[Music] [Music] good evening everyone notice of this meeting stay that day place and time has been disseminated as required under the open public meetings app chapter 231 pl1 1975 copies of the agenda are also posted on the city's website in lynen TV for the public this meeting is now called to order Mr clerk can you please conduct a puray and flag salute god of the universe look thou with favor upon these here assembled and bestow thy guidance upon the members of the government govering body in their deliberations this we ask in thy name amen I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all in the event of an emergency the proper method of exiting the council chambers is through the three doors in the of the room occupants should proceed down the staircase out the front door and move away from the area of the front steps any member of the public wishing to speak during the public comment session at the end of the meeting please sign in on the white sheets provided in the front of the room with your name and address please please turn off all cell phones or place them on vibrate if you must take a call please leave the council chamber to do so Mr clerk can you please call a roll Mrs oron here javic presid Caldwell excused Mohammed pres revas pres Roman here Strano here Armstead here Medina here Hudak yes here Mrs yamus here can we have approval of the public session minutes of January 16th 2024 please yes council president I make a motion for the approval of the meeting public meeting meeting meeting minutes sorry for January 16th 2024 and January 2nd 2024 and request a second second Mrs zman yes javic yes Mohammed yes Rivas yes Roman yes Strano Armstead yes Medina yes Hudak yes Mrs Yus yes at this time we're going to have a presentation I'm going to call upon mayor Armstead to come up and read a resolution declaring the month of February Black History Month in the city of Lyndon good evening everyone good evening mayor I think it's important that we note that black history is American history uh regardless of how we got here we come we came here in some very adverse conditions but that was then and this is now uh and D be duly noted we always start our meetings off acknowledging the god of the Universe um and I do believe that God had his hand in the making of this country and that he meant for all of us to learn from our experiences he meant from for all of us to learn about each other and I think we've designated the month of uh February as Black History Month and this month we get an extra day in fact so uh but it's important that we all acknowledge all the different nationalities in this country that make up this great country and the African-Americans have certainly contribut to the success of this country resolution declaring the month of February 2024's Black History Month reads is whereas the history of our nation and state is inextricably connected to the heritage of our country's black Americans and whereas the history of Black Americans is the story of an extraordinary individuals whose achievements have set examples for citizens of all Races who dedicated their lives to creating a nation where people or all people are created equal and whereas in 1926 Dr Carter Woodson an African-American who completed his PhD from Harvard started negro history week to focus on people's attentions and to bring their notice to the role and contributions of African-Americans and American history which in 177 which in 1976 was changed to a full month of Celebration is Black History Month and whereas Black History Month is a celebration of the community to remember all African-Americans who made a great change in the life and Outlook of all our citizens and whereas the history of the new the history of New Jersey has been enriched by black new jerseyans Whose achievements have set the higher standards for people of all Races and is also the story of countless nameless Heroes and whereas lyndon's history is Rich with many black Americans who have contributed not only to the city's progress but also the progress of the state of New Jersey and this nation now therefore it be resolved that the city of Lyndon urges all the citizens of the city of Lyon to reflect upon the many contributions that black Americans have made to the city state and nation and to participate in the activities and programs that are held and observance of Black History Month be have further resolv that the mayor and City Council of Lyndon pay tribute and acknowledge The Bravery sacrifices and accomplishments of black Americans by declaring the month of February 2024 Black History Month month this past February 20th uh by and signed by council president Michelle yamakas and myself mayor Armstead and attested by Joseph bodc our city clerk and our uh commissioner from Union County thank [Applause] you thank you mayor [Music] all right we'll now move on to ordinances on hearing beginning with ordinance 681 ordinance of the city council of the city of lindan authorizing the sale of of block 254 lot 9 commonly known as 31-45 West Elizabeth Avenue to the apartments at lyen station urban renewal LLC for the purpose for the purchase price of $1,150,000 pursuant to the local Redevelopment and Housing law njsa 4A col 12-1 at sequence okay has the ordinance been properly published and posted yes ma'am has any written communication been received no ma'am is there anyone from the public who wishes to be heard on this ordinance seeing none can we have a motion please council president I'd like to make a motion to close the hearing on ordinance 68-1 adopted and ask for a second please second Mrs Orman yes javic yes Mohammed yes Rivas yes Roman no Strano yes Armstead yes Medina yes Hudak yes Mrs yamakas yes ordinance 68- two please an ordinance to amend and supplement chapter 7 traffic of an ordinance entitled an ordinance adopting and enacting the revised General ordinances of the city of Lyon 1999 passed November 23rd 1999 and approved November 24th 1999 and has amended and supplemented be it ordained by the Council of the city of lynon section one that trap 7 traffic shall be in the same is hereby amended as follows chapter 7 traffic 7-33 handicap parking regulation 7- 33.1 a handicap parking on the street add 1315 winens Avenue 1 space 315 Lincoln Street one space okay has the ordinance been properly published and posted yes ma'am has any written communication been received no ma'am is there anyone from the the public who wishes to be heard on this ordinance I see now can we have a motion please council president I move we close ordinance 68 close the hearing on ordinance 68-20 ordinance 68-3 please an ordinance to amend and supplement chapter 7 traffic of an