[Music] [Music] [Music] okay the meeting of the Atlanta County Board of Commissioners is called to order and compliance with the open public meeting Act of the state of New Jersey adequate notice of this meeting of the Atlanta County Board of Commissioners was provided in the following manner published in the Press of Atlantic City mailed to the hamton cazette and has been posted on the Bolton boards in the county office building in Atlantic City stowater building in Northfield and the county clerk's office in MA Landing um prior to the opening prayer I am going to ask for a moment of silence for um a past County Executive dick Squires dick served on the board from 1977 to 19 1983 he was chairman for six of those years and the county executive from 1984 to 1999 so full 16 years keep them all in our PRS while going to silence thank you very much um let us pray dear Lord I pray that you guide us always and satisfi the needs that need to be met during this meeting and strengthen us to make wise decisions for the betterment of our Atlantic County Community amen amen we'll stand for the flly AL to the of the United States of America and to the repu for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice roll call chairwoman commission days is unable to attend today commissioner Gad and commissioner Parker are attending virtually thank you Bas prestino here Burns here Cory G Parker Grizzly here here okay commission had an opportunity to review the minutes from March 26 2024 I'll entertain a motion to adopt the March 26 2024 minutes as presented okay move by commissioner B seconded by commissioner Cory we'll have aoll call Bas yes patino yes Burns yes horsey yes Grizzle yes K yes motion carries hey anyone attending in person who would like to speak regarding an agenda item or a public comment please come to the podium speak into the microphone state your name and the town where you reside you will be provided up to 3 minutes to speak if you're attending virtually and the right to speak please raise your hand during the agenda item or a public comment at the end I will call upon your name and a request to unmute will be sent then again please state your name and the town you reside you will also be provided up to 3 minutes to speak and this evening we have Dr Caba Dr Caba welcome thank you for having me and good afternoon Commissioners and thank you for having me here today as we Comm commemorate Community College month I've given you a folder of some of the updates that we have from the college I was last year in September and I have a couple of things to update you on but I really want to point out uh we have our first president's newsletter which I'll be sending to the Commissioners and also to the county exep on a quarterly basis to keep you up to date on what we're doing at the college also in addition to your in your packet you'll see a copy of our annual report of some of the things that we did last year and I believe that some of you are actually pictured in our accomplishments for last year so uh I'm very very pleased to update you on the work that we're doing at Atlantic C Community College both in MA both in MA landing and our Worthington Atlantic City Campus let me be begin with the university Partnerships we are very excited that we have entered into three University Partnerships this Academic Year Stockton University 3+1 program Thomas Jefferson University Health Sciences program and also the ruus Camden Premier partnership these Partnerships provide students with an opportunity to work toward an undergraduate degree and a more convenient and costeffective manner while experiencing seamless transfer opportunities to a four-year College in addition in a selected number of programs in the Ruckus cin premum Partnerships students have the option to complete their undergraduate degree right here on the Maz Landing campus and do their third year at Ruckers Camp these Partnerships provide students with increased opportunities to access excellent programs and further fields of study to accomplish their educational goals additionally students enrolling in these University Partnerships will all also benefit for a more convenient location reduced costs which is most important and a seamless transfer experience from Atlantic C to a 4-year College in addition in our academic area we've been greatly involved in our high school programs and through dual and concurrent opportunities high school students actively work towards earning a credential certificate or associates degree from Atlantic C this Academic Year 169 dual credit courses are being offered at 13 Atlantic County high schools 955 students enrolled in at least one course offered during the 23 24 academic year last year in June of 2023 48 students from Atlantic County earned an associates degree upon completion of high school at the same time they received their high school diploma other updates in terms of our academic area the licensed practical nursing certificate inor program all opened in Fall of 2023 with a total of 16 students in the program we also offered a new degree program in the fall our Associate in Science in physics in the Physics degree focusing on providing students with the resources to pursue a baloria degree in physics and establishing a strong foundation for physics careers in Academia and the industry in addition to these programs uh support a growing career path within Atlantic County providing residents with Pathways into well-paying careers to support themselves their family and the local community most recently the wind Training Center is now open on our Atlantic City Campus we are providing global wind organization onshore training which began just a few weeks ago and we will be offering sea survival training next year we're also very active in the community Atlantic cake continues its presence in our community through numerous Outreach programs and events probably the most important partnership right now is the neighborhood Inlet project the inet project is a part of our community outreach initiatives was located in Atlantic City was initially funded for $56,000 in 2023 through the Department of Community Affairs through their neighborhood revitalization tax credit planning rent we were very very fortunate that last week we received a notice that we received an additional $1 million to continue our work in the inlet neighborhood our gous sponsors were ocean casino with an investment of $950,000 and Tropicana with an investment of $50,000 our projects were submitted to DCA as part of a strategic plan prepared by the residents of the inlet to focus on the revitalization of the neighborhood as you can see we continue to grow develop and support the project of with members of the inlet board another important community outreach initiative that's now in its fourth year is Atlantic Cape hosted the Mexican consul at Philadelphia mobile consulate at our Worthington Atlantic City Campus and this is a two-day event in partnership with the Mexico's government of external relations and local Grassroots nonprofit organizations in Atlantic City over 250 appointments local residents were scheduled on those days which allowed Atlantic City um Atlantic County Mexican Nationals the ability to obtain vital documents such as passports birth certificates and cular IDs right in their own backyard all of these Outreach initiatives allow the community to become aware of Atlantic G and all that we have to offer for our residents another update that's happened since I last saw you in September and I saw many of you at the groundbreaking for the baseball field uh that occurred on February the 15th and we were very very happy to have that event and it will allow the at Atlantic C to attract more local athletes as they seek out the college that will offer equipped programs and Facilities as they as the athletic program provides a sense of belong for our students we are grateful for the support of all of you the Commissioners and county executive lenson and supporting our uh approving our County chapter 12 grant for over $700,000 in addition to the state of New Jersey the chapter 12 allocation and making the baseball fi a Reality Atlantic Cape like many institutions of higher education continues to face challenges with enrollment and funding following the pandemic high school students are still not sure of their future including higher education the high school population population in general is shrinking and now high schoolers can make $15 an hour right out of school the budget presented by the board of school estim recently will get us