[Music] this meeting is called to order in accordance with the open public meeting act notice of this meeting was provided to the home News Tribune the star Leisure and the Highland Park planet on April 18th 2024 and was posted on ball website at www.hpborrow.com and on the bulletin board of borrow Hall 221 South 5th Avenue in Highland Park New Jersey and has remained continuously posted as required by law fire exits are to the right and left of the council chambers officer principal could you lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance the flag the United States of America to the rep for it stands one nation under God indivisible with mayor Foster here councilwoman Cana councilman George here councilman H here council president H here councilwoman Kim Johan here councilman ponic here bur attorney Shaw here B administrator here okay and now it's time for honors and presentation and we have the retirement of Highland Park longterm Highland Park School educator and principal Michael Lasser and I believe that Phil and I both had our kids that un went on your toage so I'm going to ask Phil to read the proclamation and then we'll present something a little bit after that and I notice that the H is sming because yes indeed our boys were under your tutelage um and you probably save for both many many a time and therefore whereas the burough of Highland Park is deeply indebted to and grateful for the leaders in our town who complete long terms of service and whose careers are characterized by dedication integrity and an inviting Spirit of Engagement with the public and where as the Burrow's gratitude is richer and deeper when a communal leader ending a long term of devoted service is retiring from a role in the Highland Park public schools in recognition of their unique influence on the lives Futures hopes and opportunities of thousands of students and whereas the burrow has greatly benefited from the extraordinary service of Michael Lasser in our Public Schools who first started as an eighth grade social studies teacher in 1994 and created a well-regarded global issues course that he taught for 12 years and whereas Mr Lasser also served as the coach of the wrestling and track teams as adviser of the middle school and high school student congresses started the model United Nations clubs wrote curricula participated in District committees and was the Highland Park Education association's vice president in charge of Grievances and whereas Michael Lasser was appointed assist assistant principal of the Highland Park High School in 2006 a role he held for four years assistant principal of the Highland Park High School and Middle Middle School a role he held for two years principal of the Highland Park Middle School a role he held for two years and principal of the Pilon Park High School a ro that he has held for 10 years and whereas Michael lasser's tenure as principal has resulted in a growth in stature of the high school reflected in many Statewide recognitions of the school and its faculty received from respected Statewide organizations and where as Michael Lasser announced his plans to retire at the end of the current school year in July 2024 now therefore the mayor and councel of the Burl Highland Park to hereby offer the Burl Collective appreciation and admiration of Michael Lasser for his exemplary Service as an educational leader and principal and our very best wishes for him to enjoy a long healthy happy and prosperous retirement pH we're going to go down for a minute little presentation and I'm going to present you with the keys of so you're always welcome to return you're not leaving us you just say a little short goodbye from the [Music] school congratulations right here right here so we get our Bor Highland Park right thanks thank you so much thank you and now we're gonna um move on to oh may I have a motion to approve may I have a motion to approve the following minutes as distributed May 21st 2024 regular and executive session second counc George yes councilman H yes council president H yes councilwoman Ken Johan yes councilmanic yes and now we're GNA move on to council report and then I'm going to start on with councilwoman Kim Chan thank you mayor my name is Stephanie Kim Chan and I chair the finance committee and uh real quick have two items tonight um regarding the rent control board so they held their meeting last month and they had their first uh hardship appeal and they kind of debriefed at the meeting that I attended and they working on um maybe some potential ordinance amendments um as you all recall this is a still a fairly new board um that we kind of uh really got up and running last about last year this time and um they at the meetings as well there has been more public participation and and the members are having um healthy discussions and getting work done and as a reminder the meetings are held every fourth Thursday of the month 5:30 here in House of Chambers um just be sure to check the bur website for details and as you may recall from the budget presentation with Burl administrator H um we needed to do a 10% water sewer rate increase to cover the increased cost of purchase water and middle County Utility Authority charg um tonight we will be introducing the the ordinance followed by um I believe there'll be two additional or one additional here after that and happy J Team come out and celebrate with us tomorrow and that's very important thank you council member Hill thank you mayor my name is Matt hail and I chair the economic development uh committee uh so I first wanted to say thank you everybody who came out to our open house um about downtown Redevelopment a couple weeks ago um it was a packed cafeteria um at the high school and we had a lot of really really great feedbacks uh feedback conversations and questions um uh overwhelmingly positive from folks about um our plans on track C and opening up a pedestrian Plaza on South Third um I I really enjoyed talking to people who brought lots of really interesting good ideas and thoughts about the next project we're still collecting and and and collating all the feedback that we got um and have continued to get so I wanted to to say thank you to all my Council colleagues for attending um and helping to have those conversations with residents to thank all the residents who who came by um as well we still have a long way to go um there'll be lots of of hearings and meetings um coming up this was a great uh kickoff um to uh the plan for revitalizing um projects downtown so thank you to everybody for that um uh next up is a uh there will be a local business mixer networking event on Thursday June 27 from 5: to 7:30 p.m. at Som valou Garden at 73 Woodbridge Avenue um your hosts are local business owners Sue Winkler and Bahari Carlo from the SoMo value garden and Christina Sharpie from Calico CPA um the mayor and I and other council members will be there um uh and also representatives of middle sex County's office of business engagement um a lot of great opportunities to network with other businesses um light Refreshments Wellness demonstrations um and even a prize um this is part of our MPP program uh and and supported with that but also put together by volunteers um from the Woodbridge Avenue District um if you are interested um uh there's our flyers on the website um uh you can also uh RSVP to Harry Blazer who's keeping track of that um Harry you're keeping track of that thank you H Glazer hpb.com um so uh be great event uh about the the neighborhood uh Woodbridge out the neighborhood so um just a a quick report we've got a lot of good progress on on Super Fresh with their permits and um and their their process um we are again looking at a Labor Day opening for Superfresh um they've been making some some really