this meeting will now come to order Tuesday December 19th 2023 at 7:01 p.m. under the provisions of njsa 10 4-6 notice of the time and place of the meeting was given by way of an annual meeting notice to The Star Ledger Courier News and home news and posted at Burrow Hall please join me for the salute I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation God indiv liy and justice for all Linda please call the rooll May mad here council president Conan here councilman cor here councilman dinino here Council michek here councilman Quinn here councilman Rex administrator the place here and attorney here thank you Linda no presentations tonight and tonight we have two very important appointments to make uh Linda you have resolution 353 2023 the hiring of probationary police officer Brandon Stout at an annual salary of 52,5 effective January 8th 2024 we have a motion to approve the resolution 353-2231 i Brand St do s with swear swe that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the constitution of the state of New Jersey that that I support the constition of the United States and constition of J that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same and to the governments established in the United States and in the states and to the governments established in the United States and in this St under the authority of the people under the authority of the people and that I will faithfully and that I will Faithfully partially and justly and justly perform all the duties of perform all the duties of midle police officer according to the best of my ability so help me die according to the best of my ability to help me go congratulations you didn't get any water did you didn't get any water did you thank you conat yes appointed uh Brandon Stout Brandon comes from a background as a correctional police officer with the somerson county sheriff's office he was attending the Kate May County Police Academy where he will compete complete his basic course for police officers on June 6 2024 Brandon attended Cen Hall University in Pennsylvania and ASA College in Brooklyn New York where he earned an associates and applied science degree in criminal justice Brandon was raised in Piscataway New Jersey and currently resides in serson County with his family again congratulations okay Lindon next resolution we have resolution 354 2023 hiring of probationary police officer David linski at an annual salary of $ 52,589 we have a motion to approve resolution 35422 3 motion second second a roll call please council president Conan yes coun yes coun Dino yes coun Mia yes coun Quinn yes okay at this time I will invite David wasinski up to the elect turn to be sworn in and please invite the family I David wiin do Sol L swear you Solly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the constitution of the state of New Jersey and the constitution of the state of New Jersey that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same and to the governments established in the United States and of this state and to the governments established in the United States and in the state under the authority of the people under the authority of the people and that I will faithfully and that I will faithfully impartially impartially and justly justly perform all the duties of perform all the duties of a MX Pro police officer according to the best of my abilities so help me the best of my ability so help me congratulations one more you think thank you clear David wasinski David comes from a background at a correctional as a correctional police officer with the New Jersey State Department of Corrections he will be attending the Kate May County Police Academy where he will compete complete the basic course for police officers on June the 6th 2024 David attended Monclair State University in r Ron Valley Community College where he earned an associate of science degree in Business David was raised in Bridgewater and currently resides in the Somerset County area with his family and congratulations again any more pictures before we uh retire the police force would you like to say a few words I would I just want to congratulate Brandon and David on a on a going through the process is very difficult very long TR were the best and we really excited bring on board I want to thank the mayor and Council um this brings us to full staff and it's a a fantastic support we've had by this Council uh to get where we are forward to having also want to thank my police back who came My Command Staff who came to support thank you very much at this time uh you may leave if you like we have no proclamations no ordinances obviously for introduction we'll move to item eight tonight we have three ordinances for public hearing and final adoption Linda we have ordinance number 21423 providing for design and permitting in connection with the Mountain View Park project appropriating $185,000 therefore in authorizing the issuance of $175,700 bonds notes to finance a portion of the cost thereof authorized in and by the bur of middlex in the county of middx New Jersey and this is for again for engineering plans and etc for the park may have a motion to open up the public hearing for ordinance number 24-23 Moot and second all in favor public hearing is now open anyone wishing to speak come up to the mic and state your name and address for the record okay since there's no comments I'm going to close the public portion of the meeting I have a motion to close motion and second second all in favor may have a motion to adopt ordinance number 24-23 motion second second any comments questions no ma' okay he man since I was absent for the meeting and I read it I'm satisfied it's so cool Chris yes yes so thank you councilman all right Linda please for the role council president Conan yes counil K yes coun dinino