spe e we p nice to you I ch soci disc work p no you e still my [Music] no you out spe for than for e spe for e e for you you're oh e o for yeah yeah are oh thank you oh I didn't know oh oh I didn't know that oh that's great oh that's true where is Tom Smith the oh h oh H that's great that is great um all right are we ready who we missing good evening everyone 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 regular scheduled meetings of the Town Council on December 12 2023 the notice was on that date posted on the bulletin board of the municipal building provided to the Westfield leader leader in the Star Ledger and filed with the clerk of the town of Westfield Miss L May I have a roll call Mayor Bendle here council members H here D here here keeper here Saunders here armento here contract here here please rise for the vacation given by councilman contract to remain standing for the salute to the flag As We Gather here today as members of the Town Council we come filled with gratitude for the opportunity to serve our community we ask for guidance and wisdom as we deliberate on matters that impact the well-being of all those in our community pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for stand indice Jim yes thank you mayor I don't have any uh specific comments about town business per se but I was I want to make an announcement tonight uh and I have two where are they oh there two uh tired guys who are here um we have our if you remember a few uh weeks ago or a month or almost a little month ago we introduced uh Craig Gibson as a new director of Public Works uh with Greg O'Neal's departure and I was very grateful for you approving that uh and as we did last meeting uh we amended the ordinance to um amend the details of how an assistant director of Public Works gets appointed more in line with other positions of deputies or assistants in the town uh and since that time uh Craig Gibson new director has made a recommendation to me with mayal consent as for the ordinance to name an assistant director who's also an internal promotion um and you all know him uh but I want to bring Craig Gibson new director of Public Works up to make that announcement uh and uh and then we're going to get him out of here because they just spent all day uh very successfully clearing the town with the snow we had uh parking lots sidewalks um streets of course first priority and then they'll be back tomorrow to do some extra cleaning uh but I want to thank them for their efforts today too this is really Craigs really true first real snowstorm as director so it's always a always a test for everybody so uh anyway Craig Gibson up and Craig you passed it with flying colors I might add thank you sir nice job today good evening oh thank you I appreciate it yeah thank good evening everyone it's good seeing you we are a bit tired so bear with me um I know you guys have a busy agenda so I will be brief but I do appreciate very much the opportunity to come up here in public public Ally recognize uh Mr Eubanks um it is very welld deserved um he he is Public Works uh we goes by a lot of names um some are lovely some maybe not uh Richie is really what I call him um you know he knows this industry he knows this business he he he lives it he breathes it um Rich has shown over he's an example of I think what any town or community in the state really would would be would want you know as representing their town in public works capacity or for any capacity for that matter um he is a staple in Union County uh as far as recycling um events go uh he's our recycling coordinator for the town we fielded a tremendous amount of phone calls for people uh looking directly for Rich to to guide them through processes they they want to begin they look to use his knowledge um as an example of uh how they can Implement some of Rich's ideas into their communities so it really is uh a very valuable uh asset that he is to to to us here in Westfield so um I am honored to be able to um you know continue my career with him as a partner um I think he uh is is everything complimentary to myself and for anything that I lack and there's a lot of those uh things he is U the perfect compliment to those things so I think together it's a great thing for me it's a great thing for rich I think it's a great thing for for Westfield overall so congratulations uh to [Applause] Rich I'd like to thank the mayor and Council a lot of you I know been sening here over the years I'd like to thank uh all the former elected official that I've worked with i' like to thank Mr Guild day Heather Kim Tom you were mayor when I first crazy you're that old Richie uh Chief Boro his staff I really just like and and the community of Westfield as as a whole it's really been an honor to be here for as long as I have and I appreciate it you guys having me here thank you very much for this opportunity thank you lucky to have you congratulations mayor can I just make one quick comment so I've worked closely with Richie and with Greg and look forward to working Clos with Craig I want the community to know Richie lives and breathes Westfield you know seriously uh he has turned our Conservation Center this is how I know Richie the most from really a good Center to the best in the state and there are I don't know Richie how many recycling programs there now 18 something like that two dozen guys the recycling programs run you don't know behind the scenes what Richie does to make sure they run like there was one example I remember where he emailed me he's like listen I think we're going to lose our plastic bag you know recycler and then like the next day he's like don't worry about it I found a new one uh Richie makes this town tick and makes the Conservation Center tick and work and I know he's going to do even more in this new assistant director role so I'm thrilled for you Richie congratulations yeah thank you congratulations and so the last name mayor gu again thanks to Mayor and Council this is uh as we said this is the beginning of a re organization of Public Works new director new assistant director and we'll be back to you with some more announcements in the coming months uh looking to reorganize uh we're looking for some more internal promotions the supervisor positions that they both vacated uh and Craig will be talking about some new uh new opportunities that we're going to be putting Public Works through so again thank you for this approval and uh I think we have a great team going forward so appreciate it uh and on that note they did a great job clearing the roads today and I just do want to remind everybody that sidewalks need to be cleared within 24 hours of the snowfall which would be like around 1:00 tomorrow so Ando your part to make sure that our pedestrians can have safe sidewalks tomorrow especially tomorrow morning kids going to school and I do remind everybody that Grand Sanitation move curbside recycling pickup back by one day for each Zone this week so zone two is picked up on Wednesday zone three on Thursday and zone four on Friday and zone 5 on Saturday um I do want to take a minute to talk about affordable housing legis ation um I've been spending a lot of time I spent all day Sunday on the phone with the New Jersey League of municipalities talking about legislation that's being discussed and treaton right now so bear with me because it requires a bit of contact context so um there's State legislation that is currently under consideration which will impact our fourth round of negotiations that begin next year this round follows the 2015 round so it's every 10 years which is the third round which which resulted in Westfield signing a settlement with a fair share housing center in 2017 which was prior to my first term and many of ours first term in office so I have been very vocal in my support for the 2017 settlement it protected Westfield from a number of Builders remedy lawsuits that other municipalities have encountered however in spite of some residents comments about overdevelopment it's important to note that almost all the apartments that have been recently built or are currently under construction are the outcome of that 2017 settlement signed by mayor Andy skitzki and through which the town rezoned these areas to enable these new developments to be built so when residents asked why there are suddenly so many new developments I want to be clear that the following projects are entirely the result of that settlement and are just now coming to fruition um those projects that were enabled by the 2017 settlement include 501 South Avenue which is now running it's the site of the former PanAm cleaners the Westfield Crossing on South Avenue which is currently under construction and should open what first phase in the next few months both North Avenue projects between Central Avenue and Garwood right around the corner from my house both of them currently under construction were part of that settlement and there's a three- family home at 21 South Avenue East that was part of that settlement as well there are other properties in town that predate the 2017 settlement most notably the former Williams Nursery site um which was which has actually been in Westfield's affordable housing plan since the mid 1990s and