[Music] [Music] oh [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] run Disney she here yeah okay think I see that little head car we got 15 seconds okay well I'm waiting for okay coming hello what um they're probably yeah all right we're good you're good okay good evening and uh welcome to the uh public council meeting of January 8th 2024 can I have roll call please councilman misseri here councilwoman M here Council zali absent Deputy Mayor scavage here mayor Peterson here please rise for the flag salute to the flag the United States of America and to the repu for it stands one nation God indivisible with liberty and justice for all adequate notice of this meeting was duly provided to the Verona Cedar Grove times and the Star Ledger by email and published in an annual schedule of meetings on December 14th 2023 filed with the Township Clerk and posted on the public Bolton board in the municipal building Lobby in accordance with the open public public meetings act um item two is extraordinary business of the township Council and we have the ceremonial administration of oath to fire chief Chris donlin but first uh Mr zelli good evening would you like to a few words may thank you I'd like to introduce uh incoming Chief donlin longtime Sher Grove resident Christopher donlin graduated from Sher Grove High School in January of 1999 he joined the cedar girl volunteer fire department Center company number one at the age of 18 Chris earned a bachelor of science degree in physical education from mclair State University in 2004 and has served as a physical education teacher with the rawe public school district for 20 years Chris Rose through the ranks of the fire department becoming a lieutenant in 2001 captain in 2003 second deputy chief in 2020 first deputy chief in 2022 and now chief of the department Chris's leadership and dedication to service is given with such devotion that he earned the respect admiration and friendship of his colleagues and residents that he serves goes without saying that Chris would not be here as Chief without the support of his wife Nicole and his two sons Logan and Liam in addition to the thanks that we owe to Chief Donan we owe similar gratitude to his family who allow him to serve and dedicate countless hours of his time to this great Township similarly we owe thanks to the Chiefs that have come before Chris and who have led the department with steadfast resolve and commitment most recently Chief Michael grao who we have the great pleasure of working with every day Chris I know you will thrive in this role and lead the department well on behalf of the entire Township I congratulate you and I look forward to working with you without further Ado I'd like to introduce another former Chief who has dedicated countless years of his life to the township uh Chief Lee Peterson to administer the oath to Chief [Applause] donlin okay raise your right hand left down in the Bible I Christopher donin I Christopher donin do sincerely profess and swear do Prof sincerely profess and swear I I will do all and will bear that I will do and bear through faith and allegiance to the government established in the state true faith and allegiance to the government established in the state under the authority of the people under the authority of the people I do solemnly swear I do solemnly swear I will support the Constitution of the United States I will support the Constitution of the United States and the constitution of New Jersy state of New Jersey and the constitution of the state of New Jersey and I will faithfully and I will faithfully impartially impartially and justly and justly perform the duties of fire chief that will perform the duties of fire chief of the cedar grow volunteer fire department the CED grow Volunteer Fire fire department according to the best in abilities and understanding according to the best of my abilities and understanding so help me God so help me [Applause] God uh M mayor would it be right if I just say a few words please do thank you um I would like to start off by thanking uh mayor Peterson Township managers a Kelly and the rest of the council for your faith in me as chief of the fire department and for all your unwavering support of the fire uh Department throughout the years to my friends and family thank you for your support especially when I need to get my mind off things and need that distraction to the men of the cedaro fire department words cannot express how grateful I am to be able to call myself the chief of the finest fire department around your trust in me me to lead means everything and I hope I will not disappoint or let you down although we may not always agree at times I promise I will always hear your concerns and address them as needed many of you have served as role models in my life and I will continue to use the lessons that you have taught me as I enter this new chapter finally to my wife and boys let me apologize in advance for the missed meals family gatherings and sporting events in the coming years that I may miss but know that it was not without cause I understand how frustrating it can be at times but I hope to make you proud thank you for always being there for me and being my support when I need it the most I love you uh I would just like to introduce our line officers for the year 2024 uh first up I have my first deputy chief Alex bamp second deputy chief Anthony fedus captain of company number one Mike Tower Lieutenant from company number one sha Sweeney Captain for uh company number two rob Lynch Lieutenant for company number two Craig Forte Captain for company number three Shan ' Conor and Lieutenant for company number three Alex Zeller thank you guys and thank you for your support thank you Chief um I would like to uh thank outgoing Chief Gro for a great job over the past year your dedication is um unwavering to the town and we greatly appreciate it and to Chief donin I look forward to the next year to working