ordinance entitled an ordinance adopting and enacting the revised General ordinances of the city of lynon 1999 pass November 23rd 1999 and approved November 24th 1999 and has amended and supplemented be it ordained by the Council of the city of Lyndon section one that traffic that chapter 7 traffic section 7-10 parking prohibited at all times on certain streets shall be and the same is hereby amended as follows 7-10 parking prohibited at all times on certain streets name of Street add tremle Point Road both sides okay has the ordinance been properly published and posted yes ma'am has any written communication been received no ma'am is there anyone from the public who wishes to be heard on this ordinance seeing none could we have a motion please council president I move that we close the hearing on on 68-3 adopted and ask for a second please second Mrs Orman yes javic yes Mohammed yes Rivas yes Roman yes Strano yes Armstead yes Medina yes Hudak yes Mrs yamus yes ordinance 68-4 an ordinance to amend and supplement chapter 7 traffic of an ordinance entitled an ordinance adopting and enacting the revise General ordinances of the city of Lyon 1999 passed November 23rd 1999 and approved November 24th 1999 and has amended and supplemented beat ordained by the Council of the city of lyen section one at chapter 7 traffic section 7- 22.1 four-way stop intersection shall be and the same is hereby amended as follows 7- 22.1 fourway stop intersections intersection add uh dwit Street and Curtis Street the sign to be located on dwit Street and West Curtis Street West Curtis Street and dwit Street add East blanky Street and Maple Avenue uh stop sign to be located at Maple Avenue and East blankie East blanky Street and Maple Avenue okay has the ordinance been properly published and posted yes ma'am has any written communication been received no ma'am is there anyone from the public who wishes to be heard on this ordinance seeing none can we have a motion please council president I move that we close the hearing on ordinance 68-4 adopted and ask for a second please second Mrs Morman yes javic yes Mohammed yes Rivas yes Roman yes Strano yes Armstead yes Medina yes Hudak Mrs yiis yes okay we'll now move on to consent agenda items all items listed with asteris are considered to be routine by the city council and will be enacted with one motion there'll be no separate discussion unless a council member so request we have items number one through six this evening okay can we have a motion please yes council president I move for approval of items one through six and request a second second Mrs Orman yes javic yes Mohammed yes Rivas yes Roman yes Strano yes Armstead yes Medina yes Hudak yes Mrs yamus yes okay uh we had a we have a retirement on there this evening that I'd just like to make mention of um from our fire department we have H Captain Robert Lambert so we want to wish him the best in all his future endeavors we thank him for a service to the city okay we'll now move on to uh reports from the governing body beginning with Ward one councilwoman Orman thank you council president I'm going to start off with my budget review and finance report approval is requested for the following Finance actions the payment of bills totaling 3,664 72734 bills have been signed by the mayor council president and finance chairwoman and a detailed check register and vouchers are in file in in the clerk's office we are in receipt of Investments made by the city treasurer for the month of January at the rate of 4.75% I move for the approval and ask for a second please second second Mrs oron yes yes javic yes Mohammed yes Rivas yes Roman yes Strano yes Armstead yes Medina yes Hudak yes Mrs yamus yes go ahead Council Norman okay now I'd like to go over my division of transportation and properties report I hereby submit the monthly financial report from the division of transportation and parking for the month of January 20124 this report includes the collection of on and off street parking meters Railroad Park paring Lots railw parking permits and Merchant parking permits the T side collections $783 New York side collections $122 Railroad Credit Card transactions $ 24,48 eight railroad permits zero railroad mobile payments $642 online railroad permits $588 parking meter collections $942 190 Merchant Park Arin $6,500 for a grand total of $54,900 $85,100 annually that the city can collect by simply making 55 daily parking spaces to our underutilized rail parking permit on the West Elizabeth Avenue side so that's going to definitely help you know our taxpayers will definitely reap the benefits of that now for my accident review report um I just want to say that you know we discuss a lot of different things in that committee things that are going to make traffic and safety improvements for the community we have decided with this agenda that there are going to be two four-way stops um stop signs that are going to be um placed on various Corners the corner of the wit and Curtis Street is is now eligible for one and then Maple and blankie many people ask how can we get that four-way stop sign put on our Corner well I'm going to be honest with you you don't want to be the recipient of having a four-way stop sign on your corner because the criteria is that there's five accidents within a 12 Rolling month everybody says oh this four-way stop sign is definitely going to slow traffic down that's not the key collisions five of them within 12 months would get you that so we don't want that to happen in our city so we're not saying oh yes let's get those done so these two particular Corners did meet the criteria of having accidents and some of the accidents were not pretty so in the spirit of safety in the name of our children and protecting our community those stop signs will be added last but not least I would just like to mention that on the 24th of this month the lynen Heritage and cultural committee will be hosting its annual black history month program if you come to the program you'll be seeing or you'll hear firsthand um some of the wonderful stories of the African kin cloth and as you see we all are wearing them in different various colors each color represents something different in the African culture so come out and enjoy our celebration this going to be a craft corner for the kids and just a great time and also I would like to um mention that this year I was so pleased because we have a wonderful program where we put black history banners up in the month of February and usually it takes us a couple of days after Black History Month to get them up and February is the shortest month of the year so I don't feel that they're up long enough anyway but this year I