only recently did the owners decide to sell the property and again the only thing that it could be done if it wasn't a nursy nursery was affordable housing um the Parker which is the former car wash on the corner and the town homes on the corner of Grand View and Grove were all part of previous settlements um and as convenient as it is to label the approval of these units as Robert stamping as some have done the reality is that these decisions are Court mandated and our role is to manage them to obtain the best possible outcome with the tools at our disposal so for those that are quick to point out that one Westfield place is not part of our affordable housing obligation please know that this pending legislation is one of the many reasons we are fortunate to be in the driver seat of managing the outcome of the Lord and Taylor property this site would have certainly been required for inclusion in our next round of affordable housing obligations now that the store is closed because they tried to get it in every previous round the fair share housing center did but we couldn't because it was a big we didn't because it was a big employer and brought a lot of tax revenue but now we' have been advised by our foral housing professionals that the fair share housing center likely would have required a density to be potentially twice as high is what is proposed as part of One Westfield Place meaning twice the number of Apartments currently in the One Westfield Place plan so for background every municipality in the state has a constitutional obligation to provide affordable housing it was an outcome of the 1975 Mount Laurel decision that led to the state's passing of the fair housing act in 1985 it is not an obligation that can be overruled by the legislature whose role is to provide a framework for how the Constitutional obligation of the Mount Laurel Doctrine will be implemented it's important to note that regardless of who is in office locally or at the state level Republican or Democrat the obligation Still Remains so but as with all comp Lex matters the devil is in the details and now the legislature is rushing through legislation to establish a new framework for how this process will work for the fourth round in 2025 so as I mentioned I've been working with the New Jersey League of municipalities and my capacity on their executive board to insert amendments that would help mitigate the local impact of this bill since it was evident that the assembly was fast-tracking this legislation for passage and yes they indeed passed their their version yesterday and although included the proposed amendments that the that the league had asked for we and me in particular remain very concerned about this bill for the following reasons municipalities have been provided with no details as to what our housing obligations will be in the next round and we have great concerns over the methodology for how it's being calculated secondly there's uncertainty over the extent of Municipal immunity from Builders remedy lawsuits third the assembly Bill imposes limitations on how towns can use their affordable housing trust funds something that doesn't exist today which have been often funded through developers fees and we're actually going to talk about it tonight related to the vet to the American Legion project these limit limitations do not exist today nor in Prior law and they represent a financial burden which could now fall on taxpayers if this actually makes it into the final version of the bill and the one that really gets in my craw is there are no incentives for state aid to be awarded to municipalities like ours that are in compliance with their affordable housing obligations there are municipalities still working through their affordable housing settlement in the courts and receiving millions in state aid for infrastructure and Community Improvement projects while Westfield is in full compliance and receives nothing in spite of our repeated requests with our local legislators it's simply an inequitable model that needs to be addressed so the assembly bill now moves to the Senate where we are working to ensure a more Equitable and rational outcome that addresses concerns regarding Community impacts and methodology I will continue to remain fully engaged and I'm going to advocate for our community and for the state at large quite frankly as we work towards a more fair and workable Statewide housing policy so I just want to make sure that you all have a heads up that everybody is paying attention to what's happening um and I think the first Senate committee meeting is on the 22nd in February um and they expect to vote on it probably late late March so I'll keep everybody posted um I think I'm going to hand it over to council hapgood who has some updates from the finance policy committee regarding tonight's agenda thank you mayor um the finance policy committee has several items on tonight's agenda including an ordinance on second reading addressing the salaries within the police and fire departments and authorizing a Grant application to resurface the tacis Park tennis courts which I know many people will be happy to hear um in terms of the annual sewer fee um which we Ted about at length at the last meeting or maybe two meetings ago um there are two items related to this on the agenda we'll hear an ordinance on second reading to amend the current not to exceed rates for the annual sewer fees which we talked about in detail um I think Mr Guild um went through a number of things at the mic last meeting and then tonight we'll also vote on a resolution to establish the 2024 sewer rates for each property category um the finance committee which is composed of myself counc councilman contract dagala and kefir um is recommending increases to the rates to reflect the increase that the town has received in its bill from the raway valley sewage Authority the rvsa So based on those increased fees that the town has received we're going to be increasing the single family home rates by $20 from $245 to $265 there will be a 13 increase for Condominiums apartments and Tow houses going from 155 to 168 and a $58 increase in commercial property rates from $700 to $758 all of these rates as you'll note are well below the new maximums um that are um showing up in the um ordinance that we have on second reading tonight um so I just wanted to make sure that there wasn't any confusion there um as we noted in the last meeting the town has typically aimed to subsidize half of the sewer fee for um residents and so we're on track to do that this year the increases that we're proposing for this year's sewer fee basically will go up by about 8.3% which is what we saw from the rbsa which unfortunately is the highest rate increase that in a year that I think we've ever seen from them thank you and I think we have some uh update from Council and contract from the C code review and town property committee tonight we have two significant resolutions from the code review and town property committee which consists of myself councilwoman Mackey councilman armento and councilman kefir uh the first is a resolution to adopt the community energy plan which was initiated through a grant from sustainable Jersey that the Green Team helped the town win uh in uh two years ago um and really this plan is outlines a series of ways that we can make Westfield more sustainable focusing on energy use uh once we submit the final plan and the council hopefully tonight approves the resolution submitting the plan then we'll be eligible for grant opportunities to actually Implement parts of the plan and those grants can total up to a quarter of a million dollars pretty significant um tonight we also have a resolution to approve a Redevelopment agreement with the Westfield veterans Organization for the Martin wallberg American Legion Post site as you may recall we adopted the Redevelopment plan for this project in September uh the plan proposes just to remind us uh repurposing the existing American Legion building on North Avenue to include 22 housing units strictly for atrisk Veterans as well as a rental banquet hall and facilities for the veterans once the facility is running a full-time Veterans Affair representative will be on site to help veterans with job placement resume writing and counseling services this initiative is a joint effort between the Martin wellberg American Legion Post number three the foundation for sustainable veteran housing and the town of Westfield and allows for the American legion's aging facility to be upgraded while addressing the shortage of a affordable veterans housing in New Jersey the project is being funded through private donations grants and a contribution from the town's affordable housing trust fund that the mayor just referenced adoption of the Redevelopment agreement will enable this project to proceed helping to implement the town's master plan and affordable housing plan it's worth noting that this project is part of a larger state initiative by the foundation for sustainable veteran housing to upgrade American Legion sites in all 21 New Jersey counties over the next decade with the goal of providing enough housing for atris veteran State ride Statewide which is a major issue