when did that occur I mean it was it was a while it was like eight months yeah but I just don't want the same thing to happen again so I just want to make sure I think that was a unique situation that wasn't just want to make sure that you know people are protected moving forward well people have to be protected but people can't pay all these exorbitant fees either so we just again we have to balance out for du shary responsibility and the impact that it's going to have on our residents right of course any other questions for the director no I'll look at it when well I I I do so basically what you said you presented us with the storm water management plan last year your own ordinance and and it was rejected by this council is that what you were saying director last year I did submit an ordinance for minor development um to be added to the current um strong water ordinance but because of my leave of absence it never really uh how would I say this proceeded it was on for first reading and then last year while I was out I will say probably in July of 2023 the came out with new rules requiring townships to update their Stone water ordinance which is the reason why this a stone waterer ordinance which is a model of the NDP ordinance to be adopted by municipalities didn't we adopt that didn't we adopt the model and we said that we would adopt the model now and then we will go back and make amendments or adjustments you did the first reading and it's gone before the planning board next next week okay the current model the one that was no the old one that really didn't have enough no it's updated from NJ I know we should not have pass it on first reading because that was the one that didn't have enough teeth in it and that's why I wanted to get something more substantive now before it goes to the planning board I think we should we should have the amended one go to the planning board whatever Council woman was the first meing which was presented to the blending board for consideration week it's going to have to go back now anyway if we make substantive changes which I would imagine there are it's going to have to go to back to First reading anyway why we the planning we got to get something get something in place and then we make amendments like we always do it's not a big big deal so why don't we just can we get copies of what's going to the planning board to refresh our memory Z Beth is are you is your version getting sent to the planning board or is the original one the plan that's going to uh is the ordinance that you passed on first meting the director director Adams is had placed on the agenda for next week's planning board for the consideration of the planning board okay I would like amended version with um zth comments on it so I can take a look at it is that through legal yet done through legal through legal she us i' like she sent it later today it was sent later today to Legal so once it pops out legal we'll get it back this way we have plenty of time to look at it and if there are questions Jessica P is available I least in the metime there's and there's something you could work something work and Council just to let you know week we are meeting so you'll be able to listen to the commentary of of the planning board you know we we can discuss it I sit on the planning board as as the president so we can you know obviously tell the board that you know there may be some concerns with this particular there are many concerns well whatever the may be but I mean we could we can relay that to the board okay but we have it's a process that we have to go right and they're probably not proficient in storm water management so they're not going to be able to make the okay are required to take store water all right so maybe they'll have some good ideas please don't insult your planning oh I didn't know I was I no means want to insult anybody I just didn't think everybody was expert on different things they have to get training they have okay so good maybe they'll have some good recommendations for us thank all right so are we we're done with that um we're going to pursue two tracks right okay we're gonna take a second look I I would like to bring something up for pending matters are we done with storm water management uh sure sure councilman go right ahead okay chief question for you regarding the email received the proposed ordinance for requiring that all single occupancy restroom facilities be dender neutral we got this email from uh resident Steve Johnson who's advocating for the lgbtq plus community and I forwarded the email to you and you sent it where are we with this oh oh that that do are you familiar with that Mr okay I might have went Mr Jenaro I'll follow on Mr Jenaro I know I got it and I know I sent it out I don't know where we're exactly where we're at um there was no opposition from the administration or the mayor or anything on it Mr rabert do we need a resolution to do that have you followed up with the we just do a legal question Mr Moon do you know if we could just because right now there are single used bathrooms that are gender neutral and in public establishments uh if you go to a restaurant they might have two bathrooms anyone can use them so the qu the question is we were we were requested of a resident to make all single use single occupancy restrooms gender neutral so that it's not like if it's a single occupancy single occupancy restroom it's not just for men it's for whoever wants to use it now I my question is do we need a resolution to do that or can we just do that because it's legal to have a single occupancy restroom available for anyone's use allow to that's what I'm trying to I'm asking I can't hear Mr I'm trying is it is it to require it or to allow it those are two very different things oh I mean I think the resident and I'm interpreting his request of us wants to make sure that that happens whether we make it mandatory or whether we just go ahead on and do it with the ones that we can I don't think he would care and I don't think anyone would care mean like so this is gonna be for every restroom public restroom in West Orange in town government bill West orang Township properties oh Okay this not board ofs single use you said right so it wouldn't affect these two bathrooms here because there are multiple stalls in each bathroom yeah no don't think there's no like it's not it's just basically yeah time yeah yeah so we don't need a resolution to do that no you don't need no I don't no you need an ordinance I thought that's the question whe whether it's like I'm trying