yes coun M yes councilman Quinn yes thank you motion carries an ordinance number 24-23 is adopted okay next one please we have ordinance number 21523 an ordinance authorizing the sale of property known as lock 278 lot 60 and 61 on the middlex tax map and located on Drake Avenue to the United States Department of the Army Corps of Engineers and this is again the sale of Daisy Park was back on the docket here may a motion to open up the public hearing for ordinance number 2105 d23 motion and second second all in favor I public hearing for ordinance number 2105 d23 is now open anyone wishing to speak please come up to the mic and state your name and address for the record okay since there's no comments we have a motion to close the public hearing for ordinance number 25-23 motion second second all in favor I we have a motion to adopt ordinance number 2105 d23 motion and second second any comments questions the the only comment is I wish we could have held this longer but the Army court is not going to do anything for so yeah yeah yeah good point Thank You councilman okay uh roll call please council president Conan yes counc cor counc dinino counc M yes yes thank you Linda ordinance number 215-231 please I have ordinance number 21623 an ordinance amending chapter 6 the bylaws of Council of the municipal code of the B of middle we have a motion to open up the public hearing for ordinance number 20 26-23 motion second second all in favor all public hearing for ordinance number 2106 d uh 23 is now open anyone wishing to speak please come up to the mic state your name and address for the record fly cage 240 days um can you just explain what's being changed what's being amended I I believe that what they're doing is they're um they're leaving the idea of the um the uh Council representatives are going back to the Leon and um and the subcommittees like we had before so yeah the way they used to do it correct that that's pretty much primarily the only change everything else that that's conform to that right like there's a few other things that that aren't necessarily related directly to that but make no sense if you don't change it because you're going back to that yeah I don't make any other changes besides that okay thank you thank you anyone else wishing to comment okay since there's no more comments I'll ask for a motion to close the public portion of the meeting for ordinance number 26-23 motion second second all in favor I we have a motion to adopt ordinance number 21062 3 motion second second any comments questions the only comment I have may I don't know how much it matters but in section um 625 say Council Maniac Le aison well I do feel like that one for you Jeremiah just kidding just teasing just teasing um Lind you can make that type of graphic change um in this without having to reu it I like the ordinance I like the reference because it's funny but let's change it does that hold it up or no no the change it's a a DI Minimus change no I think this is beautiful I think this is going to bring a lot of transparency where it was lacking in a lot of areas so this is I'm very happy this is happening any other comments or questions okay Linda please call the role counc president Conan yes counc Cor counc m counc m Quinn yes motion carries an ordinance number 26-23 is adopted thank you uh we'll move to the adoption of the minutes I have approval of the November 21st 2023 regular and executive meeting minutes may I have a motion to approve the November 21 2023 regular and executive meeting minutes motion and second second all in favor I thank you next one I have approval of the December 8th 2023 special meeting minute and may have a motion to approve approve the December 8th 2023 special meeting minutes motion second second all in favor all right thank you okay I need stain for both of those I didn't know if you heard you don't need you but you stain for both okay two items for the uh my report number one the one thing I've been harping on all year year and a half Heather Lane I decided to again stop there yesterday after the significant water flow and I understand the sebrings mill pumping station was pumping significantly um and of course uh more erosion at number five and number six Heather Lane were very evident prior to going out there I tried calling the some of the news agency to see if again they would like to come out and see this extensive amount of damage uh first firsthand as I was on my way down uh CBS uh TV channel 2 called me and I said look meet me there we did the interview uh they were amazed they didn't put it on on last night but they they made a comment that U about my uh going there and being concerned about that so and the other thing I want to uh suggest is um I'm going to present my final address here just right before the executive session why is he clapping something you can't wait for you to be done all right um we'll move to the council member with reports council president Khan do you have anything to report I do mayor um I want to congratulator two new Brandon and David know they've left but congrats I I also want to thank all of our emergency services and our First Responders for all of their hard work and long hours starting on Sunday throughout all of yesterday and even at uh today um they helped many of our residents H as well as communs navigate and avoid the rising flood waters uh this includes our Police Department DPW a special thanks to Chris Emmons uh Rescue Squad fire department and especially our office of emergency management uh there's much clean up left to do over the coming days and weeks uh also thanks to all who attended and helped the deliver our annual tree lighting uh Winterfest and bonfire back on December 2nd the weather was beautiful that day and it was uh the most well attended in many many