um after tonight's resolution the project moves to site plan approval by the planning board I want to thank Joe mindak who's here uh he's been spearheading this so thank you Joe for your efforts this is a wonderful project for Westfield it sure is Mayor I just thank you Council I just want else to say in addition to Joe mindak we have I think many members Alan BAU and members of the uh senior American Legion are here so I I think it's important to acknowledge them and just thank them for their efforts I know our town planner mentioned in the conference session that it's been a very it's been a pleasure actually working with them uh designing this and of course the next step as councilman contract mentioned fundraising continues uh we're going to want to help them uh advertise those fundraising efforts but also design of the the uh or site plan U uh process comes next which will help finalize the design for this this is very exciting this is the first next step in the process but I just want I think it's important to thank the American Legion as well as Joe so absolutely and my apologies for the oversight no no no no absolutely um and lastly I just want to mention uh that we have a a resolution tonight that we're addressing the Statewide issue of car thefts and related crimes um I sent I posted a message about it on Monday and I just want to remind everybody um about the significant measures that we've taken over over the past 18 plus months um not only including like a lot of robust initiatives with police resources law enforcement activities and coordination but also a lot of legislative and prosecutorial advocacy as I've said repeatedly we continue to need assistance from our straight State lawmakers on a variety of issues that can only be addressed at the state level including the need for tougher laws to determ criminals reduce res reism and more harshly um a deal with juvenile repeat offenders um and not only do we want the governor and legislator legislature to address the Judiciary vac vacancies that have affected the prosecution of car thieves but it's also incumbent that our current prosecutors actually uh use the laws that are currently on the books to make sure that they um detain and prosecute criminals that they currently are enabled to do it's been a long-term process I know that we've been working on this I know in be last in I think in 20 and 21 we hosted neighborhood meetings with our local legislators um I last year l a countywide mayor's Coalition in supporting auto theft legislation that was actually signed into law by Governor Murphy in August it extended sentences for repeat offenders allows for pre-trial detention Target targets leaders of auto theft trafficking and tough toughens penalties for unlawfully possessing key fobs um we also know that legislation alone does not solve the issue as we continue to experience cares and attempted uh home home burglaries in our town so I am very happy to know that on this issue everyone in this town Council can agree so tonight our agenda includes a resolution requesting Governor Murphy and the state legislature to act immediately on stronger crime prevention and penalty legislation unified and bipar support for this action will send a message to the state as well as proactive measures to address Judiciary vacancies um as I mentioned I was happy to learn that Governor Murphy just sent 20 uh recommendations for judges in the last two weeks um and hopefully that they will get quick hearing and Speedy appointments um resolutions that are support supported unan unanimously by the full governing body have historically been one way to ensure our Collective voice is heard in Trenton on high priority legislative issues we've done this with I know um the the getting energy tax receipts for one seat ride for liquor license reform so we'll add this to the list of resolutions that we want them to pay attention to um we think with a newly installed legislature and Council now is a good time to do it so um I'm happy that this is something that we can all agree here from the D and that uh just want our community to know that your safety is always our top priority and we will always work together to ensure it on our end um so with that I think we can move on to the agenda at hand tonight miss ler are there any advertised hearings yes mayor we have two advertised hearings tonight starting with General ordinance number 20243 in ordinance to amend of the town of westfi anyone wishing to be heard on General or 20243 please come to the microphone state your name and address for the record seeing no one may make close the he this hearing is closed next is general or 22404 an ordinance 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 you motion to be heard on General orens 20244 please come to the microphone your name for the record see no one mayor you may close the hearing this hearing is closed councilman hap good please move for the adoption of General ordinance number 20243 I'd like to move for the adoption of General ordinance number 202 24-3 on second reading an ordinance to amend the code of the town of Westfield chapter 20 I have a second my councilman contract any discussion please call the role council members H yes D yesal yes keeper yes Saunders yeso yes Contra yes Mackie yes yes this motion is carried and I'd also like to move for the adoption of General ordinance number 20244 on second reading an ordinance 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 yes second by councilman Mackey any discussion please call the role m h yes yes yes keeper yes yeso yes Contra yes Mack yes may yes this motion is carried may I have a motion to approve the minutes from the Town Council regular and uh conference and regular meetings of January 30th 20124 move by councilman Macky second second second by councilman Daria is that right any discussion all in favor yes yes opposed this motion is carried now is the time for open discussion by citizens anyone may come up to the mic and speak to the Council on any subject on which we have jurisdiction please state your name and address for the record and please limit your comments to five minutes Rich panuski 233 Charles Street good evening mayor brindle and members of the Town Council I'm a licensed professional engineer and I'm also affiliated with the Westfield advocates for responsible development the Westfield Advocates have been tracking approximately 950 plus residential units that have been approved by the town since 2017 of which approximately 200 have been completed as taxpayers and constituents we wish to alert Our Town officials to the need for a long overdue cumulative analysis of the impact of widespread con construction on the town's public infrastructure and resources Westfield will soon experience townwide construction and development at a rate which is unprecedented in our 230e history For Better or For Worse the town will undergo a transformation from its traditional Arrangement and operation as a direct result of this construction and development accordingly the town the current Town Administration must act prudently and with due diligence in investigating the cumulative impact of such widespread Construction in such a condensed period of time on the town's future since 2017 there have been over 20 large construction projects either built or approved some of the projects are Apartments some are tow houses some include single bedroom units others include multiple bedroom units and some of the projects add retail space restaurant and bar space medical offices commercial office space and parking structures four of the projects mainly One Westfield place to Sophia Westfield Crossing and the Williams Nursery Redevelopment site include large numbers of new dwelling units in a small footprint as a result of vertical construction to building Heights which have never before existed in Westfield in the period between 2017 and 2023 there have been approximately 950 new dwelling units approved for construction of this 950 new dwelling units approximately 200 were completed by the end of 2023 another 400 or so are scheduled to be completed by the end of 2024 and the remainder are anticipated to be completed shortly thereafter in addition to 950 new dwelling units these large construction projects introduce approximately 350,000 plus square feet of retail restaurant and bar medical office and Commercial office space these spaces introduce a transient element of employees patrons Shoppers clients patients and salespeople these construction projects imp impact numerous roads in their adjacent properties including but not limited to North and South Avenues Central Avenue Elm Street Prospect Street Ferris Place Springfield Avenue East Broad Street and Grove Street to name a few Beyond any shadow of a doubt such widespread construction can certainly be expected to have a major impact on the traffic infrastructure and everyday life activities of the town when compared with how it existed prior to 2017 although no Baseline likely exists the changes also known as deltas and things like domestic water requirements electrical requirements sewage flows pedestrian traffic lighting levels Etc can be predicted using proven scientific and Engineering methods