by with our continued Cuts in personnel and expenses but we still need to move forward with many Innovative projects at the college with respect to funding at the state level Governor Murphy's fy2 budget cut $20 million from the community college sector in the state budget that impact on Atlantic Cape is devastating it will be a $1.4 million shortfall from the state that we will not get it was in the budget last year but it was taken out for this year we attend as we advocate for the restoration of the $20 million we continue to attend public hearings including a few weeks ago my staff and several our students took a bus load up to the assembly public budget here in Inon to advocate for the restoration of these funds our students did an excellent job testifying about the college and what the Community College means to them through our challenges we continue with our career opportunities for example this year one of our strategies to to mitigate enrollment will be by focusing on retention and completion of students this year we will be providing additional student support for firsttime full-time students because we realize that this is the group that's a very captive group to get them in work with them throughout their experience and this cohort that we have identified consists of about 600 students that we will be working with very closely we need to continually Advocate with our legislators regarding the critical need for reinstating our funds but also let me add that through our foundation we are increasing support to students thanks to generous donors and supporters last year we awarded almost $600,000 to over 500 students uh for their scholarships to the foundation most recently our restaurant Galla raised $36,000 and we want to thank chairwoman kerna and commissioner rley for attending and the proceeds will help our students with their Scholarships in culinary program we continually see grant opportunities to support what we are doing in fact we were recently awarded $2 million in Grants so far we've been awarded $2 million in Grants this year we have many grants still pending and these grants have provided uh opportunities to upskill workers for Atlantic City providing business and industry with technical skills in closing let let me say we have much to celebrate in the coming year as we are approaching our 60th 60th Ann iversary at Atlantic C and we're going to have a series of events to celebrate that in addition this year we're going to be celebrating 40 years at our Worthington Atlantic City Campus furthermore we plan to continue continually update you uh through our portly newsletter and as I said to you are we've given you the first copy of that newsletter and we found that as we go out in the community and talk about what we're doing a lot of people say oh we didn't know that we didn't know about that we didn't know you were doing that so that's why we have started this newsletter we'll give it to you on a quarterly basis to keep you up to dat so in closing i' would like to thank you for all of your support for Atlantic C and the work that we are doing together to bring quality Educational Services to the Atlantic c community we're excited for the future of the community and our students and I want to wish you a very happy healthy spring and summer season keep the date in your head May 16th our commencement when our students graduate and we hope to see you there thank you very much thank you and thank you for the newslet we're going to few things sure so um yeah this really helps us to get we do we realize we need to do that yeah there's so many students and you are increasing the numbers are really really increasing that some students are taking you know um some of these credits that they get advantage of these programs thank you for allowing us to have this information uh any comments from our commissioners just want Dr good afternoon on that $20 million in state aid that was cut out of the budget this year um and you did your presentation before that have you had any other has anybody reached out to you from the state of New Jersey that they're reconsidering or here what we've done uh we are 18 Community College we're called the council County colleges we're members of that the president and trustees and what we're all doing is we are meeting with our legislators face to face I took students to Trenton I met with Senator uh Senator Palestina took students with me they told they told their story we're trying to meet with Senator Testa because they're the ones that I get our message to the government in addition to that the uh New Jersey Council County College has what's called a legislative action campaign where you click on the button and it sends message automatically and I can send that to you just click on that click on Atlantic Kate and it will go because we feel that this advocacy and people from the public saying that this is needed will help us so I can tell it's very very important because we got the 20 million after a fight last year and for some reason we don't know why that's what I was going to ask you like what would be the reason they see the direct impact that helps community colleges all across the state where money we always talk about money at the stated level where you're blowing money well this is for education purposes and workfor development puzzles me why they puzzles all of us the puzzles all of us and like I said we are meeting with our legislators face to face we will continue to do that I I think from what the conversations I had with personal leg I think it's going to move in a positive direction because the students when we went up to Trenton the presidents was supposed to go staff was supposed to go but the students made the most convincing case to those legislators they told the story all so and but as I said this $20 million for us Atlantic it it's it's going to be a short fold $17 million that's that's a lot yeah please send us that that link as well we send you the link Dr CA um were you able to find out where that $20 million was directed to no no I I you know they didn't cut it out as a budget it went somewhere the budget is huge a huge document you know I it didn't come to us okay cuz normally you can find out where that where that but it takes an analysis that I'm not too deep in and um yeah we're all dealing with that okay not only not only the not only the twoe colleges but some of the fouryear colleges have their own issues which are different from my issues sure thank you but anything that you can do when we send you the legislative action campaign just click that button and say please fund the community colle and we give you the whole story Comm through legislators I you trying to find what they do in that state budget yeah you know what I mean just like it won't be just maybe 20 million the block it'll be scattered all over the can't find it you can't find it it'll be difficult I'm surprised they took it out just and unfortunately we will not know until the end of June till the end of yeah they told end of June right it's hard to plan that way for the future it's it's in a very uh difficult situation for us right Mr rizle thank you I know that the New Jersey Association of counties and Jack is very much behind restoring these cuts and after talking with John denardio who heads that up uh he's very optimistic that it's going to be restored so I'm optimistic it should be a level situation from year to year at least it should be it should be but we're going to continue and there's going to be a senate hearing coming up in May and May 2nd and again we're going to take the college van with a voice load of students with us to speak have them tell the story I will not tell it I will let them tell it very nice we're optimis Dr thank you as a former student at ACCC when I was 18 and my father youngest of four here he was retired asked me what do you want to be when you grow up I said I have no idea he said guess what you're going to do so I went to ACC there was not there yet um and now here we are at a time where the cost of college education further education is through the roof and after Co we've encouraged our kids to take some time off find out where they are it's a perfect opportunity to go to a community college I'm preaching to the choir here but if there's anything else we can do as your Commissioners please let me know I have back on there for and we have many students like yourself who don't know exactly what they want to do at 18 and we have students in our ESL program we start in ESL non-credit don't speak any English and they go