i want to be you all right Kenny is your is your This is Westfield done oh yeah oh good set good okay we're about set it came out it came out awesome pictures pictures worked out okay pictures worked out great um a real
rainy one of Craig standing no let's put faces and names hopefully i don't actually know where we're at once I finished writing it i was going to be a good one thank you that's Whenever I see
Good evening everyone thanks to everyone who's joining us in person and online tonight i am filling in for Mayor Brindle this evening in my role as acting mayor i'm Councilwoman Hathgood um as a reminder public comment will be accepted in person only we are streaming
live on YouTube live and as always the replay will also be available afterwards on Facebook YouTube and TV36 keep going um in terms of new business we continue to celebrate new business openings in
Westfield sorry yes you want you want to do the proclamation first yeah should we do that first yeah let's do that first all right let's do the proclamation first pledge of allegiance what oh yeah adequate notice of the meeting first yes yes um adequate notice of this
meeting as required by the open public meetings act was provided through the posting mailing and filing of the annual notice of regularly scheduled meetings of the town council on west uh on December 17th 2024 the notice was on that date posted on the bulletin board
in the municipal building provided to the Westfield leader and to the star ledger and filed with the clerk of the town of Westfield miss Lashi may I have a roll call mayor Bindle acting mayor Haggood here council members Dardian here domaggala here kefir Saunders here
armentoto here contract He here please rise for the invocation which will be given by Councilman Dardia and then remain standing for the salute to the flag as we begin this meeting we ask to conduct our discussions with respect and
patience and may we all may we always seek to understand before we seek to be understood help us to find common ground and to work towards solutions that benefit everyone may our actions reflect our commitment to the well-being of our community
pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all okay so we have a proclamation tonight
for the Westfield High School Blue Devils boys swim team congratulations to you all and it looks like pretty much everyone is here which is exciting whereas on February 23rd 2025 the Westwood High School boys swim team won their third consecutive
NJIAA group A title and the team's 29th state championship in the program's history the mo the most state wins for any program in New Jersey and whereas on the way to winning the state championship the team posted a perfect
record for the third year in a row finishing the season on a 45 win streak and whereas the team won the Union County Championship the North two public a sectional title and finished the 2024 2025 season ranked number one in the
state by NJ.com and whereas under the leadership of coach Jeff Knight the swimmers represented their team their school and their hometown with the highest standards of athleticism integrity and sportsmanship
and whereas all of the members of the team seniors Arton Doofski Michael Fischer Daniel Pierce Cole Shy Logan Swenson Alejandro Velar
Owen Wyel Hudson Wilomes Wes Young and juniors Dylan Lagramas Flynn Martin Liam Moeen Clark Cedar Logan Welsh
and sophomores Elias Chang Alexander Fu Gavin Gimblelet Luke Jenner Joseph Kylie Benjamin Lane Max Lazcow Andrew Verrov Ben Benjamin Zone and freshman
Demetro Beaksky Henry Charles Alexander Turenov Henry Gould Spencer Grouch James Kavanagh Maxwell Mata and Din Shilar and deserving of recognition for their individual efforts and
accomplishments as well as their contributions to this success of the team and whereas the mayor and the town council of the town of Westfield wish to commend the coaches and the members of the Westfield Blue Devils boys swim team
for their sportsmanship and many successes during the 2024 2025 season now therefore be it proclaimed that I standing in for Mayor Michelle W brindle on behalf of the town council and the
citizens of the town of Westfield do hereby congratulate the 2024 2025 Westfield High School Blue Devil Swim Team on their successful season capped by capturing the NJIAA Group A state championship and applaud them for their
hard work perseverance and exemplary represent representation of the town of Westfield coach do you want to say a few words i will yes i I didn't know what anyone wanted to say
want to thank the town council and obviously uh the members of the town of Westfield uh their support and all of your support always has been uh just top-notch and uh we uh these boys I've had the good fortune of uh coming to 12
of these over the years and uh I have said it before but I can actually say with certainty now this is the greatest boys Westfield swim team uh in school history so uh they they really exemplified the best of Westfield and their hard work and dedication uh really
is a testament uh to them their parents and uh just the town and the culture that uh it provides thank you would you like to take a picture take a photo let's do it think we need to squeeze everybody together you guys
might need to do a couple rows shorter people in front two tiers two tiers two rows pull some better thank you thank you very much thanks coach congratulations again
all right the teams now know the drill that they don't have to stay for the whole meeting so that's good um so I just have one comment mayor um uh acting mayor uh just a road paving reminder um we are still in the process of getting our bids together uh for the various
roads we're doing in town as well as the state aid projects but one state aid project has already been completed uh last week we completed the uh Clover and Francis Terrace uh paving project that was carryover from last year paving milling and paving was done last week i think the striping might have been done