as of this writing the Westfield Advocates is unaware of any coordinated investigation of a scientific or engineering nature which takes a cumulative all-inclusive approach to identify and establish the combined impacts of all of the currently planned and approved construction projects in the town more importantly the master plan reexamination report which was prepared during 2018 and 2019 and adopted on December 2 second does not incorporate all of this construction and development in its findings and recommendations large projects including one Westfield place and the sopia which when combined account for approximately 265 new dwelling units and approximately 350,000 square fet of nonresidential use space were not part of the master plan reexamination effort in short the master plan reexamination report does not address the cumulative impact of all of the construction and development projects combined as a whole tonight we are here by by presenting the concept of and are learning the town to engage in a cumulative all-inclusive investigation to identify and establish the combined impact of all currently approved construction projects we are prepared to provide suggestions for advancing the request for proposal and can do so in a follow-up document or future public testimony the town of Westfield currently has a one-time physical fiscal opportunity in a form of a budget surplus from the senior housing settlement it would certainly be appropriate to dedicate this Sur Surplus or some portion thereof to fund a cumulative investigation given the benefit to be derived from such an effort this small investment can and will provide value valuable information pertaining to existing and future short and long-term capital budget priorities thank you thank you Sean Mullen 763 Road in October of 2021 I was one of four Council candidates who sponsored a fundraiser for Women's Health at demakas Park as part of our sponsorship we had some small signs in front of a table of literature councilman Dy has soon arrived and tried to get the events organizers to get us to take our signs down when that didn't work he called the police on us and identified himself as a councilman police then made us pack our CL signs and literature at the time it didn't seem right it still doesn't a councilman who's chair of the council's public Public Safety Committee with no apparent official business there goes to a town park and directs the police to prevent his political opponents from doing the exact same thing he's done himself on multiple occasions to justify the directives police seted an obscure section of the town code that requires Town permission to display signs or posters anywhere on Town property but after Gathering public records over the past several months I found out that this ordinance is routinely ignored and never enforced no one ever requests permission and the town never grants it no summonses for violating this ordinance have been given out and in fact the town recently issued a formal public apology for removing signs that have been placed on Town property and although councilman Daria told police that what we were doing were in his own words illegal both he the mayor and other council members have done it for years and in full view of the police who've done nothing to stop it social online and print media are full of examples of council mardia and others displaying signs on Town property without permission at and at event that lacked permits so why didn't he follow the law himself or call the police on any of those people why haven't police enforced this ordinance on any other occasion so why would councilman Daria tell the police that what we were doing in tamaka park was illegal when he did the exact same thing himself on several occasions including at the exact same place four years prior did he have official business official Council business when he went to to maras park why would he identify himself as a councilman to police councilman Dy has been advents on town in New Jersey trans of property where he the mayor and others campaigned and displayed signs without permits or town permission or in violation of the New Jersey Transit rules weren't all these people doing something illegal and according to crime statistics reported by Westfield police for 2021 while councilman Dario was head of the Public Safety Committee there were double digit increases in property crimes Larson's thefts motor vehicle thefts a triple digigit increase in rapes and 138 reported thefts from resid 's vehicles under his leadership of that committee was it a priority for police to investigate the display of signs on Town property don't our police have more important Duties are you okay with this mayor do you sanction the use of Westfield police by members of the council to intimidate their political opponents is that an effective use of taxpayer dollars is this someone who should chair the council's Public Safety Committee who at Town Hall decides what sign content is acceptable and what is it I requested a meeting with you and the Town Administrator to discuss this matter and the town code why wouldn't you agree to meet so if you're part of the governing body you can display signs and campaign on Town property without permits or permission and no one bothers you if not if you're not council members like Council mardia call the police on you for something they've done themselves on multiple occasions and the police make you put your signs away in all likelihood the town code is unconstitutional and it needs to be fixed signs and literature are considered speech under the first Amendment if they're allowed on Town property which they clearly are it shouldn't be up to partisan politicians or self-interested bureaucrats to decide what content it agrees with or not and under the 14th Amendment citizens are entitled to equal not selective enforcement of the law what's clear is that councilman Dario went out of his way to go to tamacas park not as a private citizen but as a councilman and used his position to intimidate his political opponents when he didn't get what he wanted he Enlisted the town's police force to weaponize and other wise unenforced Town ordinance he's not fit to serve on the Public Safety Committee and should resign and Jim I read your email under your novel Theory no matter what happens directly in front of them police only enforce the law when someone makes a complaint and the town's recent apology shows that any enforcement of this ordinance has been content-based one-sided and at the request of one person I also want to make it clear that I'm not here to criticize Westfield police who work hard to protect us from actual crime nor am I here to criticize the viewpoints of anyone who displays a sign or poster what I'm against is a local government that censors free speech and treats its citizens unequally I urge the Town Council to repeal section 32-4 I of the town code thank you good evening Carlo uh I'm a resident 603 Lawrence Avenue and affiliated with Westfield Advocates I'm here to follow up on questions regarding the acceleration of the Quimby renovation that were raised at the last Town council meeting after this project acceleration was announced by the mayor at the January 2nd council meeting I raised some questions at the January 16th council meeting and the mayor asked Jim gild to respond Jim outlined the basic sequence to toward implementation of the Quimby renovation without directly answering my question regarding funding and timing Jim did confirm that the Quimby renovation project identified in the owp Redevelopment agreement is a non-required project I have since reread the language in the owp Redevelopment agreement and the public Improvement financing agreement known as a PFA regarding funding and timing I'm specifically calling your attention to the Redevelopment agreement exhibit G as well as sections 9.4 and 9.5 and Pages 8 through 16 of the PFA including exhibit a the public Improvement projects designed in construction funding estimated total cost and timing per the PFA in exhibit a of the 20 public Improvement projects number 18 Quin nickel way is to be be funded with quote other bonds the third Tron of public bonds for an estimated total cost of $1.9 million total project cost the agreement is clear that the other bonds cannot be issued until the first two bonds the north garage and the South garage are issued and certain construction Milestones are met there's also a requirement to comply with a pilot sufficiency test to indicate that there is sufficient pilot Revenue to pay the debt service for the other Bond and if there isn't enough then certain projects would not be completed number 18 Quimby snickle way is one of those and would become contingent projects if and only if there is money that would become available it also stipulates value engineering and again I'm calling your attention to the PFA exhibit a because traffic mitigations and streetscape are also projects to be funded by other bonds and would precede any of the nonrequired and contingent projects identified in the agreement infrastructure must be constructed first and is often the most timec consuming and costly portion of most large projects but the necessary step