through get degrees do some fantastic things and you know we found out about the uh 1.7 million cut after we prepared our budget so we prepared our budget trying to be modest with only a $5 increase in tuition right and then after that we found out you might be cut well had we known we probably would have raised tuition right but it is what it is and you know we're going to deal with it right thank you we appreciate your support thank you uh commissioner hear people in the audience won't be able to hear you thank you and by the way I should also I should also mention that I didn't mention it in but we are very very visible and active on social media uh LinkedIn Facebook Twitter all those different platforms that young people look at to know about us in our programs we offer webinars information webinars for example our popular programs are nursing and culinary and we have people in the public who may not be able to come to C because we offer the webinar online to attract people the last one we did for nursing we had an overwhelming amount of people from the public that do that and by the way all that advertising going on social media cost money yeah and as you're doing them if you send them to us we can always get them out as well through our social media platforms oh okay I'll fig out definitely can just spread the word repost um any other Commissioners have any comments okay Parker oh M Parker commissioner Parker did you have something you wanted to say can you hear me can perfect I'm trying to play with the technology and make sure that I can mute and unmute over here U I just wanted to say that um Dr G that it's been a pleasure working with you through the education schools committee and the communication has um been steadily improving and um those for social media I wanted to just um highlight what she said about the social media platforms I try to follow as much as I can on LinkedIn or any other social media platforms that Atlantic uh C Community College puts out so keep doing a great job and I hope you can see all my likes and comments that uh that I leave on your social media Pages thank you we appreciate it thank you thank you thank you I don't know if the commissioner G was on yet she on there she problems uh Dr Gaba on behalf of the board it is good to have you with us today as we recognize April 2024 as Community College month here in Atlanta County as well as Across the Nation uh the theme this year I believe is cultivating skills for the future I'm particularly interested in hearing how the uh technology infrastructure Improvement resolution which a board recently passed uh will benefit the college's building to attract more students along with the resolutions on the agenda this meeting in support of uh establishing the dental hygiene uh training program so thank you so much and again thank you for being here for having me and I look forward to coming back to give an update a couple of months me for very nice uh we do have a resolution number 173 resolution recognized in April 2024 is Community College month sponsored morning current second Mo by commissioner bino and seconded by commissioner grizzley uh any commissioner comments okay uh little roll call alas yes fortino yes Burns fory yes Parker grizzley yes um sorry C yes mering carries we have a plaque here we you know give to you you know couldn't let me go without this to get here and I always have them upside down so you have to watch me T come way get that backgr get [Music] smiling like I'm in the picture conations a easier espe I also want to thank Jean for all you do always right there getting the job done as well just We Done Right y we are going to go about our meeting feel free to move you don't want to stay here to the entire meeting thanks again thank okay that brings us into our ordinances with ordinance number two ordinance establishing a mid black TR walk on Road County Route 561 alternate in the township of gallilee first reading by commission fory second by commissioner foro any comments from the commission see none first reading so have aoll bastino burs horsey Parker yes grizzley yes K yes carries ordinance three please mad Madam chair just noting I've joined the meeting thank you Mr G and I would vote Yes on that sorry no problem ordinance three or uh ordinance amending county code chapter 97 entitled Parks concerning alcohol use and special events involving alcohol within Atlanta County Parks first reading move by commissioner Tino and seconded by commissioner Ballas any commissioner comments Madam chair yes commissioner G yeah I just want to take a moment to highlight um this is one that commissioner Cory and I have been working on um and partners with not only County Administration but um city of Atlantic City um kind of following the same example we did with Lake Len and park when we allowed alcohol for certain special events there uh it's following kind of that same um process and procedure to enable uh some more events uh at that Park in attic city thank you commissioner any other commissioner comments mam chair inv consent of council at this point I'm going to obain on this resolution noted any other commissioner comments we have ordinance okay uh we'll have a roll call please Alice yes Maro yes Burns yes G yes Parker yes Grizzly yes turn yes motion carries to our resolution Grant resolution 152 for an application and acceptance from the New Jersey Division of highway traffic safety for the Atlantic Cape May County's Community traffic safety programs am now to exceed $275,000 move by commissioner Cory second by commissioner bertino any commissioner comments seeing hearing none anything from the public a roll call Alice yes Cino yes Burns yes Cory yes G yes Parker yes grizzley yes turn yes motion carries resolution 153 for an application and acceptance from the New Jersey Division of highway traffic safety for the Atlanta Kate May County's distracted driving programs m not exceed $15,000 second Mo by commissioner ball second by commissioner Burns any commissioner comments he public Bas Martino Burns horsey G yes Parker yes grizzley yes sh yes motion carries resolution 154 Grant application and acceptance from the New Jersey Division of highway traffic safety for the Atlanta Kate May County's impaired driving programs about not to exceed $229,000 second move by commissioner Cory second by commissioner Burns Edy commissioner comments see hearing none anything from the public call bastino Burns fory G yes Parker yes grizzley yes yes car Grant application and acceptance from the New Jersey Division of highway traffic safety for the Atlantic C Count's non-motorized bicycle pedestrian programs amount not to exceed $30,000 move by commissioner Cory seconded by commissioner B any commissioner comments hear none anything from yeso yes Burns Cory G yes Parker yes grizzley yes ker yes motion Carri resolution 156 for application and acceptance from the New Jersey Division of highway traffic safety for the Atlanta C County's occupant protection programs amount not to exceed $120,000 we like Commission course second by commissioner B any commissioner comments chair commissioner B yeah so um this last like I said this six resolutions that Grant resolutions included um these are grants that that come through um come to the county and go out to municipalities to put extra patrols on meeting in the Summer vs um the county basically oversees it and does all the big work for it and um the municipalities basically have to apply to get that money and um to put the extra uh police officers on overtime out trolls which in turn then makes our count safer we have greatly needed dur the tourism season thank you commission any other comments from the Commissioners see hearing none anything altino yes fory G yes Parker yes grizzley yes K yes motion carries resolution 157 amending resolution number 129 adopted on March 29 2022 a grant from the New Jersey state Council on the arts for the local Arts programs to extend the term date amount not to exceed 1,1 1,966 move by commissioner Cory second by commissioner bero uh any commissioner comments see hearing none anything from the public and we have a roll call bastino Burns Cory G yes Parker yes rizley yes yes motion carries now we're into our competitive contracts with resolution 158 renewal competitive contract with rehab Professional Services Incorporated for the provision of physical occupational and speech therapy services to the residents of medical Nursing and Rehabilitation Center Mount SE $245,000 move by commiss Cory seconded by commissioner Burns any commissioner comments