last Friday um but that's uh thanks to Mike McNell the engineer to get that process done and so over the next few months now you'll be seeing awards of contracts for our road paving which is about eight miles of road we're doing and another three miles of road are going to be done this year by the utility company so uh a lot more paving
to come but one project's already completed so that's it thanks thank you Jim um Miss Loy are there any advertised hearings or do Oh do you want me to do my Yeah do comments first all right it's okay you
know I don't do this every day okay so I'll get back to my announcements um we continue to celebrate new businesses in Westfield go Glow located at 500 Central Avenue on the retail ground floor of the new mixeduse building held their ribbon
cutting last week and is now open for sunless tanning services on Quimby Street westfield Tecaria recently opened in the former La Benda location the Westfield Liquor Loft opened its doors last week on the corner of Quimby and
Elm with plans for official grand opening in May god bless you and lastly Masalmex opened on Thursday at the former liquor basket space um serving a fusion of Indian and Mexican flavors in a fast casual dining setting so a lot
going on in Quimby uh be sure to drop in and show your support for these new additions to our town speaking of downtown the DWC has been awarded a Main Street New Jersey District transformation grant of $150,000 in funding that will go towards
beautifying and enhancing our downtown public spaces by adding vibrant new banners installing more permanent beastro lighting updating open Quimby with new furniture introducing festive new holiday decor and more thank you so
much to executive directors Samantha Horning and the DWC board for their diligence in securing this grant as we look forward to a great summer season downtown also thanks to everyone who has already completed the Tomquist Park
usage and visioning survey due to the great responses that we received we're keeping the survey open beyond the original deadline for several more weeks to capture additional community input if you're looking for the survey it's on the homepage of our website and it's
just one step in the process after we get that we will there will be uh follow up by additional opportunities for public input and thank you in advance for your participation now and in the future um the Memorial Day parade is um
underway and its planning stages and it will be held on Monday May 26th as always this beloved Westfield tradition is led by the Martin Wahberg American Legion Post 3 to honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom
the town is assisting the Legion in by collecting parade participant information on our website where you can register and find full details of the day's events today is Earth Day um and I'd like to thank Councilman Contract who unfortunately isn't here tonight um and
the entire green team for the events they've put together not just this month but all year to focus on Westfield's commitment to sustainability it's not too late to sign up um for these events um this Sunday for annual park cleanups
at Brightwood Tomas Tmacquas and Clark Park and on the topic of events there are many coming up um we tried to cover some of them here but uh keep checking the website for upcoming ones um including this weekend's autism awareness family day the Westfield
Baseball and Softball League opening day parade in Carnival um at Gumpert and then the full list of events including those from Lifelong Westfield the HPC Friends of Brightwood and Friends of Brightwood Park and the DWC are all available on the town website
um in terms of tonight's legislative items we have a few topics of interest to highlight from the Finance Policy Committee we have a resolution authorizing the CFO to issue a payment and cancel authorized debt for the 2000 South Avenue West following the
completion of the purchase of this property in this location as you may know this is the former Mr good lube site and because of the grant that we got from the EDA we're now able to cancel the balance of the funds that we authorized um for uh acquiring that
property so this will reduce our debt service um we'll also hear an ordinance on first reading to set up the salary step guides for the 2024 2028 um for as part of implementing the new PBA collective bargaining agreement
resolutions with the specific salaries for 2024 and for 2025 will be added to an upcoming agenda for the council approval we will also vote tonight on a resolution to adopt the special improvement district budget that's the downtown Westfield Corporation budget
and lastly we'll vote on a resolution to adopt the municipal budget for those of you who missed the budget presentation at our March 25th meeting I'll present a few of the key highlights um top of the list of highlights is the fact that uh
we will have a 0% municipal tax increase for the second consecutive year um and the third time since 2018 this means that we will take a portion of the $14 million surplus that we had at the end
of the uh annual of 2024 and um put that toward things that we'd like to do in town but we will have a remaining balance of $7.2 million in surplus which we feel very comfortable and happy about in addition there are substantial
investments in priority areas including public safety parks and recreation paving and drainage public services and personnel to support these efforts now and in the future if you're interested in learning more of the details you can find the full budget details on the
website um and I'd like to thank uh committee vice chairman Councilman Contract and Councilman Damagala who's here tonight um and Councilman Kefir who is not for their diligence in producing a municipal budget that we're proud to vote on this evening and of course the
committee would also like to thank town administrator Jim Gil and assistant town administrator Heather Ray Farad our CFO Scott Olsen all of whom are here tonight and all the department heads for their work to bring us to a very favorable