to accomplish first adjustments can always be made on other program components like public space B and finishes later to preserve contingency and Reserve funds a legal opinion should be sought to determine whether these changes constitute a cardinal change requiring a formal change to the Redevelopment agreement two million dollars may not sound like a big shift in this context of owp but if you're proceeding ahead with out a formal change then the entire process of amending agreements needs to be examined thank you hi Rob galano 939 Boulevard good evening I'd like to talk tonight about the letter published by the Republican councilman dated January 22nd 2024 but not released until January 31st for some reason in this letter to our local Republican state representatives they portrayed the town as being under siege from crime and commented on on how uh the residents felt unsafe in their own homes I've lived here for 18 years pretty much to the day and even though I can't speak about other people's feelings and experiences there's not been one day living in this town where my wife and I felt unsafe not one may I remind everyone this Administration has taken many actions previous to this year that enhance safety in this town including Staffing the police department at the highest levels in town history funding the police department at the highest levels in town history and supporting a program of active and visible policing including license plate readers and cruise lights additionally this Administration has worked with state senator bramnick in the past this Administration also worked with the Senate Judiciary Committee chair Paul sarlo to lead a coalition of Union County mayors in support of auto theft legislation that he sponsored which was signed into law by Governor Murphy last August in addition mayor brindle is advocated for auto theft legislation and judicial appointments with Senate President Nick scutari and Senator Joe cryan as well as regularly speaking with the Union County prosecutor's office the thing to do here gentlemen would not have been to freelance and take your complaints to your uh fellow Republicans in higher office I thought we were all here to work together to improve the town and not grandstand and grab the glory instead you made it look like you did something when this bill was introduced into the general assembly by two Republicans without any any support from Democrats in a chamber where they have a 24 seat disadvantage who knows it may pass someday in some form but it won't be soon I'd like to also address councilman Saunders comments from his own website regarding this issue together we appreciate the mayor finally recognizing that there has indeed been an increase in attempted car thefts in town after previously downplaying the severity of the problem and thank her for following our lead and speaking out about the rising crime end quote if the councilman had been paying attention for the last six years he would have known not only has the mayor been speaking about crime in this town she's actually taken action he helped write a letter these actions are are not the same additionally I would assume at least one of you will be attending the fundraiser next week for our Incredible Shrinking Congressman Tom Keane Jr if you would be so kind please pass this message on to him and speaker magga Mike Johnson fund the foreign aid for Ukraine and Israel finally I'd like to uh have the mayor comment if she would on today's letter regarding the private meeting between the Republican councilman and the Hudson Bay Company regarding potential requested changes to one Westfield place I'd also like to know if councilman Saunders a co-signer of said letter has any plans to recuse himself from any matter regarding One Westfield Place based on his previous comments about his father's real estate holdings in town that he feels may be negatively affected by One Westfield Place Mr Saunders has stated himself it's his inheritance since on video he may indirectly benefit financially from many adverse decisions regarding One Westfield place for example the project gets canceled downsized and his father's Holdings increase in value which would be of financial benefit to the councilman thank you okay uh Carrie Murphy 502 cotting Road as always These are My Views Alone um I couldn't go to the January meeting when all the new candidates were sworn in so I want to thank you for putting yourselves out there putting in the hard work hearing us and showing residents that you'll be there as a representative for for your constituents I think a clean sweep in November represents at taxpayers feel the need for partnership with our Council reps that I feel has been lacking in years past Westfield needs you now more than ever um next councilman contract I want to thank you for saying the quiet part out loud at the last meeting if you will allow me we have to trust Our Town officials who you'll get to know and work with because they really have the town's best interest at heart so I can understand your concerns about these Consultants but we followed a legitimate RFP and RFQ process and that is the right way to do it so you don't have to vote yes that's why there's nine of us up here and it just takes five votes to move forward okay think okay so there's two things that concern me about that clip first you mentioned trust we have to trust you or some other nonsense like that trust is likely the last thing you'll get from me and perhaps many residents which is why I believe we saw the elction ction go the way it did trust is earned and I don't think that's been done look at the mess we're in with overdevelopment that is not trust that's another agenda being forced on T on a town without a legal non-binding referendum vote so we can decide if we want it second the statement sounds arrogant and to me it assumes you five are in charge because in the end you know you have the majority vote at least that's how I heard it and based on the last two plus years of votes that has pretty much been the case it's a mockery of democracy it's a mockery to the residents who voted this last election we clearly want something different something more and better than a majority rules childish game being played with our town our way of life and our finances it simply it it seems to imply that it doesn't matter what taxpayers think because you have the vote and we deserve better than that but to be fair I think the mockery started long ago which may be why you're seem comfortable doing it now and comfortable saying it out loud the mockery and disregard for residents began when the entire town was blighted during the global covid pandemic in 2020 when we were in lockdown focused on family remote learning Etc that was not an ideal time to make such a Monumental decision for the town that much is obvious but it happened and in doing so it essentially strip the taxpayers of many rights to what happens to their town by blighting you were able to restructure zoning laws that seem to meet the needs of the developers over taxpayers denying taxpayers a legal non-binding referendum vote Etc that doesn't gain trust it's a mockery when the mayor takes a seat on the planning board I know it's the right of the mayor to do so but no prior mayor that I know of has felt the need to call me cynical but it seems coincidental to me at least why it was necessary it's a mockery when you continually refuse to answer many taxpayer questions and concerns regarding the overdevelopment so let me try this again it's a new year and we have new council members I've been essentially asking for the cumulative impact study for the 12 plus over developments that have been approved resulting in 950 1 to three bedroom apartments tens of thousands of feet of retail space much of it outside of the central business district how is that going to help our downtown basically all the new developments those built under construction those that are planned and um has there been any analysis performed um where's the data to back up the need for all of this or to show that we can support it as a town specifically where's the data on the traffic will overdevelopment increase already unbearable traffic how could it not infrastructure can we sustain it congestion seems obvious to me it won't help congestion School crowding I'm assuming yes uh but we don't have that data taxes will they increase I don't know how they won't the Westfield Fire Department police department DPW I'm no expert but it seems clear that we'll need more to support uh all of these buildings and the new renters will this be financially burdened on the taxpayers or have the developers agreed to cover it we keep hearing about fire house details we need to know now not down the line when possibly those who approved it are no longer serving the town um the parking decks we still don't have a lot of data on the decks well current residents passholder passholders have a spot will those on the weight list get a spot will there be enough for Shoppers Etc it goes on we seem to have zero detail or data on these questions please prove me wrong and share it with us it's exhausting trying to get answers to these questions that one would assume ironed out before