good progress on on um um getting all approvals that they needed and so um again we're looking at a Labor Day opening for super FES which would be fantastic for for Highland Park uh tonight um you will see that we are introducing a sign ordinance um this has been a long time coming um the goal of this ordinance really is a a resist revisiting um um our existing ordinance um primarily to make it easier for businesses to understand um and also to comply with um and along with some specific Des design changes uh I wanted to thank uh Main Street hland park the design committee um for their input into this um this would be a great way to sort of make sure that we're kind of all on the same page um and some common sense rules about um the look and feel of downtown H Park which is is great um we said goodbye to Mr Lasser um uh earlier I I just wanted to quickly note that um that Sergeant Ted hos is uh retiring um on Thursday uh 26 um and I just wanted to wish him a great luck in his retirement and future endeavors um my memories with Sergeant hosco back over 20 years um when I was a brand new member to Highland Park um and he instructed me on when it is possible to make a left-and turn off of rared Avenue and he did it with a very nice piece of written material so I just wanted thank quite some time ago butk with and then um lastly I just wanted to give a a a quick but extremely heartfelt thank you to mayor uh Elsie Foster a few weeks ago four Israeli hostages who were rescued in Gaza and they've been held in captivity for over 200 days word of the rescue came to America and she spot when many in our community do not watch TV or use electronics and mayor Foster took it upon herself to write a note informing people of the rescue and made sure that it was delivered to all the synagogues um there really are no words to describe how much that simple act void of judgment or anger or politics meant to the people in our community um I was at two different schools on Shas and absolutely gated with people who wanted me to make sure to express my thanks and their thanks and their appreciation um for letting us know that one of our sisters and three of our brothers made it home safe it's a simple act of kindness and unfortunately there's a lot lack of those today um so thank you mayor fer for being kind in an often um what feels like an unkind world we really really appreciate that simple gesture so thank you very much it was the least I could do that's my report council member George thank you mayor I'm Phil George and I chair the uh Public Safety Committee uh just a reminder care would was juneth flag raising I apologize mayor I have to uh sit at a special meeting of the planning board I represent he was hearing a cannabis application U but juneth although we think of it it sometimes scratch our head and say what is it um and it's only been enacted for a few years it's been celebrated in africanamerican Community for over a 100 years as one of the most important recognitions and celebrations of the end of slavery uh despite the 100 Years of History um and particularly challenging times for rights for everyone uh of all gender preferences and races um but with regard to the police department um our very heartfelt congratulations to Sergeant h on his appending retirement as councilman Hal noted retiring after 34 years in park um I apologize I didn't first get to meet him by getting a ticket I first got to him by Prosecuting tickets um and I didn't prosecute yours man as a resident prosecutor and council member I've seen the care and concern for residents which marked his career and in my last 25 years or more as well as his dedication to seeing just administered lightly and mercifully I can't sadden his retirement by saying we'll miss it but we'll remember him with a smile and that's the best gift and blessing we can give him the Public Safety Committee interviewed officers last week uh I know that my fellow council members will join me and say it was a great interview section some of the best candidates we have seen in many a year was a very difficult choice for recommendations I hope by the next meeting Matt and Tara and I with the mayor will be able to announce a candidate they're going through the vetting process so it is private at this time um but I think that we can look forward to some great new candidates uh with young attitudes some verbs some fire for community policing and some great with regard to the fire department calls have been treatment especially last weekend when the microverse wind events came in with the sudden rain SS I visited fire Crews removing Fallen trees at Harper South Second and toward at the North 10th tree fall which blocked the road waiting for the crws to come in fortunately the inconvenience did not last long and they were able to ensure that there were no public safety issues while this going on we also had the PSD andg crws to make sure that they were there were what no wire safety issues uh with regard to swack last said of join council members cik along with BR administrator jier and the consultants for sidewalk of plans they presented the side walk and Crossing upgrades which are funded by federal grants from 2016 and 2018 now you may think why did we take so long to do it uh the grants are federally administered through the state and there is a process involved I don't think we even got the grant of 2016 until after we had applied for 2018 um but the they the state has allowed us to combine the grants uh for the sidewalk project they Consultants it was a little technical uh but they had all the sheets marked for uh the striping the marking the uh Ada access at the corners which is the primary the lead of the project uh primarily targeting the uh sites and triangles and near the schools with regard to the library most of the Interior work is done if you've had a chance to take a look inside the new light light layouts sorry is immensely more open and user friendly there's a slight loss of shell space but the access lighter feeling an easier browsing space um and accessibility of the shelves make it much easier to use the library there are more computer cams and they will have significantly better computer equipment and usability the library has also just finished a conversion to the Polaris system which is an upgraded um software program for management of inter Library uh online online lending uh online ordering of hard copies and reserving uh it's been implemented everybody's been trained this is a system being used across the county and in other counties Library systems so it's um well established the staff has been trained in addition you may notice when you go on to uh to the library website that they'll be talking about uh the the the the Stella uh Consortium that's a new name for the former lnx library system which is sponsored through the state and has M County access for inter internet uh and online lending it's now called Stella um I don't know what the acur S were we were trying to figure it out at the board meeting last night but um so if you see the name Stella on some of the lending sites it is the same site that we have it's being powered by the polar system and it's up and running and finally the library roof what would my report be without the library roof the the new newest contractors in place a pre-installation meeting I believe is this week moved from last week and the executive director anticipates good luck and good scheduling because the summer hot months are also the most active months for roofers uh that but with good scheduling we'll be attending a grand reopening we'll have a competition between I hope this competition happen between the library and Super Fresh uh all opening at the same time and moving the town forward so um I think that