years a lot of that was due to the weather um and a special thank you to the entire Recreation Department led by Melissa D Marino a very heartfelt thank you to Laura Meisner who is retiring uh as a long time Meals on Wheels driver and uh play group coordinator Laura Paul the entire Meer family have donated hundreds and hundreds of hours of their time and volunteering throughout middle sex War you'll be uh Solly missed uh congratulations to our very own Magie schroer OEM on her recent accomplishments and graduation we had a successful meeting with the Board of Education back on December 5th and that meeting focused on updating our shared service agreement our next joint Lany board meeting is December the 27th uh regarding Heather Lane the mayor mentioned that and thank you to the mayor for again bringing uh the news the news crews and a lot of much needed attention to Heather Lane we successfully submitted an application last week to the resilience communi grant program which is administered by New Jersey uh the Department of Community Affairs for the maximum Award of $5 million um we'll find out soon enough and and fingers crossed more to come uh big thank you to our our entire fire department I know some of them were here earlier which is 100% volunteer for all the holiday Joy they delivered uh all day Saturday and Saturday night throughout our entire buau and they visited each and every neighbor uh congratulations to to Kenny bartuk who's who was elected and will sworn in on January 1st at 12: noon as our new fire chief big thank you goes to our goes out to our fire chief Dave bird uh for the last six consecutive years as fire chief and overall nine years as fire chief DAV has volunteered thousands of hours um of his time to fulfill his role as fire chief over all these years we appreciate all that you've done they especially me thank you very much um and I saved the most important for last uh thank you to John Madden thank you for your tireless dedication and committing thousands of hours of your time to serve our residents I did some rough math and it was on an average week for for the mayor it was between um for the four years between 5 and 6,000 hours um not just here in Bur Hall but but throughout our burrow and on phone fall Saturdays Sundays um you brought integrity and transparency back to the mayor's office uh most would sink after inheriting your situation in December of 2019 but you swam because your predecessor was indicted and then jail there was absolutely no transition your onboarding was completely on the job training starting on day one right which rarely happens in the in the public public or private sector there's not really any formalized training to to be mayor and for you John it was baptism by fire uh then it was a depleted Surplus Co losing your mother losing your only child Kyle and then fighting the state of New York for guardianship of your special needs grandson Tanner in which you succeed yeah all of this while running a very successful business in town which Demands a lot for over the over the last 50 years we've been an in instrumental driving force for many of us that have volunteered in town simply leading by examp I witnessed this firsthand when you're the longtime president of our Board of Health and I was a a new member almost 15 years ago like back then you were always accessible willing to roll up your sleeves and always focused on making things better for Middle Sixx your positivity and your sense of humor is is contagious thank you Barbara for your overwhelming support of John especially when he was the Board of Health president for almost 30 years uh two chair councilman and over and our mayor for the last four years I look forward to your contributions on the joint land use for John as you enter your second year most importantly I look forward to continue to celebrate your many many accomplishments over the past four years in closing uh another Testament to John is his commitment to a seamless transition to mayor-elect mic on January 2nd at 700 p.m. in the Very Room there hasn't been many smooth and seamless transitions between Mayors in recent memory the last possibly and Eddie I'm Glad You Came tonight you can fact check me on this but the last possible smooth transition was between mayor Mattis scavage the mayor does back in 1980 again another Testament to Mayor M uh John job well done the governing body thanks thank you thank you council president thank you beautiful work councilman corn have you anything I do mayor thank you um I would also like to thank our wonderful OEM and the dedicated services that our Emergency Management services offered all the time through all storms that's beautiful thing and it's uh that's it for that um mayor if it wasn't for you I wouldn't even be in this discussing half the things that we discuss and through our ups and our downs and our adventures of conversation it has been quite a journey yes it has and it's been um while it's not as political as what was said before I can't thank you enough for what you have done and a lot of things so in the future Journeys we're here for you we got you got your back W back and that's pretty much it sir I appreciate it thank you for those kind words councilman that's it very nice uh councilman dinino yes also following Mr Conan counc president con I'd like to thank you also mayor can't relate to what he said but if you want what he say thank you so much you instrumental and me getting here also so I I appreciate that well thank you thank you very much the next po meeting is tomorrow 1220 theob I know thean was always there I've worked in this town for many years I never sat in stor it's a Well oiled machine Chap's there o there fire it's amazing what they do and it was it was not great that it was minor St I can imagine