and not after the wave of approvals isn't that just common sense please moving forward listen to tax players for the love of Westfield stop approving overdevelopment until you have the data mayor brindle as head of this town if you can't or simply won't answer these questions someone do it enough is enough I'm sorry M you're out of time we must let democracy Trump mockery in this town and one last thing I want to do a shout out to the DPW because they did a phenomenal job today anybody else um with that hearing none I um close this portion of the meeting um I'll just address some of the comments that um were brought up let me see um I think Rich I'm sorry rich I didn't I never remember your WR your last name I apologies because yeah um and uh I know you mentioned the infrastructure I'll just um reiterate um and to miss Murphy's Point too um and maybe Miss Murphy missed my opening remarks when I talked about affordable housing and the fact that um this overdevelopment narrative that I know that she loves to uh you know Proclaim um that almost everything that you've seen in the ground or being built is part of that affordable housing obligation from 2017 and and prior to that of which none of us here on this day has had anything to do with um there is uh rubber stamping is not really an option because it's a it's not I can't stress this enough it's a court-mandated obligation I'm sorry I'm sorry there's a court mandated obligation no I'm Sorry Miss Murphy comments closed um it's a court mandated obligation it's not something that we have an option to do so I just want to be very very clear on that I'm sorry uh Miss Murphy um and going back to your infrastructure assessment um and in my opening comments it's absolutely one of the things that we've been asking the legislature for is support that for infrastructure that should be tied to our affordable housing obligations if they're going to impose those obligations on us then there should be support for that if it isn't desperately needed I do want to mention though um that you know uh development is beyond our borders as you well know you just have to go to you know Cranford and Garwood and others and see what's happening so we did form a route 28 corridors like a mayor's Coalition from Elizabeth to Rosel Park and um and the county did just get a big Grant to support that I don't remember it's a Federal grant to support the a a whole quor study along Route 28 to understand like what that holistic impact is going to be um so that is in development that's being led by the County transportation um group so hopefully there'll be more to come but federal grants take a while um and I do want you know you mentioned One Westfield place but one Westfield place is actually enabling a lot of the improvements to infrastructure that would help things that exist today some directly and some indirectly related to that specific project so um I think that's important to note and I know um Miss Murphy mentioned this term blighted which we never used we did declare the area the town area need of Rehabilitation I think it's kind of timely to bring that up tonight because we're proving a really amazing veterans Project tonight that veterans project was enabled because of the rehab designation of the the town and so um so we're very proud of that so it was ready farms and that was a rehab designation so very proud of what that rehab designation enabled um and Mr Mullen I do never recall getting a meeting request from you I would absolutely meet with you if you did um I me I I don't happy to reach out again and sit down with you and address what some of your concerns are but I don't recall getting a request from you and I can't that you're referencing from something from almost three years ago so it's hard for me yes um sure speak to that as well um Mr Mullen yes so as the mayor just indicated almost three years ago you're now bringing this up um and the truth of the matter is that you along with a number of other candidates for Town Council and mayor we're at a breast cancer awareness event at tamaka Park and you were using that event to campaign for your election and you had your yard signs you had various other campaign literature which is illegal okay and uh you're not really showing the truth so to come up here and tell the public something else is completely false and disingenuous right here so I'm sorry and uh and you know so happy to talk to you about that um and let's see Mr oh Mr galano um thank you for your comments and your acknowledgement of what we've did um I agree it's always best when things come for the full Council um and I I will acknowledge that um a bit disappointed in the letters that were sent by the bo councilman without any kind of uh consult or cooperation or collaboration with the rest of us so I think what is more troubling for me is that we have a committee process that I know these guys are becoming uh you know familiar with and typically any issues that we have get worked through the Committees and that they get pushed forward for resolution so um yes to say we're a little surprised that um they put out these letters um advocating for legislation and to Street Works regarding one must feel place outside of what our normal legislative process is was a bit surprising and disappointing um we have very genuinely committed to serve in a bipartisan and collaborative fashion so I was disappointed that our colleagues did not choose to reciprocate but um uh we will continue to move forward um and work together and I hope uh you know that we can collaborate on things going forward mayor may may I address his comments towards me directly like similar to mardia address the comments directed to him uh you said a few things that were directed to me I just want to make sure I cleared the record I appreciate that you feel safe when it comes to safety um I can tell you that I talk to a lot of residents that um some feel safe and some don't um I'm happy to introduce you to any of the residents that I talked to that have been impacted by the 60% increase in vehicle thefts and I hope that you cannot you could take a step back and realize that you're criticizing people that have had home invasion have had had serious things happen to themselves and not talk down to them uh you mentioned my opposition of one westle place I want to be clear that has nothing to do with my inheritance actually thank God my parents are alive and there actually is no inheritance um my family like many families downtown and a lot of us mortgaged everything and we decided to buy property in Westfield one little building in Westfield I think as a town and as a council we shouldn't criticize people who are are willing to invest in our downtown and we should actually encourage it there are council members on you're asking me to accuse myself but there are council members on this Council that live downtown are you asking them to accuse themselves as well so um uh and the last thing I do want to mention I know Miss Murphy you brought up a lot of questions and uh there I can't express enough how the comprehensive answers and information that's available on our website all the stuff you mentioned whether it be schools or traffic is all available on the FAQs so I know you continually suggest that you're not getting the answers to the questions they are all there and um and I would suggest that you might want to go revisit some of those uh questions to maybe get some of the answers that you're seeking can I add one thing mayor I think is important only because it happened to be I think just about this time last year because some of the questions you asked we had as well and I had as the administrator uh there was a municipal impact report that was done that was it's on our website um to answer some of the questions that she's had other people had at the time what is the impact of the fire department Police Department Public Works the the services we provide uh we had an independent consulant Comm in and do an analysis and that report was posted last February it's been up there um so it's it's it's important to look at that we we use it as a guiding Tool uh to make sure we were not doing something that was going to be honorous to our budget or Andor uh to the town operations so it's up there thank you so um yes it was a pretty comprehensive Municipal impact report and I would suggest you take a look at it um no I'm sorry public comment is closed I'm sorry um I'm sorry I'm sorry Miss Murphy public comment is closed so with that we're going to move on to bills and claims Council have good sorry I'm just moving on from where I was taking notes um thank you mayor uh I have six resolutions five of which oh I'm sorry I'm skipping to the wrong place thank you I'd like to move bills and claims in the amount of 35237 741 I may I have a second second by Council and Catra any discussion all in favor yes oppos this motion is carried and I have six resolutions five of which I'd like to move as a package out of the finance committee tonight one a resolution authorizing the CFO to refund Recreation Department fees two a resolution authorizing the CFO to draw warrants for overpaid taxes for 2022 2023 third a resolution authorizing the CFO to draw