that although we're still waiting uh for both to open I think some great things and that's my report thank you council member po thank you mayor my name is Jason bck I chair the recreation and arts committee uh within that committee's perview is the wonderful Department of Community Services cerate the community center and any the programs running out of there including the one program that I just left which uh was pack and filled with people having a great time was uh this year senior prom um it was yeah people were having a blast so really you know hats off to wonderful team at the community center for putting that event together um and on the work of the community center uh just a brief reminder that uh while we're counting down the days to Super Fresh opening up in town if anyone is in need of transation assistance to access other grocery stores that is available to the community centers to stop on by or give them a call let to know if you need any uh help um also at the community center on June 25th we'll have the New Jersey Blood Services blood drive it'll be from 12: to 6:m again at the community center free Mets t-shirts will be given away to people who donate while suppli class um then we'll also be uh really all the T be looking forward to the fireworks in the park which will be happening on Wednesday July 3rd at Donaldson Park it'll be from 6:00 to 10 p.m. um you start off with kids activities food vendors and music the fireworks beginning at 9:15 I don't even wanted to talk about it but just in case there is a rain date of Sunday July 7 just putting that out there hopefully we don't need to worry about that uh it'll be the same St time and same place uh and then lastly uh for tonight's report is I just wanted to start talking about P stock that is coming back that is our annual summer Outdoor Concert Series that will be kicking off next month uh they will be from 6:00 p.m to 8:00 P.M on Thursdays located at Ro one in dson park uh the very first concert will be Thursday July 18th be featuring the Mike contree band which is the arc band again just saying it there's a rain date of Thursday August 8th just in case um the second par concert will be July 25th which will be feature FY which is a rock Punk bluegrass band um and rain dat will either be that August 8th or August 22nd but fingers cross will be that um after that will will be the last two parot concerts of Thursday August 15th and Thursday August 29th that last one which will also be our uh new end of summer celebration which'll have a number of other activities and features so stay tuned for more details on that and very important to me and many other like many folks out there there will be select food vendors on site for all of the park stock uh concerts and that my report for tonight thank you council president thank you mayor um uh good evening everybody ni see people here uh just a few things my name is Matthew h i chair the Public Works committee uh so um you may have noticed that burough offices will be closed this Friday uh June 21st and reserv of juneth uh so that that's going to affect your garbage P um tomorrow June 19 uh there but however there still is uh U uh there's a pick up tomorrow June 19th in business district and Southside garbage collection Thursdays June 20th Southside recycling collection and then Friday June 21st the bur is closed the B offices are closed there will be no recycling or Garbage Collection so um my Southside neighbors uh please bring out your garbage tonight um because it's really hot and that's actually another thing there it's not just you might have overflow but there there are San there are sanitation issues uh and other concerns because especially with this heat uh speaking of heat a heat advisory remains in effect through Wednesday night for heating disase at 95 to 100 degrees during the afternoon and evening hours it's really hot outside and there's an excessive heat watch that remains in effect for Thursday through Sunday uh residents in need of shelter can uh uh from the heat may take advantage of air conditioning at Community Center and ml Hall during business hours and we're also grateful to the community to our community partner the Reformed Church at Highland Park for making their quilt room available to Residents during the evenings and weekends uh the hours are as follows Community Center in Burl Hall Monday Wednesday Thursday 8: a.m. to 400 p.m. Tuesdays 8: a.m. to 6:00 p.m. this Friday close however um the Reformed Church of Highland Park quilt room is open daily 7:00 am. to 900 p.m. U please the prong nature of excessive heat can cause heat related stress particularly among atrisk populations those vulnerable include El elderly children those with pre-existing conditions especially if they near live near Urban centers without air conditioning and there will also be less relief at night going through the uh week as nighttime low temperatures will also be increasing uh especially for urban centers and we were just talking about have heat island effect you know particularly more built environments where temperatures may be may may be higher which is why it's so important we plant a lot of trees um if you have questions you can always call the clerk's office during business hours at 732 572 3400 or the not emergency line at the Highland Park Police Department at 7 32572 3800 only call 911 in the event of an emergency but please check on your neighbors and friends and make sure that they're okay um counil George mentioned safe roots to school just wanted to thank all the residents who came out last night uh for the to the information center at to see modifications plans for over 50 intersections in town uh you can find out more you can find the Project's design and construction um uh parameters on the burough website at hpb.com if you go to the government tab at the top there's a drop down that says safs to school click on that and you can learn all about the history of the grant the 2016 2018 grants that are funding this project why it takes so long and the extent of the the extent of the project thank you to everyone who participated in sustainable Highland Parks native plant giveaway this past weekend approximately 100 people signed up and several tours of The Meadows Trail uh were given uh these these are the native PL the native plants that were giv away include blue lelia sweet chill pie purple cor cone flour and little blue cin stay tuned for Highland Parks uh sustainable Highland parks next native plant giveaway and related programming with help from the park Partners Grant uh sustainable Highland Park also collaborates with the Highland Park ecology and Environmental Group for regular garbage cleanups um uh the next garbage clean up is trash trash pickup uh is Saturday July 6th uh and the it's along the woods and the side the sidewalk along Road this isn't a specific location but it's the woods and the sidewalk along River Road 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. meet at the parking lot on River Road at the bottom of Harrison Avenue um uh which is which is in the Environmental Education Center come to the next Park meeting Wednesday June 26 7:30 learn more about all they do at sustainable Highland park.org and I did just want to Echo um uh gratitude and appreciation for sergeant hos and Mr Lasser and my son is a freshman and in in high school so we got you know we got a taste of Mr L's leadership and he will be missed so that's my report thank you you um BL administrative report thank you mayor uh Terry administrator and economic development director uh for those of you listening at home I wanted to take a moment to also express my thanks for everybody who came out on June 5th to our meeting regarding the downtown Redevelopment effort and track c