outcome um culminating the budget process for this year this evening from the public safety Transportation and Parking Committee we have an ordinance on second reading to authorize a new yield sign at Davis Court at Carroll Road in response to resident concerns
and we also have a resolution authorizing a five-year lease agreement with Motorola Solutions for a new and enhanced 911 system for the police department which the finance committee discussed during the budget process from the public works committee we have an ordinance on second reading that
increases the not to exceed prices for certain items at the conservation center including bulky waste permits landscaper registration one-day permits and firewood and mulch sales as we mentioned at the last meeting these are the not to
exceed prices not the actual prices for this year um and in doing this it gives the council flexibility if changes in fees are warranted due to fluctuations in the marketplace over the next several years a resolution with an actual fee schedule for all of these items will
come back for the town council for another vote at a future meeting we also have a resolution to amend the award of contract to HL Petroleum for the work they have performed to remove a previously unidentified underground
storage tank at the DPW garage at 959 North Avenue the additional costs total approximately $9,000 and increases like this are not uncommon for environmental issues like this and that wraps up our overview of
what we'll be covering tonight and so with that let's get to work okay Miss Lashi do we have any advertised hearings yes acting mayor there are four advertised hearings first is for general ordinance 20257 an ordinance to amend the code of
town Westfield chapter 13 anyone wishing to be heard on general ordinance 20257 please come to the microphone state your name and address for the record seeing no one acting mayor you may close the hearing this hearing is closed next
is general ordinance 202508 an ordinance to amend the code of the town of Westfield chapter 10A any motions to be heard on general or 20258 please come to the microphone to state your name and address for the record seeing no one acting mayor you
may close the hearing this hearing is closed next is the public hearing for the 2025 special improvement district budget anyone wishing to be heard on the 2025 special improvement district budget please come to the microphone state your name and address for the
record seeing no one acting mayor you may close the hearing this hearing is closed last is the public hearing for the 2025 municipal budget anyone wishing to be heard on the 2025 municipal budget please come to the microphone state your name and address for the
record seeing no one acting mayor may close the hearing this hearing is closed councilman Dardia please move for the adoption of general ordinance number 2025-07 thank you acting mayor i would like to move for the adoption of general
ordinance number 2025-07 an ordinance to amend the code of the town of Westfield chapter 13 may I have a second second seconded by Councilman Saunders any discussion please call the role council members
Daria yes mcdonald yes saunders yes armen yes healey yes acting mayor yes the motion is carried councilman Healey please move for the adoption of general ordinance number 2025-08 yes thank you i'd like to move for
adoption general ordinance number 2025-808 an ordinance to amend the code of Tana Westfield chapter 10A may I have a second second seconded by Councilman Damagala any discussion please call the role council
member Daria yes yes saunders yes armentoto yes yes mayor H yes the motion is carried may I have a motion to approve the minutes from the town council conference and regular meetings of April
8th 2025 so moved um moved by Councilman Dardia second second seconded by Councilman Saunders any discussion all in favor yes yes opposed the motion is carried
now it's time for open discussion by citizens anyone may come up to the microphone and speak to the council on any subject on which the council has jurisdiction please state your name and address for the record and limit your comments to five minute five minutes
hearing none I will close this portion of the meeting and move to the bills and claims uh Councilman Damagala Mayor I just want to say one thing i know it's um a rather quiet night tonight no comments but I just want to say thank you on behalf of the staff of the town
it's a big night tonight um SID budget is adopted with a uh you know an assessment for them for the county in calendar year 2025 the emissible budget is adopted another great budget uh which you mentioned not only myself but the staff and the department heads um and uh it's because of the work that they do
and the employees of this town do this town runs very well and we have a great budget that supports not only the service we provide but it supports the people that work for this town so just a thank you to the mayor and council for uh helping us get through another great budget process and again despite the quietness in the audience it is a very
important night tonight so thank you well thank you um Jim for saying that and uh I think it's always a good sign about a budget when um people aren't crowding the room to make comments so true so excellent work thank you all
all right back to you Councilman mayor like to move building claims in the amount of 2,846,5612 may I have a second second seconded by Councilman Saunders uh any discussion i'm gonna say I also enjoyed the
experience working everybody on staff David um it was great great experience you learn a lot in how each of the departments look at things great thank you it can I make a comment
of course Councilman it bears repeating uh Councilman Damagala which you're a part zero% increase in municipal taxes for the third year in a row zero uh that that that is a huge accomplishment go
take a poll of the other municipalities in New Jersey and find out if anybody has that record it's just a great testament to the not only the budget committee led by Councilwoman acting mayor Hopkut but also the tremendous staff that uh James Gil Day has put