would like to just congratulate our Department of Public Works because I wrote down Wood Avenue on February 1st and all of our banners were up flying high and on that note I would just like to take the time to encourage all of the parents that live here in the city of Lyndon get your children off of those electronic devices for one day walk them from one end of Wood Avenue to the other there are some very impressive historic IAL African-Americans on those banners and just remember black history is American history and we owe it to our children to expose them to all components of what made this country what it is thank you president that's my report thank you councilwoman or councilman javic yes council president uh as chairman of the fire committee the fire prevention Bureau collected the following monies during the month of January 2024 a total of 9,1 $47.98 regarding the lind and fire to bment ambulance billing the amount of $11,340 for January 2024 have been added to the total deposits for 20124 which reflects the same total of $121,300 at uh palal building which is at 400 Maple Avenue in lyen on March 21st between hours of 1 p.m. to 7: p.m. uh if you need any information the Linden fire department number you could call is 908 474 4550 good evening everybody well as you may well actually hold on one second I I just remembered I have one more report to do here um construction code the total permits for January are 249 uh total certificates are 55 and the revenue for construction code was $ 72,982 for the month getting back to my report uh well as you may have seen work has commenced on the corner of Wood Avenue and West Elizabeth Avenue this is a premier project that will Encompass our Transit District District Renaissance this project alone brings in $50 million over 30 years in ratables to the city it will have 334 Apartments uh 207 which will be one bedroom 127 which will be two bedroom and 13,000 square fet of retail space so we're really looking forward to getting this off the ground now and uh future's going to be bright for lynon we and Lyon are coming into our own distinction while uh maintaining our small town characteristics in our second ward West blankie Street heading towards raway has become a Haven for overnight truck barking I want you all to know the police have been issuing summons on a regular basis including caner Avenue if this continues we will start Towing vehicles at these locations we don't mind occasional parking but when you're throwing your garbage on our streets um you know the citizens do have a problem with with that also we can wait for the weather uh to break well we can't wait to for the weather to break so we're going to get back to our sidewalk programs moving forward again into town uh if you have any requests for trees or sidewalks please reach out to me my phone number is 98494 4608 or email me at B javic at Linden DNE jersey.gov on Facebook second word councilman Barry javic and as always additional information needed can always be found on our city of lynon website and a report thank you councilman javic councilman Mohamad thank you council president my dear friends and neighbors just first of all I want to wish all a Happy Black History Month and to thank the Department of Public Works for its service during the stor St storm and spring is right right around the corner thank God things going well and I want to take it this moment to just acknowledge the great work of all the city workers thank you job well done I can you reached at 908 463 4843 this that concludes my report council president okay thank you councilman Mohamad councilman Rivas council president uh thank you uh good evening citizens of Lyndon I'd like to uh send my regards to my neighbors uh who uh throughout the month had the opportunity I had the opportunity to be with them walking with them the the war and learning some of their concerns that they might have as we all work together in the city of Lyon to uh promote a better graded um circle of life for all the citizens so my regards to my neighbors in Engles Avenue Charles Street um Alberta Avenue chandel avenue hill Dill Avenue especially to the the uh bless you especially to the uh to the great neighbors and the an Ferguson Towers I had the opportunity to meet many of them while I assisted the Housing Authority meeting uh last month it was a great to see you guys and and thank you for all these uh messages of support and for the opportunities that you gave me in order to learn about all of you I also want to uh concur with the uh with the thanks to our Department of Public Works for the uh maintaining our city during this two storms that we have snow storms that we have or or weather events that we had in the city uh it was quickly when we saw that our our roads were clear and they were pre-treated so thank you very much for the help as well as keep thanking for the work of every one of the city employees who keeps our city moving forward um to my uh Neighbors in the fifth word uh later during this Mee there will be a resolution solution where we'll be uh approving w g Sals for the fifth and the e word on April 27 and April 28th similarly on October 19 on TW on October 20th so you can have those days in advance mark your calendars uh for you to have your garat sales on the word and last but not least as uh the rest of my counterpart uh City members have already uh congratulated to all the culture I'd like to join in the celebration of the Black History Month recognizing that we all as a community we are much better together being working together in the diversity that our City offers to us so congratulations to our black community on the celebration of Black History Month uh if you would like to reach me you can do it to uh 908 7187692157 council president uh I just want to um start by thanking DPW uh over the last week of their their snow response uh the streets were really really good uh any issues that I had in any of our streets uh took one text message or one phone call and a plow came by immediately and fixed the problem uh Corners were done sidewalks were done just phenomenal job and I appreciate them very much train station looked great uh so thank you you know Jerry and and the entire DPW crew Dave Martinez and everyone else working uh does not go unnoticed during a snowstorm we have emergency streets you're literally not allowed to park on them we can tow your car I've seen cars get towed in the sixth War it's South style street it's Southwood Avenue it's lyen Avenue it's Clinton Street if our boys and girls um our firefighters and our EMTs need to get down that Street for an emergency we're supposed that's the reason that those streets are clear