to find the remember in detail yeah I mean I have it I can send it yeah just forward it to and let them all right so we we we would like to pick that up on our next meeting if possible if we have to um and Mr rabbit if we don't have to we'd just like the mayor to go ahead on and do that since she has expressed that she's not you know opposed to it I think it's John ston not Johnston but I could be wrong John ston yes line so can we also get a 921 can we also get an understanding of how many single Ed bathrooms this will impact for signage because if we are changing signage obviously there's going to be a cost associated with that well we ask director reyolds to uh do an inventory of the building thank you just just so we know that's all public here I mean some of the police and fire department facilities we have to we do have actually some of the fire departments single use SS already so that they're gender neutral already those are the areas that are available to the public but you know we'll have to we'll have to look at the rest of the do you want me to recirculate this email it was I you got it okay yeah I mean it was quite detailed just makes sense um and then um are we done with that yeah I think no I've got a I got something too uh councilwoman thank you uh just wanted to ask the administration where we are on the reeval I'm noticing that I'm getting a few calls from residents saying that the um people are still leaving notes or still calling um and there's some concern I know the assessor has set up some locations and times and dates he's working on to have uh meetings with the public as they want to come in and discuss their valuations um should be pretty much done right yes it's it's winding down um you know for those who they're they're knocking on the door still to they probably are making reasonable attempts to get into the into the properties they want to do an actual assessment not everybody has either been able to can you explain to the public why it's important to allow them to come in and do the assessment or the evaluation rather well one it's required by law we have to do that um and for tax what it it levels out the amount of no no why it's important to to the it's always better to to let the appraiser in to look at it because if you refuse they're going to use the highest value if you for M countertops they're going to say Grant it you know they're going to say the bathrooms are model they're going to say everything is as good as it can be obviously if there was improper illegal Construction done they may not know that but they're going to use the highest and best appraisal that they can that fits that house so if you don't have that you should really let them in to see that so the appraisal is lower thank you yeah and our assessor um Mr nean is is setting up workshops with with the assessment company they're going to be doing it nights weekends and days they're going to make themselves available so that the residents can go and ask questions about their assessment yeah I just been getting a lot of questions at doors about the reeval so I just wanted to make sure the public is informed and then the only other question I have if it hasn't been addressed in my absence is when will we be releasing the manufacturing and cultivation application I've been asked that question as well it's out it's out I okay I didn't know so it's been on the website and publish letter I think the deadline for submission applications is November 15 yes okay Council I had asked the chief I just want to share with everyone else and um so some residents have been calling me and asking me they've been getting receiving letters from uh 20th century Film Studio was out there and I called Madam clerk um to um they show an interest in some homes in the township so if you receive a letter um folks are concerned about letting them in is this real is is you know so my question was for the administration do they have to um are we requiring them to get a permit if they're soliciting homeowners to utilize their homes for film locations I don't think there's anything in the ordinance that requires that if they're mailing a letter to your house I've never dealt with this this is kind of new I've never seen I think we need to figure this out because I I always recommend to folks to if you receive a letter like that always Google the phone number the address on the letter head make sure it's it's real location Century I've been dealing with them with new film permits and things of that nature I can ask them if they have that if they Sol they are we we've we've had a very active fall with filming yes um and so I'm not surprised that they are asking I just don't know if they have it this the first time he I did receive a call back that it was a real call however folks I don't want them to miss opportunity this is what they want to do and they think it's a scam letter so as we find our way through this new industry that's come to town um I think we need to put in some procedures we're actually looking at all that um and yeah we're looking at that so okay I just want folks to have a place to call and US permits they go to the clerk's office they do have questions they can call my office directly so so to your office some for me and I and I'll see what I can do because I I do have contacts with some of these different companies that have been coming in these production companies so um we just received another one for next week I think it is up a long Prospect they have somewhere and know you know without getting into details I don't know if you want to consider with us looking making modifications to the website I know on we have a tab for like Realtors and for other entities maybe we're looking at fil industry have t I've been discussing with the state of the film commission and there's some things that we have to we have to change to make it palatable for for movies and and we want to be a film ready we are a film ready Community we want to be a film friendly community so we we're looking at the different um options that we have so and we're we work I've been working with one of the Commissioners to yeah because there's classes I know Miss BR just sat on a class last week for us yeah I think it would be important also if we could look whether it be with our Economic Development um commission or some other whether it be the small businesses and go through the downtown Alliance or even our Chamber of Commerce but I think it would be advantageous for us to again see if we can find some information so that some of