together as the town administrator thank you thank you Councilman okay so if if there are no other comments um all in favor yes opposed the motion is carried
next on the agenda is reports of the standing committees beginning with the finance policy committee councilman Damagala thank you acting mayor i have seven resolutions five of which I'd like to move as a package number one resolution authorizing the chief financial officer to refund recreation
department fees number two resolution authorizing the chief financial officer to draw a warrant for risk management consultant fee number three result a resolution authorizing the chief financial officer to issue payment and cancel authorized debt for 200 South
Avenue West number four resolution to defer local school tax and number five resolution to read the municipal budget by title thank you may I have a second second seconded by Councilman Dardia any
discussion all in favor yes opposed the motion is carried all right next I'd like to make a motion for the final adoption of the 2025 SID budget may I have a second second
seconded by Councilman Saunders any discussion discussion okay yes okay uh the Special Improvement District where did that come from well we we talked earlier about Main Street
organization is a statewide organization has given the special improvement district $150,000 to do some things the special improvement district in Westfield or um emanated from this main street
program and it was that to adopt the special improvement district was extremely controversial at the time why should businesses in town be taxed uh extra uh so there was complaints about
it but uh uh the committee that heard this was myself Councilman Panagas Councilman Gruba and Neil Sullivan and uh one of the things we had to do was name the organization and the mo was to
say it has to be called the main street special improvement district we don't have a main street in Westfield what is the area that we are talking about called it's called downtown that's been for my whole lifetime my father's
lifetime was the downtown so the council decided to name it the downtown Westfield Corporation is it controversial now has any commercial property owner in downtown Westfield lost pro lost value in their property over the last 25 years since this was
adopted the answer is no it's been a pretty good success there's more to be done but I I think it was one of those things I can proudly say I was part of and uh Mayor Booth who was uh the mayor at the time was a supportive also so
thank you for allowing me to make those comments and I'm in favor of adopting their budget thank you Councilman Healey i'm impressed that you can remember all of your committees um members names all these years later so um
okay uh any other comments if not um could you please call the role council member Dardian yes yes saunders yes armen yes yes acting Mayor H yes the motion is carried
all right and lastly I would like to make a resolution a motion for the final adoption of the 2025 municipal budget may I have a second second second by Councilman Armentoto any discussion after a lot of long hours I think we're
okay exactly um all right great please call the role council member Zaria yes yes saunders yes armentoto yes keely yes acting mayor he Yes the motion is carried i would like
to move general ordinance number 202509 on first reading an ordinance to amend the general ordinance number 2213 entitled an ordinance fixing the salaries of certain employees of the police and fire departments in the town of Westfield and various amendments
there too may I have a second second seconded by Councilman Dardia any discussion discussion sure yeah um I was pretty impressed by uh Chief Adaloro's discussion of this issue on the budget on the salaries for the police
department i didn't really understand that officers in one town may say "Well I can make $5,000 more if I'm living in if I go to another town even though I like Westfield." So in order to be competitive salary wise uh Chief Baloro
explained that which is something I I say I didn't understand before so I'm I'm in favor of this resolution ordinance excuse me great please call the role council members Dardia yes tom yes saunders yes
yes haley yes acting Mayor H yes the motion is carried next on the agenda is the public safety transportation and parking committee councilman Dardia thank you acting mayor i would like to move a resolution authorizing a lease agreement with Motorola Solutions for
911 system may I have a second yes second seconded by Councilman Armentoto any discussion i just want to say one thing um we we talked about this in the earlier session but one thing I didn't know is that not only will this give us a pretty significant software upgrade
but this will also allow us to have a state-of-the-art texting of 911 system in the coming years and I thought that was something that is definitely missing in the town and kudos to the police department for getting this going so just wanted to bring that up i
agree any other discussion uh all in favor yes opposed the motion is carried next is code review and town property committee councilman Healey uh I move resolution to approve some children's amusement devices that are required for festivals
etc may I have a second second seconded by Councilman Armentoto any discussion all in favor yes yes opposed the motion is carried councilman Healey can you also move public works resolutions for tonight
this is some pretty heavy lifting you're asking me acting mayor I'm going to move a resolution to amend an award of a contract for HL Petroleum which had to do with removing an old uh tank at the public works facility on North Avenue may I have a second second second by
Councilman Saunders any discussion all in favor yes opposed the motion is carried and may I have a motion to adjurnn mot moved by Councilman Dardia second
second second by Councilman Damagala all in favor yes opposed the motion is carried and this meeting is adjourned thank you very much everyone thank you well done