see hearing none anything from public alaso yes Burns Cory G yes Parker yes Grizzly yes turn yes motion carries now we're into our big contracts with resolution 59 big contract with Cooper Freedman Electric Supply Company Incorporated for the provision of electrical supplies amount not to exceed $163,600 move by commissioner fory second by commissioner bertino any commissioner comments see hearing none anything from the public have a roll call bastino Burns corsey G yes Parker yes grizzley yes yes motion carried resolution 160 please B contract with various vendors to furnish and deliver non- perishable food requirements to the Department of Human Services amount not to exceed $ 36,6 15 moved move by commissioner bur second by commissioner Cory any commission comments 15 well what is If you bid one with one ended in 50 on the bids one ended in 50 cents one ended in 65 cents crazy it's a big deal when you're talking about 36 any other commission comments see for the public call bastino Burns Cory G yes Parker yes grizzley yes K yes motion carries we have two change uh first one resolution 161 change order number one and final a contract with arak B Company Incorporated for the resurfacing of Jimmy leads Road County Route 561 Section 1 in the township of Galloway net decrease $16,990 move by commissioner for second by commissioner bertino any commissioner comments went down usually go down uh any from the public okay we'll have a roll call alas yeso Burns fory yes G yes Parker yes grizzley yes F yes motion carries resolution 1 162 change order number one a contract with re Pearson Construction Company Incorporated for the lake lenie slide gate Rehabilitation project to extend the term date and that increase $2,766 like commissioner bertina second like commissioner Cory and commissioner com can we have an explanation on that there sure Doug Doug is on he gave the explanation to the Mr Deo is on our County engineer he explained it to the budget subcommittee Doug you there yes I am okay um so uh there was an issue with the dimensions uh that was per that were on the plans for the openings for the gates um it turns out the uh the record plans and what the divers were able to measure uh during the design phase were not accurate and so when the contractor went into uh install the dates that were you know fabricated before uh they went went out to do the work um did not quite fit right so we had to make some modifications to the gates and we also had to make some modifications to the uh the opening in the uh Powerhouse uh by adding a concrete Seal s that was approximately 16 in high uh to get it down to the correct size and make it work can ask a question yes um I guess through Jerry to dog um who designed this who's the compan design it wasn't County engineer right no it was a consultant of USP so aren't they insured for something like that why is this expense on the on the county if they designed it wrong they they do have uh they they do have liability insurance so we will be reimbursed for this expenditure then correct uh we will have to uh go after them for that yes misss and we will correct I well we will discuss that with Administration and make that determination okay all right thank you any other commissioner comments anything from the public bastino yes Burns fory G yes Parker okay go ahead I'm sorry Parker yes grizley yes current yes motion carries um commissioner G has uh stepped in and said can we please tell fory to speak hear you she should have got here ear that commissioner we could seen that yeah only yeah thank you thank you commissioner G it's important because that means everybody's not hearing us okay that uh brings us to our 159's entertain a motion to combine and adopt resolution number 163 to 164 chap 159 second mooved by commissioner Cory second by commissioner Bas any commissioner comments see hearing none anything from the public hey basino yes Burns yes Cory yes G yes Parker that's yes gley yes K yes motion carries okay brings us into our Miss L uh resolution starting with resolution 165 sorry memorandum of understanding between the Atlanta County Workforce Development board the One-Stop Career Center Partners and the Chief elected official for the operation of a local Workforce system move second move by commissioner Coursey seconded by commissioner bertino any commissioner comments see hearing not anything from the public okay whoever call B yes Latino yes Burns yes Cory yes G GTO yes Barker yes rley yes yes motion carries resolution 166 please please agreement with the state of New Jersey Department of the treasury for the New Jersey Department of Labor to coate with the atlany County Workforce Development board at 2 South Main Street in the city of Pleasantville amount not to exceed 3,311 1993 Bo thank Mo by commissioner Coury seconded by commissioner B any commissioner comments seeing hearing none anything have call Bas yes bertino yes Burns yes Cory yes G yes Parker yes rley yes K yes V carries resolution 167 pleas resolution authorizing a subrecipient agreement between the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs for the implementation of the boardwalk preservation fund grant program for the Brigantine promov refurbishment funded amount 1,185 83750 County cash mat $2,412 move by commissioner Cory seconded by commissioner Burns any comments from our commissioners seeing hearing none anything from the public aoll Palace rotino Burns yes fory yes G yes Parker yes Grizzly yes K yes motion carries resolution 168 please resolution in support of the submission of a project for grant funding from the United States Department of Agriculture Community facilities grant program for the development of a new K9 Training Academy facility move moov by commissioner Cory second by commissioner bertino any commissioner comments Madam chair yes commissioner G yeah I just want to highlight this as well as 169 and 170 are all requests from um Congressman um V Drew's office um in partnership with the county and our municipalities um trying to get into kind of a new rhythm of um as projects come uh come about for application at the federal level um getting the municipality and the county um engaged um further in front of the process and then uh getting these resolutions and support uh it will help um our case to actually obtain that money and in committee by having these resolutions already done at the time of application so great proactiveness on Congressman vre's front and um great partnership being established there um as we look at some of these strategic projects so I just want to highlight that yeah thank you very much commissioner because it's very important and I know moving forward he has said he's going to continue to do this say to help move these you know through a little foot so thank you uh any other commissioner comments roll call Dallas yes fortino yes Burns Cory yes G yes Barker yes grizley yes yes motion carries brings us to 169 resolution and support of requesting Federal funding to establish an Aviation Academy to provide comprehensive and diverse Aviation related training at the national Aerospace research and Technology Park move second move by commissioner Cory second by commissioner Burns any commissioner comments see hearing none anything from the public he well Alice yes fortino yes Burns yes corsey yes G yes Parker yes rley yes K yes motion carries uh commissioner G we just want to make sure sure that you are in fact hearing commissioner cor please acknowledge the fact that you do hear me I very much hear you sir thank you I wish my colleagues would speak into to the mic as well okay we're on resolution 170 resolution in support of the establishment of a dental hygienist training program at the Atlantic Cape Community College second move by commissioner Cory second by commissioner rley any commissioner see hearing none anything from the public okay roll call bastino yes burnsy yes G yes Parker yes grizzley yes K yes motion carries uh that brings us we have one roadway solicitation with uh resolution 171 authorizing consent for roadway solicitation event by the Brigantine PBA local 204 at the inter section of Atlantic Brigantine Boulevard County Route 638 and Harbor Beach Boulevard in the city of Brigantine on Saturday April 6 2024 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. move second move by commissioner B is Ex seconded by commissioner Cory and thas see hearing none anything from the public we have a roll call Alice fortino yes Burns Cory yes G yes Parker yes yes grizley yes turn yes motion carries uh we have a commissioner sponsored