you guys did the worst we' had great job um rep Public Works we had six employees on after hour was plus to Super four of them were on the roads opening and closing roads as they off fit um from the command post two of the guys maintain the pump station at the sword building make sure the assist brand F that's a big job that um also this morning um Chris and Lenny had to r swep that were flooded all three and most of three roads BR up Mark had his guys in the park cleaning up when he could but ground is so wet he did the best job he can also DPW will picking up will be picking up flooded items from homes this Thursday and Friday hopefully not a lot but be will do it also next that's good thank you councilman Council michek you have anything to report we went through the police numbers last month uh Mike and the the guys that pretty much covered uh everything else that's going on I did go to the OEM dinner that was very nice event I do appreciate the invite as where always nice to see a good crew there um and we went to the to the fireman meeting last night you know it what it really brings out that for next year we really got to be about volunteerism and volunteering you know I'm I'm not 100% sure on the OEM numers so I'm not going to guess because I'm usually very bad at the guessing just ask my wife to tell you but at anyway just just so you guys have an idea and and the fire department in the last two years they went from over 70 to just over 50 there was 20 members you know and and a lot young and we've had a couple of uh brainstorming sessions we're going to have some more going into next year because we have to turn it around there has to be some way to get people to to volunteer to to be able to help us out because the the alternative is you're going to have to hire a fire department I mean you can't not have a fire department and that's going to cost and I don't think we're at that point but if we keep going the way we are without attracting new members and being comp comptitive in terms of what a fire department is or oen and and and Emergency Services you know it's only a matter of a few years before we're in trouble I mean you know if you if you look at it as time goes on the average age of Volunteers in the town is not going down it's not even staying the same it's going up and that's a big problem and that's something that we're going have to work on um you know and the fire the fire department 450 calls it's the most that I've seen you know in in the course of the year since I've been doing it and that's the last nine years as far as John John you're not getting off the boook you got your cell phone number you know that you and I are good for talking at 6:30 and 7 o'l in the morning so I I I expect that that's going to continue um now one of the good things about the way just just that the way the selection went I mean it's nice to go and be unopposed but one of the good things that comes out of it is that you're beholden to nobody you know there's no promises made no deal no back door deals and the only thing I can promise you guys is I'll do my best and uh as far as everything else goes happy holidays let's hope everyone has a safe one let's hope that we don't need the Emergency Services the police department and everything else let's have a nice quiet and time with your family that's all I ask well mayor elect I'll be always here for you as you know thank you councilman Quinn do you have anything to report just to Echo what said tonight I uh I'd like to thank all of our emergency responders I mean the past couple of days have been challenging for them and uh you know thank you for all years of service Mr M thank you moving forward I look forward to working with you thank you I appreciate that thank you councilman unfortunately uh councilman Rex is um in firm and he wanted to be here tonight but um he can't make it before I get to uh the administrator's report I want to make a comment how well balanced from the residents and uh the uh OEM and the police and fire and rescue I mean it just such a beautiful job yesterday it almost seems like a seamless thing with all the rain we got and and the aggravation and whatnot but the good news is we bit the bullet we didn't have the major rain that they anticipated in the afternoon although I think the high tide well about one o'clock in the morning right we reached flood stage right I think something like that so so just over just over yeah so I think um just kudos to everybody involved it was uh well coordinated thank you all right we'll move to the administrator report administrator leace please submit your report thank you Mr Mayor members of the council members of the public um 2023 has been an impressively good productive year for the bur and some of the major accomplishments will be highlighted by Mary Madden and his closing remarks later this evening earlier today the municipal staff enjoyed a holiday lunch in in the community room everyone had a great time and I would like to thank the mayor and Council for allowing us to close offices for an hour at noon in order to be able to celebrate as a team I'd also like to thank mayor mad council president conahan and councilman dinino for joining us um I'm very pleased to share share the news that Kelsey misner has passed the state's registered municipal clerk examination all right congratulations uh records Clerk Sharon Smigel has announced a retirement from the police department in burough effective January 31st 2024 we have begun the recruitment process to fill this position uh there will be a special council meeting tentatively scheduled for January 30th of next year it'll be a workshop focusing on ethics and also goal setting for the new year so we'll give you more information on that that as you get it uh Council resolutions on