cuz that's the streets they're going to be driving on and please respect the rules uh I had people literally disregard me to my face uh they ended up with a ticket but um shouldn't have to be like that move your car so that we can plow it and keep it clean you can put your car back after we're done plowing it and and the snow's off the street uh another thing in regarding the ward uh as the chair of the the health department this year I want to take a moment and talk about an issue that's occurring all over the city we are a growing city and uh the more and more we grow the more and more the situation comes up unfortunately people who have recently moved to the city do not take care of their pet waste uh almost every day I'm having residents existing residents who have lived here a long time complain uh that people coming out of the apartment buildings walk their dogs before work and they never pick up and we have a lot of video of it um and it's becoming a real problem because we have kids walking into school 6 with their droppings on their shoes and it's going all over the school it's become an actual health issue um which you know it's not necessary but for some reason people can't pick up after their dogs I can't believe we're living in 2024 and this is a thing um but I'm going to recommend as health chair that we double the fine of this ordinance it certainly hasn't been changed since I've been on councel and uh maybe it's time that we double the ordinance fine and advertise that and let people know that we are actually going to try to give them fines and try to catch them in the ACT uh maybe people will actually straighten up uh unfortunately I can count on my literal fingers how many ordinances uh dog waste ordinances have been summoned uh in a year in Lyon it's it's a very poor rate and we need to do better on that uh that's it's a quality of life issue that people care about so I hope to uh get that done through this Council thank you in advance West Lon Avenue will continue to be shut down over the next month uh in between South Styles and pleasant they're uh the water companies replacing a 36in water main uh going all the way down to Merc so they're going to be out there for the better half of another another month uh so that should be uh shut down daily avoid the area if you can um just becoming many areas in in that area just avoid it because the traffic is bad uh four-way stop signs there have been some updates to the quote unquote manual uh for Traffic Control devices uh I'm excited um unfortunately excited that we may be eligible for 4way stop signs down the line uh because something needs to be done to keep our streets safer specifically Clinton Street uh so more coming on that um in the future through the traffic department the police department and the traffic committee uh the junior fire academy the last week of June I'm not sure if there's still room to sign up please contact the fire department if you have a child who wants to attend and um there's two promotions on the agenda tonight uh which councilman Strano will announce right after I'm done speaking uh two great lyen families in the ronskys and the Cucos um specifically Steve CUO who I grew up with um spent my Summers with the CUO family um Steve just so happened to marry into another great Lyon family I kid with him that he married up um certainly did uh and let the record show that in this Council um but I see them here in the audience and uh you know depending on how this uh personel agenda goes I want to congrat be the first to congratulate you guys you're a great uh great firefighter so thank you council president that concludes my report okay council president I do have the personal report in front of me read it and then we'll uh vote on it afterwards number one in the community services and division of the Public Works we're approving the appointment of Ben's sugs labor full-time at the annual hourly rate of $19.32 per hour subject to the successful completion of the city's pre-employment requirements effective February 26th of 2024 B is the approval of the seasonal list which is on file in the city clerk's office two is in a police department a approving the appointment of a clerk one full-time from the attach list at the annual salary of 37298 effective March 1st 2024 subject to the successful completion of the city's pre-employment requirements B is approving the appointment of two Public Safety telecommunicator trainees full-time at the annual salary of 42,000 from the attached list effective March 15 2024 subject to the successful completion of the city's pre-employment requirements three in the fire department a is approving the promotion of Lieutenant Steven kuko to fire captain at the salary of13 7,056 effective March 1st of 2024 and then approving the promotion of firefighter Peter ronsky to fire Lieutenant at the salary of $119 19,41 effective March 1st of 2024 C is approving the appointment of Tyra Chapman clerk 1 full-time at annual sta of 625 effective January 29th of 2024 subject to the successful completion of the city's pre-employment requirements for the Board of Health approving the appointment of David imra uh registered environmental health specialist full-time at the salary of 70,000 effective March 1st of 2024 subject to the successful completion of the city's pre-employment requirements and approving B is approving the salary adjustment for Christine renck to $60,000 effective March 1st of 2024 five in Municipal Court permission to propose for two deputy municip IAL Court administrators with a minimum and Max salary of 39,6 69 to 114,900 and six is in personel approving the FMLA njfla leaves that are on file in division of personnel and I move for approval and request second second Mrs oron yes javic yes Mohammed re yes Roman yes Strano yes Armstead yes Medina yes Hudak yes Mrs yamakas yes okay I'd just like to uh congratulate those people on those promotions in the fire department especially since since Peter grew up right down the street from me okay real quick I just want to uh uh congratulate those celebrating all of us celebrating Black History Month um as you see we're all wearing these uh newly acquired for this evening uh kente um sashes um my wife is involved with the cultural inheritage committee and I believe they're doing a program am I correct and uh and um I just want to congratulate everyone uh on a pleasant month and um go on to my a little bit more about my w report um you're not going to believe this but the skate park is actually completed it's like it only I think they built the Panama Canal faster than we got this skate park done now um the construction is complete the park is not open