resolution 172 Madam chair commissioner Bera thank you on resolution 172 I'd like to adjourn um consideration of this resolution pending the completion of the public hearing period I did not know that they had extended and JDP had extended the public hearing period for this uh map that they're they've been talking about until like April the 8th so I'm going to ask that be voted on today actually bero can you speak in the mic too please let me talking that M all right now resolution 172 I asked that it be adjourned for consideration at this time hending the completion of the public hearing process that the njds have and I was not aware that they had extended it I guess my vacation I should have checked it that's I'm asking no the board to take no action on at this present time am I okay yeah Madam chair I think you could just make a motion uh to adjourn it pending the completion of the comment period and then we'll put it back up at the appropriate time if and when that happens do I make you you can entertain a motion to we'll put it up second move by commissioner Cory second by commissioner vertino any commissioner comments just one uh Madam chair I I've also provide to all the Commissioners a map of the uh proposed and what they were using uh as far as Warden track goes I think from um for those of us on the western end this isn't a new discussion we've had this discussion for quite a few years I remember initially when I was a councilman having a discussion on the use of allterrain vehicles through the wooden track um many people on the western end of the county consider um and so everyone not just the Western that uh Wharton tracks a fantastic and of course the think go the largest in the state and um obviously we don't want to have issues out there that are causing damage but I think until the hearing's done and I see the final map I don't believe the njd is going to maybe amend it maybe they will I don't know but I don't think they should take action on it obviously until the time is done that's what it's for map is for you guys to review if you have any questions of course um let us know any other three comments um to the public does it go to the public any um comments from public yes um you come to theic state your name and where you reside my name is Susan lazaric and I'm in the township of Hamilton um I appreciate you holding off on um making the decision with us until I after public comenting um but since you brought up and talked about a little bit I thought it was appropriate that I would so yes the public comment period ends on April 8th and I would think that it would make sense for this like you said to be a public process and not just a resolution supporting minority interest groups that want no restrictions and I was also thinking before you do approve this resolution I was wondering if it has been presented to your Atlanta County Parks and environmental board for their opinion um certainly populations have increased 20-fold in our area since the original map was created in 1966 and it's a visitor's map it's you know any other national park it has a visitors map um certainly personal interests are driving efforts to stop a sensible easy to use map so that people can safely drive through wart State Forest a map keeps people out of Harm's Way fire trucks won't get stuck people won't be frightened by illegal use and activity and it's only fair to visitors that they know where to go and how to enjoy the forest safely and peacefully and it's only fair to New Jersey residents that their tax money is used to inform our Parks rather than constantly trying to fix more than one million in Damages occurring every year from illegal activities and this information I took from Pinot's preservation Alliance that are supporting that so um I have more information but just know that you know I do support the map um it's clear information where they can drive I think that there's still going to be 200 miles um of you know roads available and basically um you know the D is committed to making nature more accessible to people with disabilities people with disabilities need reliable information to visit the warden state for us um and I have more but just you know people do have comments they it's the process and that they should follow that process if they have issues it all right thank you thank you very much appreciate your comments thank you anybody else would like to come forward jacn rhods I am the assistant executive director of P preservation Alliance so thank you for the opportunity to give comment and thank you commissioner for uh delaying the uh the approval or hopefully not approval of the resolution um until the comic period ends I think just my personal experience I've been working at P preservation allines for 20 years uh illegal offro vehicle use has been a problem for more than 20 years I've been working on this issue for 20 years um there are there are multiple Solutions uh a map isn't the only one the map is more than just dealing with that problem uh we get phone calls about people not knowing where to go we have heard from law enforcement saying well you know I can't really give them a ticket if they don't know that's not where they're supposed to be um so altogether I think everyone has come to the table and it says we agree a map should exist right that I don't think is the problem the the debate is where right and this 2-year process was meant to identify the where um so we put in comments we know there have been a number of comments some people you know may not be as familiar with all the ins and outs importance may not be able to provide as detailed comments as the EP was looking for even have the ability to weigh in because they just don't feel comfortable doing so so I I would hope that where people are still concerned about it that this presents an opportunity where I think the is welcoming additional options where there is a particular access point or Trail or you know maybe a general portion of the public always used it and legitimately it is a road not just an access point that takes it into a pond or a wetland um 200 miles is a lot of miles it's 200 plus um that's the equivalent of going from keep may all the way up to the northwest corner of New Jersey that's how many miles we're talking about so that is a lot of access for Wen and I would also say if let's say a version of this is adopted that DP is going to be open to things like where Hunters want to come come through and access points so I went to the last meeting that DP held at Wharton and it was loaded with people that drive similar Vehicles if you were just you know General member of the public not interested in off-roading you would feel intimidated in that meeting there's a lot of yelling going on uh assistant Commissioner of DP was standing there he stayed for the entire meeting from like 12 it was open house from 12: until 7:00 at night he did not leave he made sure he heard all the comments he was taking all that information in so there's opportunity here and by just opposing a math I think we're doing a disservice to the rest of the public that really has been asking for this for the law enforcement that has been asking for this for fire Personnel that have been asking for this so hopefully this presents extra time for taking those comments and coming to some resolution thank you thank you for being here yeah really appreciate your comments yeah we spoke earlier today U to um and and we had some discussion on some of the concerns I had I had raised I think of one of them was of course uh wasn't that there wasn't the map there was a baseline in 2017 U there's some mapping that was done at that time but as I stated with you I said look it's not appropriate for us to take action so I public por is done and actually see if any modifications are made to it and appreciate the dialogue we you have had conversations with res Alliance for 20 plus years so um look forward to that and as I say the people that are interested in it please go online cuz they you know if you look at that how long they had the the period out there there's not an awful lot of people uh I think 1800 or something maybe uh that gave comments to it when you're talking about it there's so many people that utilize the resources that go through there year in and year out they have to speak up if not don't complain later that's what I've told a few in townships on the western end M A har I've had them all out there hamton people I've had them all call so appreciate we work together see come up thank you just one question I don't know whether it's