um I was able to update our website with the materials that were presented at the meeting so if you weren't able to attend you can find them there you can also find printouts in the clerk's office if that's your preference um and also a link to the video of the meeting presentation for there you can also continue to send in your thoughts questions ideas uh to me at TJ e r hpb.com my information is on the website as well um we're in the process we got more than 70 comment cards at the meeting and so we really appreciate the time people spent to fill those out and and talk with us all evening and so we're soring through the the the comments and finding the themes and that's going to influence our next phase of planning for the for the project um I also wanted to related note mention which regard to South Third AV um we have as as was mentioned at the meeting we got our NJ doot permit on the bill list from tonight is pay in for that permit so as soon as I have that check I'll be signing things and sending it to Trenton but I did want to explain one thing that I uh i' got a number of questions I think members of the governing body have gotten questions the permit is for the permanent uh creation of a plaza at South thir and there are lots of conditions in that permit that will allow us to do so so not the least of which is reconstruction of some of the traffic signals there um that will have to be fully engineered and bit out um as well as how we're going to close the road and update the signage uh to it so I know we're all excited about getting going I know there have been some thoughts we put some temporary closures up kind of similar to what we did during the pandemic but our current approval doesn't allow for that uh so I just wanted to put that out there because I I understand the enthusiasm uh but unfortunately uh that's not what we have approval for at this time and what we're going to do is put our energy right now into uh Hiring Our design professional to help us do the landscape architecture and think through some of the logistics with meain stre about how this space needs to function in alignment with the spaces we have available on track c um and so uh that's kind of the major Next Step will be identifying that that contractor and getting going on on the meetings with regard to that so um so it's all good but there's a lot of work yet to come on that front um and I also just wanted to mention uh thank you both uh councilman George and hsh uh the meeting last night regarding safe roots to school the website will have the current plans uploaded tomorrow I I took a note that I that last night as I intended to uh and I would also mention we have the printout plans uh at the clerk's office as well because they are kind of technical drawings and if you're interested in a specific intersection you're more than welcome to come in and look at a paper copy they're on large uh sheets uh so that's my report mayor thank you thank you B attorney's report um thank you I have two items um the first is I want's going to go into some basic rules about how the meeting runs um we do see we do see some new faces here and there may be some new faces that are joining us online um the meeting as you can see is by the mayor and everything has to go through her she also decides if someone else will be speaking so once the minute start we have two portions where members of the public can speak the first part is about the resolutions the ordinances and the second part is called oral remarks where individuals can comment on anything now in both of those formats we we allow everybody to ask their questions or you know um basically State whatever commentaries they have we Clos the public portion at that point and then the mayor decides to answer them if she believes that someone else can also answer them she will defer to them but at no time is there any public participation once the public portion is closed and I want everyone to understand that because if I unfortunately if you hear from me that means then we're going we're going sideways and the minute we start going sideways it's not fair for the individuals that are speaking for them to feel like they're getting cut off because as you know it's disrespectful so that's the first thing and I hope that once we get into the public portion there will be times you have a time limit and we will let you know and then once your time is up got to start speaking thank you the second item I want to just mention is resolution number 62471 um I would really really be appreciative we can pass this resolution today um as you know uh for the last couple months since I during my tenure and this has been going on um with a previous attorney too there was a an issue with special assessment from the middle County Jeff and the amount of money that was pending and I could publicly uh tell tell you guys it's about 165,000 but we''ve negotiated down to the original amount of 133,000 and I think that it is um it's in the best interest of the residents best interest of the governing body and I know there has been a lot of protest over this um but we're we've we've taken as as far as we could be with without getting into litigation I just feel that litigation would be a waste of everyone's time and resources so um I'm hoping to have this passed and thank you for all of your time council members and the mayor thank you um now I have a a very brief report well I want to start off with first that tomorrow we are celebrating juneth here at the burrow and the first thing that's going to happen at 5:00 p.m. it's going to be a kids program which is led by the hav Park Police Department and followed up by ice cream and then after that will be the flag raising ceremony um just behind here at over by the community center so anyone who's interested please come out and I just want to explain why is it that we're celebrating juneth on June 19th and then uh we're off on the 21st which is Friday uh originally juneth is celebrated on the 19 however we did not we were the first state to acknowledge and to put a date for the celebration of jun later on when President Biden came into office he made it a Federal holiday and so we need to catch up or the feds have one theyig the state has another day to celebrate so at some point it should come together and we're off at the same time so if people are a little confused that's why the confusion is there but tomorrow promises to be a lovely afternoon we'll have kids activities and we will have activities for our flag raising and a little bit more information on what is juneth and why it's held so near and dear to the hearts of African-Americans so come out learn a little bit about this very important h that affects each and every one of us um I was with Dr op Le two weeks ago and I Prov I presented her with a proclamation from Highland Park and she explained that juneth is not just a holiday for black folks or people of color it's a holiday for us all to appreciate and respect each other so tomorrow we'll share a little bit about that so do come on out for juneth tomorrow I starting at 5:00 pm for kids and 6:00 pm for adults at the community center AR lot um the quarterly the Highland Park quarterly is out so it should be H the mailboxes and different places around town so please take a minute and review what's in the quarterly and I think you'll find it packed with useful information and then I am very proud that at League of municipality they this cover this month is called celebrate and Highland Park is prominently featured in here and we are featured as a laboratory for leadership 20 plus years Highland Park has successfully cultivated women in leadership so please you get a moment take a look and read about why we are this incubator or laboratory for