yet we should have a grand opening sometimes in the early spring looking forward to it uh I did the walk through with our engineering department and um it's pretty impressive uh uh I almost um I'm tempted to buy a skateboard but I think at my age I better think twice about it but oh boy uh yeah I could break a leg doesn't matter I'm not doing anything right uh but anyway um it's it's really great we still have to do some uh some landscaping and some um and and a couple of other improvements some signage some fencing that's on us but uh it is complete and uh the other thing that uh took longer than the Panama Canal was getting the U Culvert completed on Range Road Happ to announc that that actually is uh completed uh safe for the fact that the um Road Services is right now only in U base material uh the finished asphalt will be put across the uh roadway uh when the weather temperatures remain stable and above 50° sometime uh probably next month or so but uh those are two accomplishments that I thought were never going to happen but um they're done it's glad to report that um outside of that oh I would like to congratulate our Public Works uh I'd like to take credit for their great job they did on their snow plowing because I chair of the committee but uh now all couldn't decide they really did do a great job you have to remember that there's a lot of new people in that um in that department and they uh considering that they're still a little green they did a great job and I want to commend them and um thank God we're having these um uh snowfalls that are you know uh good for training and they're really not you know building up any uh tremendous amounts of U overtime uh helps our uh City budget and it also keeps the expenditure for salt that goes on the roadways down but other than that um I conclude my report and thank you council president thank you councilman Drano okay okay um councilman Armstead thank you councilman council president yames um I just have a little short uh report for the eth ward we've um been getting some trees cut down in the area we've also gotten Baltimore Avenue kind of cleaned up there were a lot lot of debris that was left on the sides uh tires uh cabinets all all kinds of junk that was left right along the tracks and I want to thank the PW for doing an outstanding job for going out there and cleaning it up also um as far as the snow that was the snow days an an excellent a fabulous job I actually called one of the supervisors and had to commend him on the job that they did on cleaning the streets you know um we do have some things that are going on um I am right now working with psng uh sign of talking with somebody from psng and we're trying to get this whole situation with these lights that are out on the these lights these night lights that are out we're trying to get them done slowly but surely um thank you karon for helping me out there okay um somebody called me had a problem they psng was not answering my calls before but guess I guess now I can call and say yes my name is councilman Armstead and they're more than uh more than happy to help you know so and they're getting lights well when I say hey a light is off on this street they're getting it done within two or 3 days so if you have any problems um my phone number is 908 463 8986 my number is open to anybody that has any problems in this city not just the ath world if you have a problem and I can help you I am more than happy to reach out to help also um we we talk about africanamerican history and it yes it is American history and we always hear about the same people we hear about the Harriet Tubman the Martin Luther Kings U we hear these stories over and over I had the opportunity to read a story on on a man by the name of Robert Smalls nobody knows who this man is because when I talk about people say who's that so I'm just going to ask you if you have the chance look up Robert Smalls and read what a great man this guy he was doing the um Revolutionary War how he helped free slaves you never hear anybody talk about this man and this is somebody who should be recognized in our history um but that that's all I have for today okay thank you councilman Armstead councilman Medina thank you council president good evening everyone uh just a few things for the ninth ward uh but first I am Del liazon for the uh city clerk's office so I do have an important announcement here or notice the city clerk's office will be closed on Wednesday February 28th uh obviously this year from 1:30 to 3:30 P.M uh for training purposes so keep that date in mind in case you do have some business to attend at the city clerk's office on February 28th between 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. thank you um terms of the ninth board I want to thank the again DPW everyone's been thanking them that did an amazing job in as well I did not receive any complaints from the snow shoveling at all also want to thank the police department I've been receiving uh some complaints of the side streets that we have permit parking between Orchard and Northwood Avenue they have been relaxed ever since covid however complaints came in I shared those complaint with the police department and they did go out and I believe they issued around 30 or so summonses along all nine side streets along Northwood Avenue uh so I want to thank him for that there are other items and complaints quality life issues that uh that have been brought to the police department's attention hopefully with M you know when Manpower gets a little better and whatnot in other areas of attention um gets moved around hopefully they'll get back out there and address some of those issues in terms of speeding and and whatnot within the ninth ward um also for engineering uh know my colleagues talked about sidewalks and whatnot uh again engineering they do have a lengthy list with me from me excuse me in terms of roads and sidewalks and that is going to be continuing pretty soon so I'm excited to hear that uh lastly I do want to announce uh for the folks I do have a neighbor here Mr michell so it was great to see you here sir um and I haven't had the opportunity to catch up with him but just want to announce to the ninth War residents and also the uh folks here in his room I will not be uh running for reelection this year um 12 years is it's a long run um Council P the strains on on your family and whatnot but I will not be running for your election um and I will be also toring my resonation sometime in the spring as well so I'm still here uh here to help for the next couple of months anyone needs me 908 986 61000 call text me or email me I'm happy to help with anything I can do thank you that conclud