with you and you're a big star on Hard Knocks now and to be able to give all your time to the township of seedar Grove is really is really something to be said for that but no I'm I'm uh I'm really excited and I know you're going to do a tremendous job and I'm very very proud of you and to all of the men in our fire department I cannot thank you enough for all you do for this Township it is it's unbelievable we have the best Fire Department in the state of New Jersey I say it all the time and I mean it with all my heart so thank you all so much and thank you for being here tonight um you don't have to stay for the whole meeting I'm sure you guys have other things to do but if we could just maybe do a couple pictures uh with Chris and maybe some of the officers and then you guys can take off okay does anyone else have any remarks or anything no I just very much sorry goe go ahead ladies first thank you very much for your service and and good luck to you and thank everybody here that's on the fire department I'm a lifetime Cedar Grove person you guys do a fantastic job and I appreciate it thank you I'll keep mind short too thank you thank you chief for serving congratulations and to our line officers and the entire department we constantly say it to our public we don't have to say it because the public knows we do have the finest uh Department uh in the state and uh we are very grateful for all the hard work and dedication that you you provide to our Township and to our residents so thank you be safe out there and congratulations and U I just wanted to add as um someone who's been involved with you guys on a different project the uh 911 memorial at the high school um both Mike Chief Gro and uh and Chris Chief donlin um you really took the rein there and and kept a very important tradition going so in addition to all the Fantastic work you guys all do uh for our Township just wanted to take a moment to recognize that and to thank you and and the entire company for your dedication to keeping that moving forward thank you guys thank you all right we could be real quick Oh's got it [Laughter] okay like all right you want us why don't you have them coming from the day s came in like a oh they're behind behind you it's not weird at [Laughter] all okay all right all right you yeah and then I tried to run in he no upright all right that's a WI okay I'll pull you have my phone number maybe I'm just under there as Michelle you know how I like it that that way like Batman one word Oh no I got it I all the important people bye guys okay okay um moving on item three is approval of minutes a to consider approval of minutes of regular public meeting December 4th 2023 do I have a motion may make a motion to approve thank you second thank you roll call please Council misseri yes Council woman Miga yes Deputy Mayor scavage yes mayor Peterson yes item four is a public hearing to consider adoption of the township seeking funding through the state of New Jersey Green Acres Program for improvements at the lower playground within Community Park located near little Walls Road and Slattery drive I will open the meeting to anyone wishing to be heard on this item and this item alone mayor can I can I just interject briefly yep oh we have uh okay mayor this portion of the meeting through you uh we're going to turn over to Township engineer Alexander handle Suburban Consulting Engineers who will discuss the proposed Jake law Green Acres Grant match uh for potentially renovating the playground at Community Park as the council's aware if the grant is obtained and we receive matching funds we can proceed otherwise we will have to alternate funding but Lexi did present to the rec board the other night and uh this is the second public hearing so without further Ado Lexi you please microphone mayor since we all have one of these do we want to turn that for the public so the public can see it okay so um I'm here just to present the concept plans for um the improvements to the lower playground at the community park this is um an application that we're going to be putting into okay um the green ACR um it's for the bigs law new funding program that they have which is a 75% match to 25% um municipality funded this is the first year that it's open to uh municipalities last year was the first year that it run it ran to the counties throughout the state um it was well received so this year they decided to open it up to municipalities throughout the state so we um in speaking with the town manager we decided that lower playground um which is located adjacent to the community pool and Community Park would be a good fit for this funding some of the requirements for the funding is that um you you keep the shade trees but a large piece of it is that you an inclusive playground so fencing is required the fencing can be either um an actual fence or Shrubbery like can I just interrupt you can use the mic on the podium for people thanks you know what I have this one you can use this one sorry you there you go okay I actually haven't used one of these how close you hold it um Okay so um one of the main requirements is that the park be completely inclusive so we will be proposing fencing um we did we did have a meeting with the rec board and posted a poll on the township Facebook page which recommended actually a big chunk of the recommendations were for fencing throughout the playground um so that's a requirement that we already met um I'm going to flip to page two which is our concept plan [Applause] so the concept plan is for a completely revitalized lower playground um we'll be removing all the equipment the play surface everything that's there the swing set um for improvements of the parking lot we will be proposing a handicap space closest to the entrance of the playground along with a concrete walkway um that goes directly to the existing Paving paer area that has the flag pole there were several questions about if the pavers