leadership um also we all heard about Sergeant H retiring and um after 34 years he's saying goodbye to Highland Park and I personally would like to say thank you he is one of those person that is very much an unsung hero and he prefers it that way I remember a number of years ago there was someone walking in the snow to stop and shop and he pulled over NS and whatever they and they said they had no food and they needed food and he said he did not want the story to be told but he personally put $200 in this person pocket and then went back to stop and shop after they had finished shopping and gave them a ride home because there was food insecurity at that time and he wanted to make sure that everyone was safe so Highland Park is saying goodbye to one of its unsung heroes and someone who goes above and beyond not just keeping us safe but keeping us secure when we Face food insecurities last last we also last month no this month went to a meeting with the do to address the ongoing problem with the road Improvement and upper Rarity number of um Josh pansi as a community leader also was attending in that meeting the commissioner for do and and huge swap of his staff was there and there are some pieces that they're going to be working on right away but the larger the completion of the larger project is going to take a few years to all put come together and for us to have a safer inter session but they are pieces that they are going to be working on and doing some improvements over the summer so we can have a safer pedestrian hopefully safety area where we all can feel secure when we're passing crossing the street and what have you um that is my report for tonight and I hope to see you all tomorrow and with that said now it's time for public discussion 21 minutes total three minutes per speaker on items on the on this agenda comments from members of the public attended in person will be heard first followed by members of the public attended via Zoom so anyone wish dis believe please go to the [Music] microphone and announce yourself 141 I just want to ask before I make any comments right public session anything mention during the reports we speak about that now but that has the second public session I'm sorry it's not on the agenda but was mentioned in the reports good thank you first I want to thank the mayor for uh uh sending out those letters to the sches uh a week ago to rescue of the hostages just shows that now she sent out things when bad things happen which October 7 she alerted so about that incident that that that tragedy and Calamity but she also sent this when people were rescued and saved as well for happy situation as well and it went viral all over the world people have seen what we posted on Facebook it made for ads around the world so I want to thank you publicly for U keeping us in mind when things happen and we don't have access to any newspapers radio on the holiday on the satday I also want to thank you for inviting me to that meeting you just mentioned at the do a few weeks ago and U there was another accident obviously 27 just last week and that same stretch of roadway uh I don't know if I just want to bring it to your attention to Terry's attention that there was one sign we were discussing on South 11th at the corner of 27 the insection that says do not turn question children pres not children presence so I went back while this situation was happening last week the accident notic there's no sign there so there must there might have been a sign there was because it showed us the picture of the sign so that sign doesn't exist anymore so just let them know at the sign doesn't exist I appreciate also just echoing what everyone said about Sergeant has I remember a situation where he came to my house by 23 years ago when my then 5-year-old son bit his thermometer who wored about the mercury poisoning in9 one he showed up and he says don't worry he'll be fine and thank God 25 years later he still 20 few years later he's still fine so he he's not only a great police officer he's a great doctor as well thank you my name is Stuart mnik I live at 353 Madison Avenue and I just want too Josh's comments about your letter to the various synagogues in town I was very much appreciated on all sides of the B thank you very much May [Music] North on the agenda for first reading number 242086201 in front of Anton's new building the old International Market 137 r Avenue or at least on site in front would be the easiest on site would be helpful because you got an apartment and no handy kep parking it was on the site plan and the experts at H Park planning board insisted the developer remove the handicap parking and go 1,000 ft so nothing has happened this Redevelopment is in limbo I watch all winter my neighbors struggle through the cold weather Park on Dennis Park on further down North Second other places please think about that and when the clerk calls our 30 seconds or left and then final finished could you please speak louder thank you har m uh regarding the agenda item to give a license to the uh second of five marijuana stores that H Park is authorized for publicity again just to get on the record that there are many of us who object to this and we hope you will vote no this evening for those Folks at home who are not aware Highland Park has ordinance for six marijuana stores five of them they have already given letters of support to and have authorized uh one is already open the second plan to open right next to bubble T at sou third Buble louder please I'd like to also mention uh in the event that uh the owners of these uh marijuana stores are not aware that there is litigation currently in process against the council uh on this issue and I haven't seen any notice in the agenda on the fact that that we actually uh receive three votes uh in the appet division from every judge that the lawsuit is to go forward I had not seen that notice and I was just wondering why you did not list that in the agenda ma'am uh I'm not sure if you were here when I said about the meeting protocol all the questions are going to be ask and going to close public portion and then we'll respond to the questions we can I'm sorry there'll be asked portion okay once we have the public portion we're going to close it okay and then all the questions are going to be responded to if they can or if they have to be followed up with at that point so I understand I get the impression that you're waiting for a response but you're not going to get a response right now thank you so please please finish whatever you need to do the remaining time that you have and then we'll hear from the next person thank you okay great so if that question could be answered during the appropriate session and then in addition the second question would be have you advised herbality and any other of the uh potential marijuana stores that this litigation is taking place that would be the next question and if so when did you advise them thank you so much my name is Jill 242 sou6 n par I just have a quick question you had mentioned some you had mentioned something about the third third South Third having a plaza and the permits and Landscaping and whatnot do you know how long all this takes that was my question thank you Jo hello uh Kieran Crowley 218 Harrison Avenue um I have some questions relating to Mr hail and Miss H's reports on on tra C and also the the plaza so um personally I thought the designs were very impressive um quite excited about the try project um what I was disappointed um about was that there was no no information on the financial side of the tracky Redevelopment so to me it felt like I saw a brand new car I was sold you know look at this it'll be great drive it you'll love it but I didn't see the price so um you know I understand