the report thank you councilman Medina okay councilwoman Hudak thank you council president I'd like to encourage all our uh senior citizens to take AA uh take advantage of the free busing that our City offers there's a great deal of activities that the recreation department dep has for our younger older adults to maintain a healthy lifestyle and all that information is on the recreation website or you could call the recreation department at 90847463675645364 and um you'll always be in our thoughts and prayers thank you thank you councilwoman all right um I just wanted to add for the black history program this Saturday the Paint and Sip uh there is a pre-registration the website is Linden nj.gov siip again that's Lynden d nj.gov slzip um they off the program is open to uh school age children adult anyone that would like to come learn more about the uh patterns and the offer tea juice and simple snacks that day so again please pre-register for the program and councilman Ras had mentioned about the garage sales for the fifth and eth board tonight uh the council appr is has on for resolution um a schedule for garage sales for every Ward but one little thing you can do everybody should have received a garbage schedule uh prior to the New Year if you look on that for your ward it will be listed uh everybody will have twice a year uh uh garage sale days for a free garage sale for your ward so you can look on your garbage schedule and see them okay and just a little housekeeping note I know we have some new faces in the C anybody that wishes to speak during our public comment portion there's a sheet here in the front of the room please sign in if you'd like to speak toward our public comment portion okay mayor I'll turn this over to you for your report good evening all like to uh make a very brief announcement regarding the program that we've touted for years uh RNG energy um RNG energy as a company is going to be building an anerobic digestor uh they'll be processing food waste um and they'll convert that food waste into a natural gas byproduct that's going to be uh connected right to the normal infrastructure with uh our gas infrastructure so um we finally broke ground and I'm very happy to announce that uh unfortunately the project won't be completed until 2026 I'd also like to um just rehash a few things that were advertised this evening uh again the lyen cultur and Heritage committee will be having a sip and what we call a sip and sketch uh to celebrate Black History Month uh we're inviting adults and children uh to attend and to explore the history and meaning of what we refer to as kente patterns and kente cloth so you'll be able to come in you'll be able to create your own K patter pattern while you Sip and snack uh and sketch and that's going to be January I mean Saturday February 24th uh 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at the John Toro Rec Center that's 3:30 Helen Street uh and as council president yam maius mentioned you can register online at lendon nj.gov Sip and it's for Lyon residents only um also like to announce that the May's youth commission is having a fundraiser to benefit the lynon high school seniors class of 2024 scholarships it's an evening with a medium her name is Katherine McCall and that'll be Friday April 19th 2024 at the Lyon High School auditorium 7:00 p.m. to 9 9:30 p.m. doors will open at 6:15 uh it's a v VIP is $50 uh general admission is $35 and students with ID uh can pay will charge $10 there'll be concessions with baked goods snacks and beverages will be available for purchase with door prizes and again this is to uh raise money for scholarships for our senior class or 20 a class of 2024 uh I'd like like to also congratulate Robert Lampert on his retirement and I'd like to congratulate our U three new uh promotions um stepen CUO to fire captain two two promotions stepen cucko to fire captain uh and petroy ronsky uh to fire Lieutenant uh congratulations to all I'd like to also congratulate Tyra Chapman on her being uh assigned to the fire department as a clerk uh chats are along they've been lending for quite some time for close to 100 years and uh it's very uh gives me gives me joy to be able to hire one of their offspring in town here and that concludes my report thank you all thank you mayor okay we'll now move on to uh resolutions this evening we have resolution 2024 112 through 2024 166 I'm going to ask first for a motion to remove uh resolution 2024 154 please yes yes 154 second I assume the resolution was to remove yes okay Mrs Orman yes javic yes Mohammad yes revas yes Roman yes Strano yes Armstead yes Medina yes Hudak yes Mrs jitis yes okay can we have a motion on the other resolutions please motion [Music] 1122 166 166 second Mrs oron yes javic yes Mohammad yes Rivas yes all except for 12 no Roman yes to all except for 131 no to 131 Strano yes to all with the exception of 128 139 150 and 15 one which I vote no on Armstead yes Medina yes to all with the exception of 139 no to 139 thank you Hudak yes to all except for 139 Mrs yamus yes yeah what is it39 139 so that's one two three four four NOS two three four five yeses right Roman voted no to 131 wait I'm I'm double check six yes to 139 4 no thank you Joe and 12 128 thank you Mr CL all right we'll now move on to ordinances on first reading beginning with ordinance 68-54 40,000 for the acquisition of an ambulance for the fire department and authorizing the issuance of $418,000 in bonds or notes for financing part of the appropriation okay can we have a motion for introduction of ordinance make a motion to introduce ordinance 68-59 ask for a second please second oron yes javic yes Mohammed yes Ras Roman yes Strano Armstead yes Medina yes Hudak yes Mrs yamus yes ordinance 68-60 ordinance authorizing the private sale of city-owned property located at 2800 Highland Avenue block 322 lot 9 the minimum bid for this property shall be $2,500 okay can we have a motion for introduction of ordinance [Music] 68-66 A-6 and ask for a second please second Mormon yes javic yes Mohammad yes Rivas yes Roman yes Strano yes Armstead yes Medina yes Hudak yes Mrs yamus yes okay ordinance 68-78 D7 and ask for a second please second Orman yes javic yes Mohammad yes Rivas yes Roman yes Strano yes Armstead Medina yes Hudak yes Mrs yamakas yes okay ordinance 68-82 point72 entitled Committees of the city council this ordinance merges the finance committee with the revenue enhancement committee okay can we have a motion for introduction of ordinance 68 d8 please yes council president I move for U ordinance number 68 d8 for introduction request a second second Orman yes javic yes Mohammad yes revas yes Roman yes Strano yes Armstead yes