the agenda this evening include ones to authorize a shared service agreement with Franklin Township for animal control services for the purchase of firearms and accessories for the police department the authorization to begin digit digitization of archive Municipal record even for me to uh to promote police offic officer Daniel girl to officer class one for the authorization of a Grant application to the New Jersey Department of Transportation for improvements to the intersection of mountain and South Avenues and the acceptance of two quick claim feeds from the United States General Services Administration for the property at 239 Mountain Avenue in the first quarter of the New Year we will Begin work on the master plan for Victor carral Park this plan will address engineering and environmental issues and this sensitive incorporation of the parcel of land at 302 Union Avenue into the Historic Park so you'll be hearing more about that in early of the new year also in the New Year there will be a resolution before you at the January regular meeting to approve revisions and updates to the bureau's Personnel manual as recommended by the Central Jersey joint Insurance Fund these changes involve the following subject areas anti-discrimination policy uh let's see access to personnel files absenteeism and tardiness use of burrow Vehicles sick leave family and medical leave and the overtime compensation policy so we'll be getting that information to you for your review regarding the balr route 28 streets gate book Road 28 streetcap beautification project the municipal engineer has spoken with the regional director at Public Service Electric and Gas who has assured us that our project has been moved up in order a priority and that work should begin soon so we're hoping see the new ornamental Street lighting early in the new year we'll keep the pressure on there um there will be an agenda Workshop session this evening addressing the continuing focus by the buau on the area of heatherlane and the Residential Properties that have experienced dramatic erosion The Bu is finalizing the details of a short-term approach to stabilizing the bank of the brook while also working on a permanent solution to the problem Public Works has informed me that if all materials are received in time we hope to Begin work on the brook Bank retaining wall during the first full week of January uh this evening the executive session will involve discussion of real estate of 1190 Mountain Avenue and finally I'd like to take this opportunity to thank the mayor and councel my fellow Municipal Employees and other members of the community for their support and assistance during my first year with the burough I am enjoying working here and look forward to an exciting year ahead best wishes to everyone for a happy and healthy holiday thank you administrator all right next we'll move to the privilege we have a motion to open up the public portion of the meeting motion and second second all in favor I public portion is now open anyone wishing to comment please come up to the mic and state your name and address for the record thank you mayor my name is Rich comy 109 Avenue a few meetings ago there was a heated discussion about the uh landwood feed that was assessed uh in town I just want to say that um the timing may have been off but it's not an uncommon differential for uh people to be assessed that fee uh I am a landlord in Florida I don't want to be a landlord never intend is to be a landlord and I only have one property but um last March I got a letter for $155 fee and it was due April 1st I had 30 days to pay the fee and after that there were penalties for every 15 days uh I just want to say that as I said the fee is not uncommon um and I think it's an attempt uh by the council to keep property taxes down okay I just wanted to say that thank you thank you appreciate it Johnson Jr 2 16 days with Avenue section New Jersey Michael I just uh don't correct you but I am going to correct you uh I believe that in the past and I know it as a fact that there has always been unlike on the federal level there's always been a smooth transition of government from one councilman or from one mayor to another mayor whether it would be Republican to Democrat or democrat to Republican we don't have that problem in town we've ever have hopefully we never will but uh your thoughts were in the right direction thank you okay um as I am sure you know I no longer come to these Council meetings since I'm getting too old to attend them on a regular basis I have spent over 50 years sitting at that Podium where you are dispensing advice to other Mayors ranging from Walter Rafferty Mar matkevich Ron does Jerry D'Angelo and John Ferman as a result of my experience sitting up there where you are at this time I know the amount of hard work and precious time that you have to spend in order to properly do your job to represent the residents of this town I also know the sacrifices that have been made by your wife and allowing and encourage you to do your job for the people of the town the many hours that she has remained home and taking care of the family while you were here at Earl Hall during doing the work of the town she has made sacrifices just as you have and she deserves our thanks for all that she has done to support you when r thank you when Ron was mayor he instituted a program recognizing outstanding citizens in the bur you and your wife are certainly entitled to give that award wow yours is a thankless job people come out all the time to criticize you and the job that you were doing and hardly ever come out to say thank you even even dealing with your fellow council members can be tedious and discouraging at times it's like you are an island little support a little encouraging if mistakes are made you are