negotiations have to sometimes be kept um under attorney client privilege um but we've had this conditional developer now for almost two years so August 2022 so um I would really urge you to share some details as it relates to the financial side and I guess to be more specific have any tax abatements such as pilot schemes been requested by the developer I know nothing's agreed yet but has it been requested is it is it on the table and secondly um I guess if if it is out there for example in a term sheet or something um could you share high level what the parameters are um of what they're asking for I know there are no no done deals yet but at least um please share roughly what the financial side is going to be um secondly now relating up to the the South Third I'll call it Plaza public space um I was surprised that it really does seem a decoupled project from track c as it relates to the status and the approval process so um am I correct in that understanding that the tracks sorry the the South Third Plaza will have to go through its own planning board um agreements for it to become a reality and I guess I'm probably expressing the previous member of the public in in a longer way because I'm I'm concerned that if they're decoupled um there's less pressure to make sure that the plaza happens and it said the elephant in the room with the public is having a farmers's market space in a public space um you know if that really lags the track seed development that's a big big disappointment and the last thing I guess is a question um have you made anything conditional on the approval of garden homes going going going ahead making something about the Plaza conditional to that to signing that contract thank you anyone on Zoom uh no mayor there are no members of the public on Zoom with their oh I stand corrected I do see one member of the public with their hand up uh Mara Shipman you could just state your name and your address for us need to unmute yourself yes uh good evening um my name is Mara I'm a member of street board and a co-chair of the dis design committee I live on 13116 Avenue um I just wanted to comment about the ordinance number 24-27 the signage ordinance because and was really a long project and we're very happy with results members of the design committee and I do thank mat councilman for mentioning us um worked many many hours with Chris and reviewing the ordinance and it went through multiple and I will say your is really very responsive and the final project I think is a good one um that will help the buau and help businesses and be understanding will be more understandable the last ordinance was written I don't know 20 years ago by um a member of our design committee as well I I do want to thank by name John Webster from the design committee Jim Nichols and Debbie rainwater from the design committee who worked myself with myself and Chris castanza we're happy about it did have a couple comments one is I think the idea of having the process to have exempt signs really help businesses because it will speed up businesses sign review process and that was very creative on your planner part um also I think the table worked very well this this iteration um I did have one suggestion for future work it was something that could not be sign ordinance we really felt that it's that should be able to control or regulate and that's uh looking at murals and outdoor artwork and finding to them and and many towns do do that so it's something that should be put on the the next the next work the next work thank you very much may looks like our last hand up from those at home um I will also mention there are five people joining that way oh got a hand last one huh oh I'm sorry yes this will have to be our last one we start mattman if you could please state your name and address for the record please I Jerry it's actually Diane on that's Diane Feldman North Fourth Avenue I showed up late to the meeting but I did that question that something that was being discussed um about some business um meeting having to do with Wood Bridge Avenue devel development um um can I ask first of all did I hear that properly and can I ask where it is be being held Diane we're going to take questions when we close public comment but we took a note of that in the mayor you may call on one of us to answer your question okay my my specific question is I would like to know if wherever it's being held is an accessible location okay okay thank you based on our time I think we're that's we're done our 21 minutes okay see um me I have a motion to close public participation Mo second roll call counc George yes councilman ha yes council president Council kiman yes councilman pic yes we're gonna go through and then um maybe uh Terry can answer a um I know the litigation we can't comment on any kind of litigation so I would I would defer to um our B attorney on the litigation for yes you're correct mayor uh we cannot U put comment pation but thank you so much for the okay and Terry would you want to talk about South Third the plaza sure and the the pilot and stuff like that um and I I I did take notes um and I'm always happy to talk I believe Kieran asked these questions and uh Joe um yes so uh how soon will it take I don't have an exact date um but we do need to bring in a designer um we share your concern I'm gonna kind of take both questions together um our our very very strong goal is to have our Plaza and our space ready to go in advance of construction on the site do I have that in an agreement yet no we're we're trying to figure out the timeline but that's strongly what we would Pro uh because it will make the the a more seamless transition for the farmers market and for all of our programming one thing we are doing is we aren't necessar I wouldn't characterize it as decoupling I would say we are trying to design complimentary projects because through our negotiations with garden homes we have a lot more community space in the building that we had necessarily anticipated when we started our negotiations so now we're trying to bring our plans for South Third together with the uh space that we're negotiating with homes so um I think we'll actually be bringing them together I look at it very differently but I share your concerns I know the council shares the concerns about the timing and the phasing and we're going to do our best to make this as smooth a transition and nobody after we fought this hard to get to this point are we giving up on that plit um we also have a lot of irons and the fire for funding to that initiative both design and construction and we're pursuing that really hard um but you know I'm going to be pushing hard to get that design underway so that potentially we could be ready to go into construction before G home to put in a shle so there'll be more and mayor may I may I address the other question related uh with regard to financial negotiations you're correct we're not in a position to share where we are with that but there will be a financial agreement those terms will be made public prior to any Council decision on those have the opportunity to inspect those once we get a little further down the line but what I will share with you is the day after the meeting I got an email from Joe Balman saying we got to get this financial agreement mail down and keep things moving so we share your concern we want to get to the point just like we got to the point on the design to be able to share I don't think we're too far off being able to get to a level of detail with the financials but we just can't show our hand with with the developer either until we know kind of the suet of things we're asking for so uh I hear you and we will share thank you uh council member H would you like to address Diane's question about Wood Bridge