warrants for overpaid taxes due to disabled veteran exemption four a resolution to approve 2024 sewer fees Five a resolution authorizing the town to submit a Grant application for the Westfield Recreation Department I have a second counia any discussion all in favor yes opposed this motion is carried and then lastly I'd like to move a resolution authorizing the CFO to make a budget transfer may have a second second by councilman Macky any discussion please call the role council members H yes dardia yesal yes keeper yes Saunders yeso yes contract yes may yes this motion is carried next up this public safety Transportation parking committee Council mardia thank you mayor I would like to move a resolution demanding Governor Murphy and the New Jersey legislature act urgently to address the rise in car thefts may I have a second second second second by who was that Council dagala any discussion all in favor yes have some discussion points here oh sure that's all right um comment was made earlier about the bill that we ended up putting together proposing uh a 3806 um this came about essentially because what we saw over the last few years did not Avail a bill that could be brought forth to any relevance the juvenile offenders that perpetrate these crimes in town have to be addressed somehow now I understand full well that you would like to have been a part of it I understand that the resolution here is to go ahead and also as well be a part of that um I'm not opposed to everybody having the same idea that we want to eliminate these types of crimes in town but at the same time when you say we made this decision unilaterally yes we did because we weren't availed of any other inclusion any other way we did not see this happen when there was only one Republican on the council now we have four and for starting out this year and saying okay you know what Chief you're doing an awesome job so far so good I say keep it up um we felt it was necessary to take a stand and to go ahead and put something forth we're not precluding from working together I think that we can work together on Plenty of different things I think there are agreements that we've already made through conversations on these committees that bring us together the fact that the 54 statement was made made us think that this was not a full Council if you're telling us that we're going to work together and we're going to do this let's do it well I have to say when I first saw that letter about that you all were sponsoring or part of some sponsorship bill I thought it was something from the onion because since when just for and the and the letter said your tireless advocacy over six weeks as newly elected councilman I couldn't help but be amused that tireless advocacy over six weeks has res resulted in a bill that was being introduced by the Republican assembly woman whose chief of staff was your campaign manager so I couldn't help but think that there was not there was a bit of disingenuous in the fact that it was done on created letterhead with a town seal um as opposed to the GOP seal that probably should have existed and that it was done without any courtesy CC of us that it was presented and it just flew in the face of really this bipartisan message that you all campaigned upon the hypocrisy was astounding and so I mean I've never ever heard of newly elected Council persons trying to take credit for a bill that's introduced and getting a anybody could introduce a bill getting it actually passed can you tell me why you hadn't done it previously I what do you mean I had worked with the Judiciary Committee senator let let's do this are you are you okay the bill I'm sorry did you ask to speak uh it's like it's I'm I I was directing to councilman dagala what was your comment could you go ahead and describe the bill that you did go ahead and propose here addressing you mean the one that was actually passed last August not just Democrat driven you're looking for bipartisanship correct we're happy to go ahead and work with you but that's not where this all started so I am just suggesting if you are committed to working by B partisan these initial steps aren't necessarily working towards that yeah and nor nor was councilman contracts comment from the very beginning that this was a 5-4 situation so were you suggesting that you just assume that we wouldn't support it which is why you didn't include us I think that the town is had enough issues at this point that they have no choice but to go ahead and support it I think that the resolution would have made sense a year ago and two years ago but nothing was done if I if I also if I may when when we were campaigning the issue of crime did come up in a couple of ways it came up in the patch interview and it came up in the debate and the people that were running against us took the stance that we were overreacting and that the data showed that crime was down in town that's a fact so when we first get on here I I'll be honest I didn't think we're aligned and in order to work together it has to be a degree of alignment I can tell you right now I'm going to work together together with anyone and everyone on this committee on this Council when there is alignment and do you have my word on that here it didn't appear there was now politics aside it's an important thing to get the state involved because it's a Statewide issue if you can lend some support to the bill that'd be great maybe he has a chance to go somewhere like Todd said but in the resolution we're all going to say yay today so but politics aside it is a serious issue and I'll say one thing because I want to say something that's very important the mayor said when she introduced the resolution she mentioned vacancies in the Judiciary and I'm really glad you did that um that's one of the biggest problems out there and I think people need to be more in tune to that we have 47 vacancies on our Judiciary we need Superior Court judges desperately chief justice Stuart rabner says you need to get that vacancy down level at least to 30 just to have a functional system we have a big problem because prosecutors can't get trial dates and without the threat of a trial dat you're not even going to get a plea bargain so our our prosecutors are hting hamstrung by something that I can't describe to why it's happening but it's happening so you want to do something call the governor tell them to put more nominations up call the state sen the Senators and tell him to start confirming that's something that's not political and and mayor you have my apologies if you were offended if you truly were offended have my well actually I wasn't offended I was disappointed because what you're right this shouldn't be political and you all made it political and that's what's unfortunate and you could deny that but you made this a political conversation ation and that was really unfortunate because we are all on the same page here and so um I I guess that's how you want to operate I I couldn't I like I said I couldn't if it makes better I've been disappointed too in my in my time you know dealing with politics in this town so let's leave it at that unless somebody else has may coun go ahead uh listen I think we can go back and forth on the political side of it and this is an important topic for all of us so I guess um taking one step back you support all of the topics in that bill and can we instead then right here in front of everyone say we all support it and all put our names behind it no I this the kind of I I don't I'm that's political no it's not political this is the type do you stand behind what it says in that Bill yes or no I can't speak to it because I haven't been informed by the people s tonight no I this is the way this process works and this is I think what's frustrating if you had a bill that you wanted us all to support that would actually go to the public safety and transportation committee our Council would weigh in can you just read it and tell me if you support it yes or no I just want an answer yes or no council I wouldn't I wouldn't say that until I've gotten all the information from the professionals that say this is what the implications are this sometimes these bills and the way they're written have unintended consequences which I wouldn't be able to infer from reading it on my own and I think the frustration and the disappointment in the way you all have decided to conduct business is that you have gone outside of the committee process it's written in our town code for us all to agree and move forward so you talk about I know councilman Kefir in particular you told you talked about process and you were so concerned about you said a press was a priority for you you mentioned that during your campaign so what is shocking to me that you all have elected to go outside of the process it's written in our town code which we would all agree to move can I the town code that says we have we have to go through you and committees to speak to our state legisl repres that's not what I'm suggesting I'm suggesting when he says that we're going to get all on board with a bill right that's that that's that is a process the letter to the assembly do Council councilman at the end of the day we have a legislative process here right