that are currently engraved can remain we will Salvage those pavers to be reutilized and then new pavers um will be you know generated around it um so we will have an ADA walkway to the front the entire playground if you um recall from the existing playground there are two areas we'll be combining those two areas into one area and making an inclusive play Spa play Space um it will right now it features one continuous play equipment area that is for ages um I think there's equipment for two to five and then five to 12 so it's for the younger age range through 12 there will be a new swing set that's adjacent to the pekman river and there will be two ADA Compliant swings that are proposed um in that swing set we are including multiple benches seating areas for parents to sit and observe their children along with several four new shade trees in the beginning to kind of spruce it up we're not anticipating to remove any of the trees that are there today um if you flip to page three this is some of the playground equipment this is just the concept plan just to um just to make that clear none of the equipment has been finalized yet um so if there are any recommendations for play equipment that um the township is interested in seeing at the playground we can definitely incorporate that um but this is just generic uh or you know con conceptual playground equipment it is um Ada accessible and um an inclusive environment for all children um I wanted to go over the costs so so we are proposing a total all-in cost of 1.2 million roughly um where we're anticipating 75% match which would be about $96,000 with the township matching $332,000 roughly um so right now we're we're looking for feedback from the public any comments that you have on the con conceptual plan anything that you're interested in seeing and then um ultimately as part of the application process a resolution from the governing body great you open up the public does anyone uh wish to be heard on this subject no okay and I know we did get a lot of feedback from the public I think on the Facebook poll right was that it was it maxed out it maxed out yeah so we did receive a a good amount of feedback from the public so that's great so you have we have stuff to work with and um the plans look great so take next steps yeah thank you very much great presentation appreciate I will give you your mic back thank you mayor we did have a uh a lengthy conversation when Lexi came to the rec board as well and some of those members brought up good points some good points points too was a pretty great good discussion the area could definitely use updating and you know to be more inclusive and things like that so I think it's great this is as long as we get the grant the mat yes B mention um this will need the resolution to apply for the grant the application deadline is February 7th they're anticipating about a two to three month turnaround although you never know it could take longer for them to decide who is awarded the grants and then in their schedule that they they want you to start they start construction around July August of this year so that's the anticipated timeline okay perfect thank you so much I appreciate it okay um so seeing that no one wants to be heard on this I will close that portion and ask for a motion yes mayor I move for the adoption of green acr's application enabling resolution seeking funding for improvements at the lower playground within Community Park located near Little Falls Road uh in Cedar Grove in the amount of 1,292 12 in the form of 96,9 75% matching Grant thank you very much do I have a second second thank you roll call please Council maseri yes councilwoman M yes Deputy Mayor scavage yes mayor Peterson yes item five the meeting is now open to residents of the township wishing to be heard on any item on the agenda anyone none okay we'll move on item number six is reports of Township officials we will start with the township manager good evening Mr zelli good evening mayor Happy New yeary New Year just a few brief items uh budget hearing dates have been noticed uh to be Monday January 29th Tuesday January 30th and potentially January 31st I do not anticipate having to go the third day but it's noticed nonetheless at 5:00 p.m. currently I'm just waiting for the GIF assessment and the workers comp compens ation assessment to finalize the appropriation side Rebecca our CFO is working to do the revenue side which as you know we will pair together in March or April and then go from there this year unless the council objects I plan to distribute the budget electronically uh no more big binders unless you want them there will be some binders here for the public to look through but save a little bit of paper and a lot of space without them uh with regard to the storm that's question yes is that set up the same way though electronically yes they'll be tabbed out um you search the Excel sheet um you can go through this year's presentations are going to go in the order of the uh budget book so with the exception of the utilities we're not going to be jumping around uh too much great thank you any other questions on that uh for the storm prep obviously we had some snow this past weekend DPW did a great job uh clearing the roads they were out all day today and will continue to be out tomorrow uh cleaning catch basins I see Kate Harwick in attendance uh she was great help today I called her up to see if the county could help clear some of the county roads in town they did that thank you Miss Hartwick um we're preparing for some rain as the council's aware so we're going to keep the catch B clean Police Department's going to be aware of it they're out and be the first to call if something uh goes ay I will comment on a few other items throughout the remainder of the meeting in new business that's all I have for tonight okay thank you very much um good evening Miss Ford good evening and happy anniversary thank she's with us one year