mixer sure the address is 73 Woodbridge Avenue um uh I believe that it is accessible I'll we certainly make sure that it is um to to clarify that and then I can come and talk to you about that um I know that they have um a variety of classes in that 73 Woodbridge Avenue um uh so I I believe that it is accessible um it's a pretty building thank you few right um ordinance required a second reading cler can you please report on ordinance number 24- 2085 an ordinance to amend chapter 230 article 20 of the code of the burrow p park 2010 concern concerning storm water management has been duly advertised for cons consideration of passage on Final reading by title and affidavits of publication are on file public hearing it's now it's time for public hearing on this ordinance if you would like to speak on this ordinance please come up to the microphone and give your name and address or if you're on Zoom please put the raised hand button may no hands out at home seeing seeing no one may I have a motion to close public public session of this hearing councilman George yes councilman H yes council president H yes councilwoman Kim Chan yes councilman ponic yes may I have a motion to adopt or reject ordinance number 24- 2085 motion second roll call councilman George yes councilman H yes council president her yes councilwoman Kim Shan yes councilman P yes ordinance requires first reading clerk can you please report on the introduction of ordinance number 242086201 reading by title may have a motion to adopt or reject motion second councilman George yes councilman hail yes council president H yes councilwoman Kim Chan yes councilman ponic yes okay um may I have a motion to uh can you please report on introduction of ordinance number 24208 7 an ordinance by the bur tyland Park MX County New Jersey amending chapter 230 Land Development concerning signage regulations and other design standards has been duly introduced by the economic development and planning committee for consideration of passage on first reading by title may I have a motion to approve or reject ordinance number 24287 authorized publication as required by law and set public hearing for July 16 2024 Ro councilman George yes councilman hail yes council president H yes councilwoman Kim Johan yes councilman yes please report on introduction of ordinance number 24208 an ordinance to amend and supplement the revised General ordinances the bur of final card chapter 138 sewer and water has been duly introduced by the finance committee for consideration pass on first reading by than may you have a motion to adopt or reject ordinance number 24288 authorizing publication as required by law and set public hearing for July 16 2024 motion second councilman George yes councilman H yes council president H yes Council woman Kim Chan yesc yes now we move to the consent agenda resolutions may I have a motion to adopt or reject the following consent agenda items a 13A through 13q move second councilman George yes councilman H yes Council pres yes Council Kenan yes counc yes there's no appointments tonight so we're going to move right into the second public participation three minutes for per speaker on any topic subject to conclude by 900 p.m. comments from the members of public attending in person will be heard first followed by those attending on Zoom please announce yourself name and [Music] address I have I have a couple things here one is about the noise or in the town and two when the um the police is called they don't out why is that if that's um we'll answer questions later so if you have any other can make it now thank you you m 7 South Avenue I came also tonight to express my appreciation to the mayor as my wife said it's good to see you in good news and much appreciated and as Josh said your your notice of it sto viral my son in Israel said he saw on a couple WhatsApp and Facebook groups it was misidentified at one point as fining Town New Jersey but I saw that was corrected but we really do appreciate that mayor um also appreciate all the council members who have come to different events we've had shown support for the Jewish Community these last eight months and doesn't go on scen is very appreciated and I do thank you and also like to thank the Han Park Police Department for always being there for us in our synagogue but also um things happened over Passover at Ruckers and we were quite concerned and I addressed it and the police department took action right away and really is there for us so we appreciate all the support that we again thank you very much again there um I am a member of the Board of Health in Highland Park and I don't know if you all are aware unfortunately I guess Council can is not here to give a report but in our last meeting um we had people join who didn't turn their cameras on and then suddenly during the meeting TR hamers on and zoom bombed us with either porn like set graphic images um and unfortunately there was also 10th grade students in the room who are our Board of Health Representatives um so that was really distressing and then the most distressing part though was that our Board of Health chairperson doesn't have zoom controls there's no way to like turn the camera off or there's no host for the meeting and it it's happened before in other meetings this happened in a public access meeting this happened in a human relations commission meeting and it just seems like there are some really basic Zoom protocol and things that should be put in place and so I'm wondering if I know the police have been looking into this and I really appreciate that and I'm glad that it's being taken seriously but I'm wondering if you can address what the plans are moving forward for Zoom meetings and how that's going to be handled thank you um I thank you m May it's been brutal almost nine months um you know I've been a sabath observant you my whole life and it's been really hard to disconnect for 25 hours each week um and it's so meaningful to know that you're thinking about us and there to share good news and give me my name is s auster I live at 75 FR Street n uh growing up as a teenager in uh in the city it was always illegal to smoke very B I never smoke but damages the brain now these vape shops are opening up I have a stepson 16 years old who's been going into his V shop with his friends at influences and they're buying pot no one's checking their ID for their age or their name or where they live for that matter now he's been in trouble twice at the high school and I think it's time that the police or someone investigate these shops check them for what they're doing just to take the kids I don't see that as being a difficult task does anyone see that as being difficult sir what MERS sir point of order yes we just need individuals to ask their questions and their comments and then we're going to close public portion at that point if there's any pending questions that need to be responded to they will be I understand I don't know if you're asking a rhetorical question or it's part part of what you're presenting I just want to let you know if you can finish up your comments and let the next speaker speak thank you I just wanted to voice my opinion thank you okay thank you all know you were Chicken House lawyer sir um in the front row I understand that you are saying something I can't hear it but there's only individuals that are speaking right now that are at the mic if there's anything additional that you like to ask for you can always come up and then will once everyone is is done because I understand you just spoke but please do not be disrespectful to anybody on the governing board or who is speaking right now thank you hi Lois North Second Avenue okay I didn't hear an answer for the status of accessible parking for the tenant at 