Jac or Jimmy but um the yeah so the ex existing trails that are being used now that may not go into the the new proposed map um are them Trails or roadways going to have obstructions in them or just signage just anybody know what the what the plan is to to keep people off of that yeah it I mean obviously until anything gets approved we don't know 100% but the idea is is that a number of those access points would be used by law enforcement and fire truck so they wouldn't be closed they wouldn't be like barricaded up um The Hoop is that for certain areas there will be signs saying you know this is kind of like the way to go the way not to go or do not access um but again that's all to be determined later on what would be placed there and where so it's a lot of money we we've worked with Wharton and other places where truly you don't want any Vehicles accessing including law enforcement for themselves um it's a lot of money there's no way to put up barricades in all these places and not that you want to because law enforcement fire trucks you know their own Personnel want to be able to have additional access routes right so there's going to be a subset that still exists for that purpose there will will be some though that basically take you to Nowhere right or will take you into the middle of uh a wetland right and you don't want people down there in that case either putting up a sign um or where there is support um for people to put up some kind of barricade but just like the community colleges parks and fars they're short money too they don't have the resources to fill in roads I mean we know many people that get stuck out there because of the constant you know tearing up intentionally so I mean there's not a lot of money this is just like the first step of probably another 20 years of work because we fall way far behind nationally on what we put into our state parks and bars and that's been a huge problem so hopefully that an or questions just from personal experience but I know it's not listed out in the plan like exactly what they will be doing because you know resources and time but some will definitely stay open okay yeah I just don't want to see you know chains or a physical bar or something cuz you know these Knuckleheads go out there on these ATVs they're tearing everything up you know it's a liability some get kill yes exactly and that's always been the issue signs are fine and enforcement is great but to put a physical barrier you know or you can put a burn there just drive over anyway the only thing ever been kind of bar or you know ballor or something that's that's going to you know harm somebody the only thing they've ever used was trees like and there was a big complaint a long time go and people remember like you're cutting down trees and because they figured that's the safest thing to do where there was a safety issue for people going down there and so that's been the only method they've utilized he'll just drive around it yeah commissioner B too there were there was a lot of stuff discussions in it early on and Jackie and I talk about a little bit earlier today where they were requiring State talk about allowing you a permit to allow you to drive through there and to me that of course was ridiculous if I'm going to tell you it's okay then I'm going to put a map out then tell you it's okay if you pay the permit to drive through there and then you it was stupid uh the only concerns I have with this and we have to be careful is as she stated the map is going to get approved and then the process on how to implement and manage it is going to come after and I think that's where um some dialogue and I will be reaching out to the DP and even our our people on the western end my legislators on uh trying to find out exactly what it is we're proposing so when we talk about this we actually know what we're voting for uh because when you say y to the map and it goes through but then you said y to the conditions that come after so that's why I want be careful everybody recognizes that so thank you thank you commissioner any other commissioner comments anything else M chair yes uh parks and environment was brought up um we meet tomorrow at 7:00 so we will discuss this tomorrow at 7:00 in the Parks environment meeting and moving forward uh if uh commissioner Batino if you would just keep the parks and environment Advisory Board um up to to date on whatever's going on and that way we can include whatever their expertise is or their opinion is on the matter they they may actually commissioner they may actually have some information when you get there because I know they follow the njd uh stuff pretty pretty close especially it impacts in Atlanta County so but absolutely I will make sure that I do that for you guys I'm I'm I'm I'm sure they I'm sure they will be ready for the discussion they're they're pretty prepared uh when they see the agenda I know the group for discussion oh yeah thank you commissioner Parker that's a very good point uh any anything from the public anybody else on okay we'll have aoll call Bas yes bertino yes Burns yes Cory absolutely G yes Parker yes Grizzly yes K yes motion carries so that concludes the written portion of our agenda if we have received copies of written Communications and petitions any commissioner have anything they would like to share see none uh any report to special Committees of the board I know it's been kind of quick since the last meeting to this meeting M chair I have one like to comment on the uh South Economic Development district for County District chair and had a meeting last night for counties as you know we've been struggling for many many months to find a new executive director pleas 7 fa we didk thank the Lord for that and uh ironically the person that we selected we interviewed two individuals last night and um very very accomplished people um we selected U Lady by name of Carri Italiano and ironically ironically Carrie has been on our board for six years and decided to finally to apply for this position um so after a long discussion we uh agreed to offer her a contract and'll be on a six Monon temporary basis uh blue Joyce the current executive director of the District of course you know he's been wanting to retire for about a year and a half or more so it's been a very frustrating uh time because a lot of people would apply go through a first interview a second interview and then withdraw their application because they felt they could not um do what we requesting them to do so uh this lady Carrie Italiano she's bright she's sharp she's enthusiastic and we're looking forward to uh her success in that position um like I say l Joyce will stay on for 90 days and even longer if necessary so we have a smooth transition so that's a good report thank you very nice thank you commissioner uh any other Commissioners okay uh see hearing none any unfinished business Jerry I guess through to we just get an update on two projects um the replacement of the bridge on somersport M Road and also the flashing beacons for the volunteer firehouses could you hear that Doug yes okay um so uh we just got an update on the flashing beacons today um turns out there was still some uh materials that are yet to be received although um it's just the poles uh for the beacons um they I think they have a partial delivery of them and the remainder according to the supplier supposed to be delivered next week uh the contractor has also stated that they plan on having their survey or lay out um the foundations either starting next week or the following week um as far as uh Lakes Creek Bridge uh uh that bridge eh29 is moving as scheduled um I'm not sure if what additional you wanted on that uh but they uh I believe they have one year from when they started which was about uh the January Ju Just so you know we went we went we we went out and met with um at least three or four homeowners we we walked the road they live on on beis M Road and you which which is uh getting a lot of heavy traffic people know how to get around that area obviously so it's it's it's used pretty heavily anyway we we met with them and Doug Doug went through what the long range plan is for example the gentleman that was here he made reference to the fact that you know guide guide rail was not there the Doug explained that the guide rail would go in you know once uh most of the work was done they had to come back we do were some issues of um Landscaping Doug went through that with them that the Landscaping will be done once most of that work is done so they asked this about um if you would go to the