Medina yes Hudak Mrs Yus yes ordinance 68- 9 please Bond ordinance providing an appropriation of $271,700 for landfill improvements and the ACO compliance for the city of Lyndon and authorizing the issuance of $28,155 in bonds or notes for financing part of the appropriation okay can we have a motion for introduction of ordinance 68- 9 please council president I'd like to make a motion to introduce ordinance 689 and ask for a second please second oron yes javic yes Muhammad yes Rivas Roman hi Strano yes Armstead yes Medina yes Hudak yes Mrs yakes yes ordinance 68-1 please Bond ordinance providing an appropriation of $220,000 for the acquisition of office furniture and carpeting for various departments and authorized the issuance of $29,000 in bonds or notes for financing part of the appropriation okay can we have a motion for introduction of ordinance 68-1 please council president I'd like to make a motion to introduce ordinance 68-1 and ask for a second please second Orman yes javic yes Mohammad yes Rivas yes Roman yes Strano yes Armstead yes Medina yes Hudak yes Mrs yamus yes ordinance 68-1 please Bond ordinance providing an appropriation of $539,000 for the acquisition of various items of Capital Equipment for the police department and authorizing the issuance of $512,500 ask for a second please second oron yes javic yes Mohammad yes Roman yes Strano yes Armstead yes Medina yes Hudak yes Mrs Yus yes ordinance 68-1 please Bond ordinance provided an appropriation of 1,379 400 for the acquisition of various items of information technology equipment for various departments and authorizing the issuance of 1, 31,43 in bonds or notes for financing part of the appropriation and we have a motion for introduction of ordinance 68-1 please council president I'd like to make a motion to introduce ordinance 6812 and ask for a second please second Orman yes javic yes Mohammad yes Rivas yes Roman yes Strano yes Armstead yes Medina yes Hudak yes Mrs yamus yes ordinance 68-3 please calendar year 2024 model ordinance to exceed the municipal budget appropriation limits and to establish a cat Bank in accordance with njsa 4A 44514 okay can we have a motion for introduction of ordinance 6813 please council president I'd like to make a motion to introduce ordinance 6813 and ask for a second please second yes javic yes Mohammad yes revas yes Roman yes stranana yes Armstead yes Medina yes Hudak yes Mr matis yes ordinance 6814 please an ordinance to amend and supplement chapter 31 zoning of an ordinance entitled an ordinance adopting and enacting the revised General ordinances of the city of Lyndon 1999 passed November 23rd 1999 and approved November 24th 1999 and as amended and supplemented amending certain Provisions in this c-1b District revising 31-121 permitted uses 31-1 19.8 18 parking lots and 31- 2513 signs in the c1b commercial District okay can we have a motion uh for introduction of ordinance 6814 please yes council president I move for introduction of ordinance number 6814 and request a second second bman yes javic yes Mohammad yes Reas Roman no Strano no Armstead yes Medina yes Pak yes Mrs Yus yes okay now going to move on to comments from members of the public in attendance on City business only only no personal political or derogatory comments not to exceed three minutes okay uh we'll begin with uh Craig howerin please state your name and address of the record [Music] please my name is c h 12 Donaldson place what I'm commenting about is at the March 21st meeting of last year it was brought up that perhaps after the train derailment and spill in Palestina Ohio that the city should get together with other First Responders and emergency personnel and hold a public town hall to explain heyy this is how we handle it it's great training for every body just like training is great for our First Responders you know and I have to thank them I think they did a great job and the rment last week yeah thank you again guys and you pass it along and I have to thank public works for the great job clearing the snow and all but again it'ss like training is so important for our First Responders why not help train the public because we have a lot of chemicals that go through on railroads on the other side of town in tremley point I don't live there I live somewhere else but I know people that live there and I know that we do have tons of what this was a 90 ton 90 car train that eight cars derailed two of them fell on their side thank God there were no injuries there were no spills but I was told that bringing this up might be a bad idea because it might create a panic in the city I'm not looking to create panic training prevents Panic please take it under you know please use it as advice and I know in all the years I worked in wastewater treatment all the training I re received on how to deal with 90 ton rail cars a liquid chlorine was very helpful not only to me but to our surrounding communities because you let loose of 90 tons of liquid chlorine that's a nice Cloud okay and very dangerous but I know that you know the rail cars that derailed last week they had methanol so if they spilled maybe we'd end up with a bunch of drunk fish or something I'm not sure but I know it's a hazardous material flammable and you know I'm looking forward to getting reports from other people that did respond to this uh thank you very much and have a good night thank thank you Mr Hall Chief uh hasco thank you Craig yes um I was talking to Chief Hart here he's also the head of the OEM and not only we're looking to put something together from our perspective but also having the outside agencies who run the rails con rail Amtrak um to participate in this uh presentation as well because I think yourself and the public should also know the precautions that they take and the uh the that they have to make sure that their rails are safe not only what we would do if we respond but how they maintain their stuff so we're working on putting something together I know it's been quite some time I apologize for that um but we are going to put some together and have it presented to you thank you council president May comment also mayor yes uh yes I I commend the chief for trying to put something together uh with regards to training and exercising and trying to uh make the public more aware what's going on but I will say this that Conrail the comments that I got from conre is that they have never seen a city uh coordinate in such a fashion they they they complimented us on our savvan sophistication and and our ability to coordinate our efforts uh to protect the public and get those trains back on the rail uh within 20 hours those trains were back on the rails the rails were repaired