137 rton Avenue kind of across from the sonoko but over a little bit closer to Brunswick fair housing says that's a violation federal fair housing has to be nearby you can't put them a th000 ft you can't ignore them and I know it's government property next door the gun shop the old gun shop but something is going to be worked out what is the public the policy of the bureau when paying cash to purchase a few documents will my 25 cent coin be turned forced to be to turned down and I'll be threatened with stealing for 15 cent purchase keep the change that's a question question what's the magic password I faxed a number of of items here to burall this year two never arrived one was the request for the safety report on South Third my second request disappeared first one was never done third one says it's non-existent safety requests for the people on the North side the new Hebrew grow school where how are the police going to get there can't we have a substation um my second request that I item that I faxed when I heard that the first one didn't come through I asked him the tax assessor if you received my thank you not he never received it I brought him the original also I wonder who a few years ago instructed the ATT former attorney Ed from Princeton a few years back to destroy or lose or get rid of all the commission for universal access the previous commission minutes and it they started out in 1990 with the um compliance committee the minutes the description of hearings from this year for the commission for universal access says amended by ordinance 1626 after a written decision uh 30 days after is completed a record of the action taken on each request or complaint must be made maintain as part of the records of minutes in each level of agre process a commission has to have minutes in these description of the commission for universe life says it also talks about a secretary they used to have a paid secretary I'm sure there's budget cuts there's got to be someplace else so was there a vote if I can find out give me the month and the year who what genius said that these have to be D destroyed thanks no' see there's no further public comment may I have a motion to close public participation so move councilman George yes councilman H yes council president H yes councilwoman Ken Chan yes councilman pon yes okay um Terry could you address the Board of Health question I know we discussed it today so can you just provide the steps that we're putting in place to not just that board but so people will not be Zoom bombed anymore I'll try not to get to In The Weeds on Zoom controls um but we do use bough uh Zoom accounts for our board and commission members however we use shared accounts which are registered to borrow emails myself Monica Jackson are names that those of you who log into those meetings you'll recognize um Zoom requires two Factor authentication so when we try to share that login with board commission members and they log in at 7 pm uh I lost track of where Chase is sitting sorry there am sorry um yeah I'm trying to adjust you uh that what happens is you try to log in and then I'm not there or Monica's not there to say yes and so we can't so we're revisiting it and actually we are going to be moving to Google meets because it will allow us to have co-host we're going to actually set up uh dedicated emails for each boarding commission they can use Monica's gonna basically I have a drafted an email that's going to be going out to all boards and commission members I was going to invite the Board of Health to be our ginea pig to since you had the most recent issues and we really do apologize and I know that was really upsetting but unfortunately if you're not a registered Zoom user with the paid accounts we have we can't make even if you have your own Zoom account I can't make you a co-host which gives you the authority to boot somebody out so um so we're taking it really seriously we have to just get those new email addresses created so that we can establish those meetings and then we think it's a matter of days you know or potentially week I just don't know how quickly do we have to go through a third party to set up our Gmail account so um so that's the plan and hopefully that sounds like something you know how to do so that when it comes to your meeting you guys will be in really good shape we figured people are pretty familiar with the genal platform so it actually might be easier for everybody uh in the long run so you'll be getting an email probably before the end of the week for M thank you um thank you Terry um Mr Ratcliffe um raised some concerns about noise ordinance and public safety issues I'm going to ask um council member George to follow up and look into to that and thank you mayor we will list that for the next public safety meeting in the meantime I'll discuss that with Captain and uh council president want to add uh his comments on Zoom as well thank you mayor I really appreciate it thank you Tracy for coming I I did just want to e Echo what uh you know what what what Terry said you know this is being taken really seriously that night uh Jay crosson the former chair of the the Board of Health Reach Out uh then I spoke with Sarah Kelly the new chair of the Board of Health um we are mortified that that happened um there is nothing better than having kids you know attend Municipal board and commission meetings for my kid who I encourage to go to Municipal board and commission meetings and this happened it' be very very upsetting so we really deeply apologize we're taking it incredibly seriously the police are investigating um because the reminders involved you know it's it's doubly important but um please stay vigilant and thank you for for for raising up and hopefully now that we leave Safeguard it won't happen again and we're not just doing it for the Board of Health it will be for all boards and Commission because we want to keep everyone safe when they're attending meetings and doing their civic duties so all boards and commission will have the same uh protocols in place um Lo always mentioned uh a bunch of issues with parking I'm going to turn that over to um council member George and that's Public Safety and um I think Terry can look into the whole um fact why fax numbers are not going through and what's going on with fax lines and Matt were also looking to Safe routes to school um um to the schools for the the girls schools and uh s mentioned uh from Edison mentioned about pot shop it's an ongoing litigation so we can comment on ongoing litigation and so we will not be making any comments there uh thank you mayor if I may address the the handicap parking issue on riton over the new development next to the microphone please microphone thank you with regard to the handicap parking spot in front of the5 unit development where the wonderful new restaurant and coffee shop is I lot as well um that's on riton Avenue the handicap spot can't be authorized by Highland Park it has to be authorized by do however the enforcement of it uh and the putting in place of the of any parking requirements that should be brought to the attention of administration through this and the zoning office thank you B thank you uh now we it may going to move into executive session and um it's item number 17 executive session potential litigation block number 2001 lot 679 1046 and 48 Redevelopment negotiations on track a may I have a motion to adopt or reject call councilman George yes councilman H yes council president H yes councilwoman Kim toan yes councilman yes may have a motion to adjourn regular meeting and go to Executive session uh we will not be returning after executive session wish everyone a safe and cool evening and thank you all in favor I thank you next meeting July 16 7.m thanks for coming