extreme extremes ends of of the road people are cutting through yards we put up some barrels to cut cut that off and we'll take care of the Landscaping once you know once the project is done so I mean they were happy I mean I we can't reduce the traffic we they discussed several things with us about trying to turn traffic back meaning that if he came down be Mill I guess going from west to east they wanted to turn the traffic around where where the uh there's a a play not playground a Fairground there for a campground and they wanted to Doug explain you you can't do that I'm just saying so we we met with them we answered most of their questions you have anything else Doug to answer or explain no I think so yeah I mean the big the the biggest concern of the residents of B Mill is the traffic and uh you know it is a public road so it's hard to keep traffic off of it ex without actually shutting it down but if you shut it down then it can't be used by emergency vehicles anymore so still has concern still has been been been an issue and we're going to put um variable message boards out there you know alerting people to the traffic and we we talked a little bit about those signs you know where your your your speed limit is 40 m an hour and you're going like 65 we talked about them as well so we're looking into that you it seems as though the county and the township are I guess gearing up for the the summer traffic that comes from out of state that to go to the shore um there are very real messing sports that are on steling bille road now um basically stating the you know speed limit and you know that's going to be enforced um Township has um a veryable message for with arrows when you come off of um Summers Landing Road they get you onto steeling bille road instead of going down Robert bestest and taking that shortcut um but it seems as though the the contractor is is you know working very diligently and making a lot of progress there um just as wondering whether you know the time frame is is going to be shortened I know it started out being what was told to the the public a two-year closure Al here in D say one year now so I'm hoping that um it's it's more closer to one year than than two years for that roadway to be shut down they seem like they're out there I mean a were out there working in the rain today right right Doug Doug do you have any like an update on I mean South state is a company that to get their projects done as quickly as possible and move on to the next one is there a potential that they can get it done sooner than we expect or sooner than our contract allowed yes there is that potential but if they do run into problems you know then you know it could you know run to that that full date that we talked about and we walked through just the gentleman that was here I don't know if if you remember he mentioned uh the you remember we did the W create the environmental area there he wanted us to do some work there you Doug said soon as as soon as the bridge is done then we'll be able to do that and they asked about Paving and Doug went through that they will be Paving and D gave them the limits of the of the paving that will be done so I mean they went through everything with us I mean that that that was on their mind so I mean hopefully you know they're happy with what the the results of what is going to take place the traffic th don't have much tra and uh just just on another note why we we have Doug on here um the corner of Ocean Heights and steelmanville um there was two motor vehicle crashes there one which damaged the guard rail and then the second one which um car ended up going over the guard rail because it was damaged and impacting the house I see that it's staked out now um for guardrail replacement um hopefully that's going to be done soon because I don't know there's there's very much protection of that house if uh another crash happens at that intersection um there'll may be some temporary barricades get can put out there but temporary barricade if gets hit just going to bounce out of the way anyway you know our law department has been re reviewing that so we we still have to be internally to go over the final process that we have to follow that guard rail is going to get replaced though correct well I mean there there's it looks like it's all it's been surveyed and and Survey spots well that was we'll leave it we'll leave it at that we'll leave it at that at the Lo Department we'll leave it at that thank you commission I'm sure we're going to have many updates on on that project as we along um I'm whyis out there in because there's a lot of projects that AR it seems as they they want to get that done and get that Ro back and open back up the last few days it's been out there there ni to uh any other un unfinished business Amy yeah while we're torturing Doug um Doug any updates on cologne and Route 30 when they're going to swing the new lights around and finish all of that work I fa I have not heard anything okay I'll torture the state again then thank you commissioner you've been very good at that we appreciate you staying on top of that though you know with the state uh any other unfinished business none any new business see none anyone attending in person that would like to speak now at public comment please come to the podium speak into the microphone state your name in the town you reside if you're attending virtually and would like to make a public comment please raise your hand you uh we will call upon your name and a request to unmute will be sent please state your name and the time you reside you also will invite up to 3 minutes to speak do we have anybody from the public Jason Jason Jason Hal Mr Hal hi yes can you hear me yes you can yes this Jason how I'm also from P preservation Alliance but I've lived in Atlant County my whole life my whole family's to the Atlanta County for you know in some cases a couple hundred years and W state park is extremely important to me and I'm probably one of the most knowledgeable people on the actual geography of of the place um a your map is very important of course who decides what goes on the map I think is an important process also as I was really happy to hear that commissioner bino you know decided to hold a vote pending the public process which has been ongoing now for some time um it's it's a really hard conversation to have with words it's a lot easier to show pictures in video and even better yet in person so I would like to personally invite um any commissioner to join us on a tour of won State Forest to actually see what it is we're we're talking about here because when you say Trail Path Road you know a USGS map from 70 years ago of the first visitor map from 1966 and what the draft is today which is actually very close to the first visitor map use which is from 1966 it's a very hard thing to to to discuss in word but once you see it in person it becomes quite obvious because especially if you're talking about people's personal vehicles we can't just say okay the general public go ahead and go into that three foot water hole or that that that Double L route that shows as an unimproved Road 70 years ago but now there's a giant beaver LOD on the road or there is a uh it's completely reforested in some cases or um you know there's been no maintenance for 7 years there's Bridges out there's you know there there's just some things that are no longer applicable to motor vehicle use in the modern day where 70 years ago that that may have been something with a private land own owner actually used as part of the cranberry Farm or blueberry farm today it's just a completely different story so I would just like to to you know send that invite to show uh the commissioner what it actually is where're we're discussing here and uh I think it becomes very clear once you see these these routes in person um that something that people that are opposing the the the Park Service opposing what they're doing as far as producing and easy to understand easy to navigate visitor map they're calling roads where you couldn't dream of taking your personal vehicle in these places they would be completely ruined your vehicle um and have to call part so uh I just want to extend that invitation and show the really the beauty of the play as well because like commissioner bertino said this is really an amazing resource we have in Atlanta County New Jersey um it's a special place so so extend that invite and appreciate uh your time to work thank you thank you very much and if you uh want to send an email over to it's the uh uh gny Clark what is the address