thank you I appreciate that thank you to the members we to have you I love you all no report okay thank she must really like us not okay thank you and good evening Miss naby good evening mayor members of council I have one item very briefly for exact it's contract negotiations should be about five minutes okay thank you um good evening councilman misseri good evening mayor um I only had one question it was about the legisl it was for Council if you had an opportunity to look at the new bill that's passed through the assembly and I think the Senate um I don't know if you had a chance to look at it if you could educate us and the public a little bit what we're looking at for this is the COA uh Bill thank you so I did glance at it I haven't done the Deep dive so if you'll permit me at the next council meeting I'll be prepared to report back to this body great that's perfect that's it that's all I have okay thank you Council Omega good evening everybody evening I just want to say thank you to the DPW and everybody that helped to keep these roads very nicely done this weekend I I as a resident do appreciate it very much and that's that's all I am okay thank you Deputy Mayor hi good evening mayor not not to be repetitive but um the state of our roads after that storm it was impeccably cleaned up almost immediately um and I I just I I I have to stress how important that was and how much work went into that and what a great job um our DPW did um I don't take that for granted we were on the roads it was still snowing and the roads were clear so I know there was a lot of um pre-storm work that went into that as well so really um job well done and that's that's my only yeah item for tonight thank you very much and I um Echo the sentiment I feel the same way DPW did a great job and I know Mr zelli you're already preparing for tomorrow I believe L has been declared a state of emergency tomorrow late afternoon till Wednesday okay so everybody stays safe um and I don't I don't have any other report um so we will move on to new business um a is to consider resolution concerning 2024 temporary budget mayor may I speak on this yes please the local budget law provides that where any contracts commitments or payments are to be made prior to the adoption of the annual budget temporary appropriation shall be made honor before the 30th of the budget year uh because 2024's Municipal budget has not been introduced nor adopted yet municipalities in the state at this particular point in time operate off of a temporary budget which is equal to 26.25 of the prior year Appropriations for the Public's edifications this amount totals 5,285 18196 in the current fund $685,500 14,747 84 of the P pool utility and $632,000 in the solid waste collection District uh this temporary budget does not include our debt service Capital Improvements and public assistance and this will roll into the final budget that's adopted by the council later in okay thank you for that that's good information um do I have a motion so thank you second thank you roll call please Council misseri yes councilwoman Amiga yes Deputy Mayor scabbit yes mayor Peterson yes Item B is to consider resolution concerning the 2024 temporary pool capital budget yes mayor this this is a an interesting item that the council's not uh considered previously uh this is for redoing the pool pumps at the Town pool and the reason we're doing it now is part of the temporary capital budget is because if we waited for traditional Capital budgets it wouldn't be till May and by the time the funding hits and we're able to put the pumps in the pool will be in operation so by doing this we'll be able to uh use a little bit of of current to pay for this pool project it's about $40,000 uh to replace the pumps one of which is original to the town pool so there will be new pumps at the pool this year well okay thank you do I have a motion so move mayor thank you second thank you roll call please Council misseri yes councilwoman Miga yes Deputy Mayor scavage yes mayor Peterson yes item C is to consider resolution concerning interest on delinquent taxes do I have a motion so move mayor second thank you roll call please Council maseri yes Council MGA yes Deputy Mayor scabbit yes mayor Peterson yes item D is to consider resolution concerning 2024 petty cash funds do I have a motion so Mo second thank you roll call please Council misseri yes councila yes Deputy Mayor scavage yes mayor Peterson yes item ease to consider resolution concerning 2024 cash ma management plan mayor can speak on yes please uh this is uh a cash management plan for the township where our goals are one preserve Capital two ensure adequate safekeeping of assets three maintain liquidity to meet operating needs and four diversify the Township's portfolio to minimize risks associated with individual Investments uh that are invested with state and federal laws and regulations uh basically this is a plan that the council's adopting where we can put our money different banks and depositories um the township is not married to any one depository where we get the best interest and we can make the most money we will go to um just like we refund a lot of our debt this is a prudent uh financial management uh piece of of of resolution for the the township to adopt perfect thank you uh do I have a motion so mov second mayor thank you roll call please councilman misseri yes councilwoman Miga yes Deputy Mayor scavage yes mayor Peterson yes item f is to consider introduction of in ordinance number 24- 924 ordinance to exceed the municipal budget appropriation limits and to establish a cap bank it's music to my ears mayor uh this if the council considers this municipalities and and councils I'm sorry and counties are prohibited from increasing their final budget Appropriations by more than 2 and a half% uh in subsequent fiscal years from what the prior year Appropriations were unless the governing body takes uh this action that