so you guys had ample opportunity to raise at any of the meetings we've had whether committee or even at their our sessions before the 8 o'clock meeting topics that you want to talk about right so to that that's how whether we've been Republican or Democrat and my six years on this St us now seven when councilman L grippo was here as as the lone Republican at the end of the day we work together through our committee process to advance the town's Mission and the town's goals going outside of all of us blindsiding us not even saying you're doing these things is a slap in the face the bipartisanship and working together it just is and also let's not misconstrue what I said right at the end of the day vot votes are taken and five wins and it's a 54 on anything it doesn't mean five Democrats versus four Republicans like I have opposed the mayor on certain things I think everybody in this room knows what they are right so please don't misconstrue what I said I don't appreciate it and but guys when you do that it's politics you didn't get elected nor did any of us to serve a political Mission you got elected to serve the town's Mission and and I'm not seeing enough of that and it's disappointing we did get councilman don't interrupt please like that frustrates me and disappoints me because you guys have told me directly you want to serve the residents and actually move the town forward working together I'm not seeing a lot of examples of that tonight or otherwise counc dag thank you mayor uh we did get elected to go ahead and help to stop this crime issue and that wasn't being done before the bringing B of the license plate readers I think is a great idea I mean we've already had I guess uh 10 already and there's an additional 10 on the way 30 days from now 15 30 days from now um I I think that's a big plus I think addressing the home invasions and the car thefts are a necessity I think it's taken way too long and that is exactly why we had to act the way we did in in a professional manner no less mayor I'd like to say if I thought that the rest of the group was going to go ahead and do this I would have been on board but there was no belief system that that would be there councilman Daran comments okay so uh two points as it's already been discussed uh the committee sessions are important to bring up these different ideas and measures uh that you have on in mind so on the same day that you released this letter we had a public safety meeting wow uh and and just a reminder to all of you on the evening of May 21st 20 sorry May 12th 2021 Chief baloro former councilman Mark Parmley and I met with the neighbors the concerned citizenry of uh Witchwood uh neighborhood because uh Kathy Fitzpatrick who invited us to her front lawn that evening had an attempted Breakin there an attempted car theft so she F invited us to uh hear out the neighbors and we did and we did and and so uh she wanted us to meet her neighbors and to talk about these car thefts and in the audience that evening was Tom Kane Jr along with John bramnick they were both there afterwards neither of those law lawmakers thought to take action that these new town councilmen are asking asking to do now I find that interesting I hope you do too what does their AC have to do sorry um councilman councilman Macky I I just want to address councilman domagala um who alleges that this Council has taken no action um and that's just an outright lie that needs to be called out we have worked for a very long time and taken innumerable steps in including bear traps bear traps excuse me bear traps said thear would you like to expound upon that or are you having take that up uh it was I'm sorry we don't need to council Macky please continue I I appreciate the problem I to met with a very large group of residents concerned with crime at about the same time um councilman Daria did uh and the chief was kind enough to attend and address but we have spent many years on this Council taking action it is documented and it is provable and I think with uh Chief baloro in the room can certainly attest to the fact that we have staffed this Police Department to its highest level in history and that it is incredibly well funded and there is nothing this department has ever asked for from this Administration that it has not gotten so I appreciate that you want to make a splash and we were here to work together but please do not undermine the integrity and the work that we've done for this town for the past six years mayor may I speak yes uh taking action or um claiming to have taken action is one thing but we claim to be data driven and the results aren't there from the actions so we can say we're taking actions but we all see the data and the results are not happening that's a fact May the chief maybe the chief wants to well I have to say I'm sure the chief's back there with I can't even imagine what's going through his head and hearing from newly elected officials that nothing has been done in this town to to attempt a crime so I actually not I'm sorry I'm not even that exactly that's exactly what was said so I'm not even going to ask the chief to address it because I'm afraid of what he might say response may so um actually that was not what was said I commended the chief on the work that he's done in town I think he's done well it's a backhanded compliment because you say I very I support the police but on the other hand nothing has been done to help crime you said that specifically you did say that leg nothing has been done can you wait till you talk to just because you think you can drown me out you can from the legislative level it has not been done we're bringing this up to a point where something can be done we looking to go ahead and pass well that good Lu Comm the chief he does a great job locally in town working with other towns to go ahead and catch criminals beyond that the chief has no power it's just what it is and we have to go up to the highest level to get that done and conversations are not going to get it done so with that actually I haven't got to say anything last comment and then we're closing this down all right so first of all the legislation doesn't benefit Republicans Democrats Independence it's to benefit everybody in Westfield second in in in full disclosure and um bipartisanship Summit uh past Lo is working on local ordinances to uh try to fight crime in the local level and I'd be certainly willing to work with Dave since he's the chairman of the code review to look at ordinances at a local level that may take a bite out of crime or put some a bite into crime however you may look at it uh you know certainly the chief has done an awesome job the fact that there's no car thefts this year is great and uh um but I again I think we need to work bipartisanly and I would like to work with Dave or whoever wants to and look at that Summit framework and maybe we can achieve something we hope so thank you um okay I'm sorry um no I'm sorry close on close the you lost you lost me at Bear traps i' just like to say I can the discuss that's it um no no actually we're good we're going to close this down so with that um uh where were we okay so this is a uh this is on the resolution yes I think it's me so any all in favor this is on the resolution all in favor I yes yes yes oppos this motion has carried councilman contract please move code review and town property committee resolutions thank you mayor I'd like to make a motion to adopt the community energy plan may have a second second second second by councilman Daria any discussion all in favor yes oppose this motion is carried thank you I'd also like to make a motion approving a Redevelopment agreement with the Westfield New Jersey Veterans organization concerning the Redevelopment of block 2603 lot 3.01 may I have a second second second by councilor Macky and I know we acknowledge Joe but Joe can all of you guys stand up and just let us officially recognize you Allan everybody um no please no I I I want to uh I want to address the fact that throughout this entire process which has taken two years so far to get to this point everybody who has been a part of this and the the Town Council the town itself the DPW uh Joe mindak and his organiz ganization everybody has given of their time without asking for any uh any any recompense any financing uh to this point of course it's going to happen now uh that you've approved it I just want to thank you all from the bottom of our heart all the veterans we truly appreciate what we're what we're all doing thank you very much you yeah I do I also want to acknowledge Greg Readington from redcom who's not here who did a lot of the design work and so forth and um and fundraiser is April 20th right um Joe and uh I think we're gonna did mention we're going to ask you guys to come back and do a little dog and pony show before that so we can get everybody pumped up for it so okay great so anyway um so really thrilled with this project probably one of the favorite projects ever in town I think um um so uh please call the role Council memb H good yes Daria yesal yes kefir yes fers yepo yes yes ma yes yes this motion has carried may I have a motion to adjourn by Council Mackie second second by Council contract all in favor fa