for the commiss the email Commissioners aclink.org so Commissioners aclink.org let us know what time frames and if any commissioner would like to take advantage of that we greatly appreciate the invite apprciate I see commissioner Parker kind of perking up I have a feeling he's Tak a tour great tour for his Comm commit but thank you again sir for your comments uh is there any anybody else uh that how many a public no okay um any comments for the good of the order Cory first of all I know that ear in the meeting we we uh have been reminded to use Mic again ear the meeting we had a moment to our former County Executive but I'd be remissed if I didn't uh looking at the picture on the Press today your picture popped up with next to Rich Squad today but U what what a guy uh he served this community served this country um and put his heart and soul uh into Atlantic County and a lot of we talk about the Veteran Cemetery we talk about the veteran more out there Richard had a a lot to do with it uh when I was a young kid get involved in politics I used to always watch this tall guy uh working across the street and you go hands um but um what a l Community but um his legacy his life will live on um and I'm asking that at the next meeting we do some kind of resolution proclamations that present to his family uh from all of us I'm sure others will do what they have to do but um you know it's one thing to say something when we live 92 years and um you know it's amazing every now and then I I have the opportunity to work in funeral services and you'll live 50 or 60 years and then they says they want to have want to have remarks and nobody says nothing you live 60 and 70 and 80 years nobody has nothing to say uh but I'm sure it's a lot of folks has a lot to say but it's good better and different uh one thing by Richard you knew where you stood you greed with him or disagree with him uh he he was always up to the challenge uh but to say that it was you know I never forget it was um wory 10 CH wory 10 and then it was Richard and then Denny uh so I'm dating myself now I mean Atlantic County is probably one of the few that has a fulltime County Executive um a lot of counties have their Commissioners used to be free owners running in towns but um this gentleman served well and we want to certainly send our prayers and thoughts out to the family and said thatl county has certainly lost a true tra Blazer uh one who's put everything he had I believe in making sure that the residents of the pl County uh got what they deserved and more and so um we can just pay a small tribute uh to the life and the Legacy uh Richard Squad it means a lot um I often say this uh though you may not have written his name on every neon sign throughout Town throughout Atlantic County he wrote his name in the hearts of men and women and he'll live beyond the grave and so we again we stand in support in prayer family um but may a soul rest in peace yeah thank you very much commissioner he was truly a gentleman he was professional he was involved in things up now up until the end I was you see him at almost every veterans event he was very involved and you know our hearts go out to them all thank you that we'll definitely do you know something for the family is madam chair thank you on on the same topic my friend dick Squire's uh what a guy what a guy and he was uh involved in this County and a very crucial time for a lot of growth that was occurring in the county and I had a pleasure of working with him on the board and of course he became the county executive did just a a great job at the county I know his part was in it 110% um I can remember years ago when I proposed the off of a veteran service officer because I found out we didn't have one and we were one of the only County counties that didn't have one at the time and uh we had this room full with purple heart voms that came in here and it was approved and we got it through you know the the office and dick got it administered and uh we've always uh done a lot of things for veterans and of course with the Veteran Cemetery and and of course the Pavilion now is named after the dick Squires um he was just a local guy Northfield guy who made good he was a tax collector assessor and um I remember the first time he ran for office he lost and he came back the second year and won and I believe about 1975 or so and uh ever since then he was uh he won elections and U he was a good chairman and a good County Executive and you know our County when you look at other counties in comparison our county has been blessed with level management I'll call it level management from Worthington to uh Squires to levenson boards the different boards that have served over the years um the success of our County you know only using 50% of our Surplus into the next year's budget and the the way we consistently and evenly managed the county is why we're in the shape that we're in we're in excellent shape and that success uh it shows and uh you know I attend the South Jersey County Commissioner Association meetings uh whatever I can and U you hear from other counties what they're doing and their troubles and so on so forth and if Government Can just become consistent it works a whole lot better than these radical changes plus or minus from year to year Atlanta County's been the poster child I think of consistent uh government over the years and our leadership has given us that so um I know that dick after he uh uh retired from public service he uh spent a lot of time with our Atlanta County cultural and historical Association spent a lot lot of time with that was a big pass of his and um I see that we're going to have the flags lowered half staff for a week in his memory and uh he was uh he was certainly someone we should remember and yes we should do some kind of a resolution as well confimation thank you madam chair thank you commissioner commissioner thank you mam chair you know those of us that have a little longevity in political life uh we've all we've all had discussions with dick Squire I remember early on when I first got involved as a councilman on the western Ed in Hamilton and U first time I had the opportunity to get a call from dick the county executive um and we joke about it he explained to me how County government works now if any of you ever ever got one of those dick Squire's phone calls I had the phone all the way out here while he was explaining to me the process cuz he wanted to make sure I understood it and we've had quite a few laps Through The Years about that I won't say the language he was using while I was explaining it but uh he got his point across to me and uh he was a little French it was probably a little French but um the guy U the guy was always terrific to work with love this County love his family uh will be sorely missed I do miss my conversations with the afterwards I figured out how County government works I didn't have to have that kind of dialogue anymore but uh you know we've all had those little dick squir conversation great man amen we'll surely be this and Jerry I know you had quite a few years with him as well and uh I'm sure you'll Missle [Music] just he gave me a lot of other people opportunities as as Denny has I mean he he moved made probably 10 times or had 10 different jobs with with with dick mean he believed in that he believe moving you around he got experience know that's that's you know people don't realize you you when you go through this people think well yeah you've only have one position but when you go through I came again to tell you the experience that because he decided to give you that experience it it was worth it and I think you know he was a I had an opportunity to be with him we would go away to these conventions and you get a chance to sit down and really talk to him just about things in general you know government his view on government everything and he was he he wasn't yelling and screaming at me he wanted a little too much just a little was a little too passionate to be County Executive I was a little passionate that's all uh do we have any other comments from our County Commissioners good to the year hey I just want to make note that April is Autism awar Awareness Month and thanks to the many uh uh people that have been putting together several events across the county to uh raise awareness we've come a long ways in this but we have a long ways to go so there's quite a few things going on throughout County and and I'll entertain a motion to ajour Second all those in favor thank you thank you all for being here [Music] [Music] today [Music]