the person who gets the blame as former president Harry S tuman used to say the buck stops here since I know how the general public feels today which is to let someone else do the job rather than doing the job themselves and to neglect to say thank you when they should do so I feel it is my duty to come to this meeting tonight and to publicly thank you and your wife for the countless hours you have expended over your extensive career giving service to the Bur you not only have been mayor for the last several years but you previously served in the burough Council and on various boards and commissions in the burough probably doing your greatest service on the board of health which you led for many years you assumed the position of Mayor at a critical time in the burrow the burrow had lost bur CLK and a feral administrator by retirement so you were denied the luxury of having experienced people to give you advice you were basically on your own there were loyal employees to assist you but they were not used to Bringing being heads of the Departments and so they had to learn their new jobs and responsibilities at the same time as you they have done a good job providing you support and you at the same time expressed your gratitude to them for the job that they have done this has been a good symbiotic relationship they will miss you and we can only hope that your successor treats them in the same respect and comradeship that you have given to them they are your right arm and they must be appreciated for the job that they do and you have done this I am here today not only to express my thanks and gratitude to you and your wife for all that you have done for but to also Express the thanks and gratitudes of all my contemporaries who are too old or too infirm to come to the meeting not many people of my age are still mobile or still have all their faculties about them I am remely Lucky in that regard people in my generation have been taught to thank others when others are doing a good job and I sure that there are many people of my age group who are not physically able to come out to this meeting to express their gratitude to you for all that you and your wife have done for the girl but if they were able to do so they would be here also so I am thanking you not only for myself but for all of those other my contemporaries who are not physically able to come out tonight to do so themselves people in my generation appreciate what you have done and we are here to publicly thank you John you have been a good and faithful servant to us all and we thank you good luck to you and your future endeavors God bless you and your family thank you Edie beautiful thank you Linda Linda speakers have said and probably a few one they said um I was here back in some of the dark days and I know that you came on board in a very difficult time and it's not always easy you get a lot of grief from people people like me sometimes but um you know I think as Mr Johnson said I think girl a lot of gratitude lot the than stepping in when you did when a lot of other people probably would not have under those circumstances so I just wanted to say that um just wanted to ask one thing I do want to ask about aside from that um I was looking at you the agenda tonight and I see once again real estate 119 M this has come up quite a bit the property next been discussion on possibly buying it I was also looking online the other day and I saw uh all professionals that New York including proceeding firm have to file how much they earned and if I saw that we've expended like $300,000 in legal fees in this town in two years and I'm just wondering you know what is that $300,000 we spent on is this thing going away away anytime soon can you say anything about any of this because as a taxpayer I see $300,000 on legal fees and it you know you see sometimes there's a bad year where you're going to incur a lot of fees for different things but when you see a period of two years you start thinking you know are we going down the more path here are we throwing bad money left or you know things that we shouldn't be pursuing can you say anything about the legal fees and about property and explo uh oh so I'm going to tell you my opinion uh number one um I think you know we have people in place and and that we check you know um when uh invoices come in I I just think we've had a lot of um issues with um that required uh legal stuff we had the Lincoln Statue part there with the Quiet Title which took a lot of digging in and um that took a very long time so that I expected the bill to be more significant um John Dave my bill is a public record as you're welcome to com through yeah welcome to com through I pride myself on the detail um and I we under budget this year as the administrator will hopefully testify so like I said I understand are sometimes things CRA up and you don't you don't PL work you Happ to every business every industry um but we see two years in a row you start thinking and that's not all me right it's not all me so okay that's okay so so there's environmental cases that are active right mayor M we have two yeah I was also going to add that in addition to when things come up events and cases that come up that our attorne have to address there's dayto day ongoing review of draft ordinances and other things that we go to the attorney for and those are buildable out so it's not just we have special cases that come up it's a kind of an ongoing operation where all the orces really that that come before Council are reviewed by the Pearl attorney I think of you Dave when I provide that detail so you're welcome I know I do I think about the residents and my accountability to the residents so okay well can you guys say anything about what's going on with the property next door this shows up on Executive