our small business owners um can get their cards so that they can go and do business yeah um with the studio because I know um for some of these um access it requires 18 months of training or understudying under someone before you can actually get your cards yeah that was the that was the uh class she she took the other day to get information to the small business ownersh okay thank you thank you ladies anything else before n so I've got a question what is the anchor application deadline do we know November it's in November yeah Laura has it on the webs on Senior Services yeah um they're very hard to get I've been trying to get I called her today I've been trying to get them for like 12 times I've called and there's nobody that answers the phone for the anchor application I because I already have the P the code I'm registered from 21 and I just wanted to make sure that I don't have to give any other information you can't get anybody on the phone she's supposed to get according the website it's November 30th November 30th okay so I think uh I've I've been requested to do a workshop to show people how to apply yeah everybody's having difficult um so I think I'm going to to do that I don't know that we have unless we have something else in town is there something already talk to Laura cause she had someone come in from anchor and they explained it to the seniors I was actually there but it basically they just talked about it it really needs to be a Hands-On training where volunte actually approached me who has helped other towns Yeah by actually filling out the application that's what we need so we don't have anything like that currently no through her she'll get that going all right um so my other question is for you Mr DAC uh do we have the reporting on the sunshine fund so I have the reporting on the the Roslin um John Ronin expenses and I'll circulate a PDF of the of this document but I'll hand it out right now thank you just you could pass it around yeah Mr Dak can you email out to us too Mr Dak can you email this yes Council when I had to get back to my microphone yes I will I will email this thank you um so me walk secret walk the council through um so so the you want me to wait no I'll give her my copy and I share who are we looking for I'm sorry missed I was thinking same thing I was so let's sold a second share they're gonna wait for the clerk to come back So Others May want it what's a Newport West Orange I don't know I think Mr y councilman giber Michael I just emailed you a copy of the PDF that we're looking at thanks all right uh councilwoman are you able to access the PDF no still waiting for it I'm going to check my junk okay so uh according to this Mr to tenac um Township declared an emergency appropriation of $800,000 in 2021 that's correct council president uh the emergency appropriation was declared around the time that storm Ida hit um so comingled with the rulin expenses were other expenses related to storm cleanup uh I guess on Township property repair to equipment um so the 800,000 funded both of these uh these uh events all right and so do do the three of us that were here at that time is your recollection that the money that we spent for Ron Jolan Apartments was coming from an emergency appropriation or is it that it came from the sunshine fund I I don't recall it's been a very long time I know that there was discussion about both and then I also understood that at some point FEMA reimbursed us yeah for um the money that had been put out I wasn't necessarily so concerned about the sourcing just as long as we were able to accommodate the residents so at our last meeting what the three of us all said was that we recalled that money coming from the sunshine fund which is why this request was made and it did not come from the sunshine fund so that is misleading that's first second of the 800,000 so that I assume that emergency appropriation was properly you know uh approved by the township Council I'm assuming yeah back in 2021 I'm I'm assuming that yeah the 800,000 was was done via resolution so uh Madam clerk can you forward to us the resolution for that emergency appropriation um and then my next request would be for a full accounting of the entire 800,000 I can provide that yes colleagues any questions or comments and councilwoman are you able to access the PDF yet yes I'm reviewing it now thank you okay yeah because I can send you picture any other questions or comments yeah councilwoman so part of the 800,000 went to overtime for Staffing so if we're just looking at ronel ly um what was charged to this particular line item for the Emergency appropriation included the engineering included the temporary housing and included you know miscellaneous food ref refreshments and some reimbursements to miss van djk um for money that she put out uh for this This Disaster um I think we've said all along that the expenses for ronel lin were around 350,000 so part of that is for personnel overtime which would have been just charged to their overtime uh sub accounts their regular budgets um we had mentioned before that we did receive reimbursement for FEMA um for significant amount I think 195,000 was a FEMA reimbursement and then you know we we passed a resolution for the the settlement for the 135 so we did get back um for the most part with you know some out of pocket what we spent on this rulin disaster so so I get that but I guess the question for the breakdown of the 800,000 so 342 went to this particular corre situation the balance of this are saying went to uh other expenses from superstorm Ida so because I we had trees down in the town and various other uh happenings right and and I don't have the the uh budget account history in front of me um I don't believe that the full 800,000 was spent um from from the emergency appropriation but some of the other things that were charged to it was like garbage cleanup from debris you know that was 40 something thousand uh there was some construction with Grabowski construction was 90,000 for repairs but I I will give you a full accounting of what was charged to that account you know as a supplement to the rulin and please um work with the clerk to include the applicable resolutions that authorized all of those payments or any of them councilwoman Williams you wanted to say something there was a question regarding uh the Newport West Orange the Marriott okay that's the Marriott The Entity name that they use the vendor name that we use as well and CS Hotel West Orange I believe that's Cambria sweets I think it it somehow there was two