they're considering tonight this ordinance would allow for an increase of 3 and a half% the cola adjustment or an extra 148,000 beyond the increase otherwise provided for by law most importantly this cap allows for the township to establish a cap bank that's good for two years unfortunately last year we only had a $176 cap Bank uh which did not really leave too much leverage for this year's Appropriations but nonetheless it's my hope this year to go through the budget and as I'll explained during our budget hearings with a nice healthy c bank that we can carry with us into the next two years perfect thank you um do I have a motion I move for introduction of pending ordinance sorry I have to take these off now 24- 924 to be published in full in The Rona C gr of times as a pending ordinance with a public hearing schedule for February 5th 2024 thank you uh do I have a second second mayor thank you roll call please Council masseri yes councilwoman Miga yes Deputy Mayor scavage yes mayor Peterson yes yes item G is to consider introduction of pending ordinance number 24- 925 an ordinance amending chapter 23 of the code of the township of Cedar Grove entitled fire department mayor this just expands membership uh company one Center company will now have 36 members North End and south then will each have 31 members total um by adding these spots to the ordinance allows the membership to uh continue soliciting and recruiting for new members yeah perfect thank you um do I have a motion please mayor I move for the introduction of pending ordinance number 24- 925 to be published in full in the Verona Cedar Ro times as a pending ordinance for the public hearing scheduled for February 5th 2024 thank you do I have a second second thank you roll call please Cals misseri yes councilwoman Miga yes Deputy Mayor scavage yes mayor Peterson yes item eight the meeting is now open to residents of the township wishing to be heard on any item on or off the agenda concerning Township business good evening Kate harway caison of Essex County I only have one announcement tonight we'll begin the deer management program in Hilltop reservation this Thursday evening um it'll continue for 6 weeks I believe notifications were mailed out to all residents um and information is available on the County website um we'll also be uh managing the deer in the South Mountain reservation that'll happen on Tuesday evenings that does not start this week it starts next week after the Martin Luther King holiday thank you very much thank you good night anyone else wishing to be heard sure come on up how should I stand it's we you know what you can move that if you want towards us it was just moved because of there you go all right cool um good evening if you could just state your name name please I will perfect you got it my name is Michael Ferrara and I live at 38 Fox Road you could also say I live at the 38th parallel but um I'd like to wish everybody a Merry Christmas we had a white Christmas it's Eastern Orthodox Christmas yesterday and I'm here tonight for a couple of reasons first mayor Peterson I wanted to apologize to you for my Facebook post in 2021 I didn't I wasn't thinking okay put it that way but um I apologize appreciate that truly no worries um next I'd like to congratulate s z Kelly on becoming the township manager I've lived in Cedar Grove since 1987 and this is the first time someone for my generation has been in charge and I have a lot of hope that you'll do an awesome job and Lead Cedar Grove into the future thank you I've watched all the township meetings for the last few years and I met what I said in my email in 2021 you're talented you have the ability and the character to be a great leader thank you the main reason we here tonight is I have a research project for the Town Council and Mr zelli and I'd like you to get back to me with an answer at at the next meeting if possible um across the street from my home at southen school there's a small garage when I was growing up it was painted burgundy red in black and at some point in the 2000s there was a mural of a panther jumping out from behind the bushes with the words Panther Pride written above the panther there are also 22 leaves 11 on each side surrounding the panther I'd like to know in what year and what month the mural was painted if possible um writing a book and the timing is important if um and make sure I say I don't want to get off topic cuz who knows what I'll say but if you could research this and get back to me I'd appreciate it also uh if you knew the name of the artist who painted it I'd love to know I'd like to interview the artist and view their other work truly it's a great work of art I went to seat Hall Prep so I'm a pirate not a panther but I'm also a disciple of Tupac Shakur and so the Black Panthers are near and dear to my heart God bless the dad thank you for the opportunity to speak toight tonight and to make my request known publicly okay no problem thank you anyone else wishing to be heard no okay um all right whereas Section 8 of the open public meetings act permits the exclusion of the public from a meeting of the mayor and counsel in certain circumstances and whereas the mayor and counsil of the township of Cedar Grove are of the opinion that such circumstances exist now therefore be it resolved by the mayor and Council of the township of Cedar Grove County of Essex state of New Jersey that one the public shall be excluded from discussion of any action of the executive session of the meeting of the mayor and Council of January 8th 2024 the general nature subject matter to be discussed is contract negotiations um it is anticipated at this time that the above stated subject matter will be made public as soon thereafter as it is deemed in the public interest to do so and this resolution shall take effect immediately so we are ajour turned into um executive session so thank you all for coming this evening pop great job did a good job