and they were off and on their way so uh again to have that kind of compliment from Conrail to say that our Police Department our fire department our OEM our coordination with County uh agencies was the best that they've ever seen is just a compliment I'm proud to be a leader of a town that that uh operates in such a way I want to thank the chief both Chiefs my fire chief uh my police chief uh and my police chief happens to be in charge of OEM I'm very proud of the way they performed okay thank you mayor okay I'd like to call up um next JJ Ward is that correct okay could you just please state your name and address for the records JJ wch 704 sum Street okay go ahead sir just want to take a minute um behalf of of Lindon to thank the mayor um and council president can you speak a little louder into the microphone thank you go all the way in yeah um I just want to take a minute on behalf of K Lyon to thank the mayor council president the whole city council and the police police department and fire department and I know all our volunteers are looking forward to and do whatever they can to help the city this is a very good very good thing for the entire city and we're thank you very very much for all the effort that went into getting this resolution done thank you very much thank you [Music] all right um now could I have a motion to close the public comment portion of the meeting please so moved second oron yes javic yes Mohammad yes Revis Roman yes Strano yes Armstead yes Medina yes Hudak yes Mrs Yus yes okay comments from members of the governing body is anyone wish to speak okay councilman Strano I'm going to all right I try to put some notes together real quick regarding U Mr o' hallin's comments about the uh train derailment uh I won't remain silent you know regarding the um my concerns I was always under the belief that trains that are only going 5 miles an hour wouldn't derail and boy was I wrong I was at the site I saw the train car and uh it was a mess I mean it was I think eight cars out of a 90 car train and it was probably at the tail end uh because the engines were at the other end of the uh um of the train and um fortunately you know that location is pretty pretty far removed from uh any of the residents uh but still you know if you did have a fire you'd have Airborne components and things air pollution nature of that that you'd have to be able to contem with which also uh really raises the hair in the back of my neck because thank God that didn't happen uh at the rail Crossing um a lower Road by public works that's hauling uh back in uh crude oil uh that stuff is really dangerous there's methane gas in those cars and uh yeah I'll raise a panic you know it's there's houses right there their backyards are right where those cars are so we definitely need to get you know get our act together here at Lon okay thank you councilman councilman Roman thank you uh Craig I I agree with you in uh some ways I think that we should have some uh you know informational sessions with the citizens and and training need be or just more information uh I think it would go a long way and I I agree with you I just wanted to add uh from the Board of Health that there's a uh covid-19 RSV vaccination clinic uh the Board of Health in conjunction with the Union County Office of Health Management and super Health Pharmacy will be holding a free covid-19 RSV vaccination clinic at the linen Library vaccinations are available for anyone over age of five RSV vaccinations are available to seniors uh age 60 and over uh the clinic will be held Saturday February 24th from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and on Monday March 11th from 600 p.m. 6:30 p.m. to 8:15 p.m. any questions can call the Board of Health at 9847496386 asked to speak with one of the nurses thank you council president thank you councilman Roman um councilman Medina yes council president thank you just real briefly I just want to thank JJ for coming out and also all the members of the hola uh crew um a lot of these guys do live uh within the ninth War community and their neighbors and I have personally seen these guys in action helping folks whether it be a motor vehicle accidents or just even backing up our fire department or whatnot uh it's great to see a group that's willing to continue to work with the city and our First Responders I just want to acknowledge them because they're all back there and they came out tonight so thank you for coming up and acknowledging the resolution but you guys please continue what you're doing so thank you okay Council Council woman wmon uh yes thank you council president I would just like to piggyback off of uh What uh councilman Amando Medina said I'd like to personally welcome you to our Public Safety emergency management team this is our community regardless of what our differences are regardless of our religious police or whatever this is our community so we welcome anyone who's going to take our Public Safety to heart and think of all of our citizens so once again Welcome to our Emergency Management and our public sa our Public Safety team we look forward to working with you guys thank councilman javic I also would want to thank you for coming tonight and um we appreciate all your support in our city thank you all right um before we close out for this evening um I would like to take this opportunity to uh congratulate lyndon's own Brianna Armstead our mayor's daughter she was in Washington last month for National Haitian American elected officials conference with the youth caucus for Life Net and politics and lessons with Jen Z I'm sure she had a lot of lessons she's learned over the years mayor so she probably was a great contributor but but you know many of us have watched Brianna grow up you know in the background here so it is so nice to see her you know in uh moving ahead in uh politics and stuff so we congratulate you you must be beaming with pride so please extend to our congratulations to her she said she's going to run against me in 2026 okay okay okay the next council meeting will be as follows Council conference meeting Monday March 18th 2024 at 6 PM in the council conference room City Hall Council conference meeting prior to the council meeting Tuesday March 19 2024 at 6 PM in the council conference room City Hall council meeting Tuesday March 19th at 700 PM in the council chambers City Hall these meetings will be held in person can we have a motion to adjourn please council president I'd like to make a motion to adjourn second Orman yes javic yes Mohamad Rivas Roman Strano Armstead yes Medina yes Hudak yes Mrs Yus yes council members if you could please return the sashes I'd appreciate it [Music] [Music]