lines created for both Cambria Hotel and Cambria Suites and if you add those together you get to the ballpark of the other two hotels so you know there was pretty much a third a third and a third of my recollection okay um other than the manor because that was probably didn't have the capacity that the other hotels had I will also get you the FEMA request that's going to tell you most because that's going to say what we asked for and that has to be very detailed so that will have the overtime that will have everything in there um I'll get that for you in okay we'll send you everything in a package the resolutions the FEMA requests everything all right thank you to my you know what it looks like to me it looks like we spent about $20,000 give or take of of our own you know money I don't think anybody Minds that I think the issue is how we did it and whether it followed the proper procedures you know learning that it wasn't spent from the sunshine fund was a surprise to all three of us last time we discussed it it's no longer a surprise to you no no I didn't say it was not a surprise I just said I didn't recall that's all I said was that I didn't recall I wasn't sitting up here then so I'm not going to say what what you heard or didn't hear what you were told or weren't told um I will say that the sunshine fund is donated funds from you know terrible people in want to give money it's used for you know turkeys at Christmas people have a fire and they displaced for a couple days a hotel some food clothes that kind of thing there would never be ever in the history of the sunshine fund this kind of money to provide for something like this but it wasn't it was stated I'm not disagreeing with that I wasn't here for that so well I I think I think what was also stated because I had asked Miss vanike after the last meeting and she did buy purchase from the sunshine fund like um a lot of the residents receed received gift cards for food and whatnot and that did come from the sunshine fund well Mr tin said that was $450 yeah I think the actual the reimbursement uh for the the gift cards was was out of this emergency appropriation that's that's the 3,23 so it was not out of the sunshine fund I I I did I did speak to miss van Dy and we we did review some of the expenses and we went back and forth on on you know what was charged to uh to Sunshine fund and it it was around the same time that they were doing the Thanksgiving stuff which did come from the sunshine fund but everything related to um to the rulin uh was charged to this account um so that it could be segregated but that's all tracked too isn't the sunshine fund well is everything she spends isn't that tracked yeah Sunshine fund is is is tracked um it's just we didn't find expenses related to Ron julin coming out of sunshine fun she might have spent it for Thanksgiving she thought it yeah yeah again the timing was the same so um you know she did have reimbursement out of sunshine fund but you know we we tracked it back to I it was the Thanksgiving turkeys or something like that so you see the the issue question yes councilwoman from Mr Moon um so if we if the township didn't comply with the law should we have not have voted on that ordinance I'm confused I'm actually looking my own records I do believe there was an emergency resolution adopted at that time that authorized the incursion of the costs um it's sometime around October 12 2021 yeah uh yeah so once I get I got find the number but once I can get the number I can provide it to the clerk and she can circulate it but sure thank you all right is there anything else other than ABC here johnw are you have anything else I would like to go back to Mr Johnston's email I it and he is requesting for specific language change in the ordinance that we current have so if FAL can get back to us on that and if the administration can reply to him and let him know that we're working on it I can send them an email that's not that's but this is not for strictly Township properties this is for all bathrooms in the township yeah I'm looking at now too and that's I mean you have to tell business owners to do this correct oh that's no that can't happen I'm not gonna say it can't happen let's just say we wouldn't need to look at that a little differently that's all it might look at it let's yeah let's not say it can't happen let's just say that's something we would have to look at from a different lens because that involves every well that's bigger conversation absolutely but I don't want to say it can't happen I it can happen I think most places have it anyway I think have to give the businesses Le to do what they see F I mean most probably already have it like that if they have a single B we don't know that so just late right I move to to the ABC hearing I have a question are we getting the capital budget MRC when are we getting the question is uh from councilwoman celino when is the capital budget coming capital budget so the the goal is to introduce a capital ordinance the November 12th meeting uh along with a a resolution amending the the six-year Capital plan and just so you know because I it's you're going to be your first capital budget um we have pictures included with the with the request from the um directors too so we know exactly you know projects that they're looking to to do for 2024 so we'll we'll we'll try to have that for the presentation yeah um I'm sure that there presentation there's some kind of presentation we need like we need not just a blimp of information but we need like the details of the right and and I I think we'll have the the directors um available to talk about the projects that they're requesting and yeah that would be great we try to have a visual element to it as well okay thank you so I journ to ABC Haren second well do we want to enter into the ABC hearing and adjourn the public meeting at this time because the ABC doesn't have to be okay so I move to adjourn second okay uh councilwoman Celina councilwoman gber Michael Yes councilwoman scor councilwoman Williams yes council president W one second Mr Fagan I can't hear Mr Fagan but because you're on zoom we're gonna have to have you log back in is that where we going with that she call she could call in yeah she can call okay okay sorry I'm having techn difficulties tonight um yes uh if I end the zoom meeting she will be off so she will have to uh councilwoman ger Michael you have to call by phone all right we we'll call you councilwoman good night West Orange night West Orange good night have a good night thank you thank you