sessions like every other meeting so now um I've been uh calling the echo science people they did the phase one and phase two we are waiting again for the d report the de d report was supposed to be in about four months ago that's going to finalize the U the phase two environmental what we need so we can't really move forward until we know what the D wants because that's the important factor right there so I'm very frustrated that that we haven't gotten that yet um the other thing is we have submitted um our offer and I think they know the presbyter they know that this is what we're waiting for I think they're holding off as well so what's that it's a placeholder yeah so we're at a stalemate when will we be at the point where it's going to be we're doing it or we're not well I I think the Council next year they're going to have to make up their mind to either um we're not going to wait forever we have American Rescue funds that uh we're trying to attach and encumber to that if that doesn't work then um they need to move on we need to move on and there are other um possibilities uh talking to our administrator he brought up a couple things that we can do as far as um uh maybe building onto the U the uh building here um uh instead of uh the Presbyterian Church it it's it's a shame because this would never exist in the um in the business World either we make the decision thank you thank you very much we make the decision and we allow a certain amount of reasonable time and it's time to move on I mean that would be my decision but I think it's it may come down to that at this point I don't know how much longer once the d report comes in Echo Sciences has to review it that may take another I don't know two three four weeks and then we will get the final tell what's going on with that so I'm not happy about this whole situation because again we're in a stalemate but um I I just think it's going to be time to my opinion that we're going to probably wind up moving on from that St moving on think it's not going to go through correct that's just my opinion oh yeah I would say 900 P report which is what you mentioned here a couple of times indicates that there's it's not property it I don't think it is I mean it was all part of the landfill so but you know first things first you know we want to get the our do the finality of our due diligence and it's very important to see what the D report's going to be because it's usually not a very pleasant report coming in especially as being part of the uh landfill but it would be very um um unwise to go ahead without having that information about if there's any potential contamination thank you very much thank you save anyone else wishing to comment oh boy here comes trouble ready we're not taking down any burrow trees if you're going to ask that I'm G to forget just like I forget here all the time forget that so I just want to Frank Bryan 303 Maple Street a couple of things um first of all I want to it was happy to see the two new police officers hired tonight and hopefully it's setting the tithe for a change that is welcome so on this level on the country's level it's the TI's got to be changed and I see it tonight um eded Johnson you're not getting old it's just that you're so busy where is it he's so busy helping everybody out he helped me out with my house in boundbrook so he's busy too busy to come to a council meeting he's got to tell somebody he'll come in Friday and he's got to show up at a council meeting every week um I got to correct Mike conahan right John does not run a successful business harer does I walk in his feet are up on the taking care of the grandson so you've got it totally wrong and so but going back I have to than John there was a time that I was not well thought of by a few people and quite a few people and John went to bat for me to get me back in good graces and get me on the land that he put together the best thing that he ever did for the town save money consolidate the two boards so that's part of his legacy and for him to reach out to me Paul was not here tonight but two people that were on the fridges and he brought us in and I think uh that's one of the best things that could happen for the town thank you thank you and John you're really not going away bar might have you home for a night or two you should take her out otherwise I will that's on the record you're making blush Frank you're making a blush that's three minutes Mar be involved you're not going away and your challenges now are taking care of your grandon that's the most important thing that there is taking care of bar taking care of the family and all this other stuff will work out they're not they're not letting you go away they I won't let them so I thank you and seeing again the volunteers as you get older you really iiz the OEM the police department everybody out there spending their time worrying about other people by your home watching TV and the firemen Rescue Squad are out there doing their job and it's nice seeing that so the whole town is involved with that and especially all you guys volunteers everybody complains but you're volunteers spending your time should be home with your wife and you're here so thank you have a good Christmas and I'm not going away thank thank you Frank for those wonderful comments thank you anybody else wishing to comment J good evening Jason sento uh 272 Maple Avenue and I just want want to say mayor Madden as a fellow mayor of Theon serving with you has been a great honor you're a man of integrity and honesty I hope the resident of middle does see this evening know that um coming in as a new mayor been a great friend and a mentor and we've been able to establish a great communication relationship with bir so I just want to say thank you to you wish you and your family the best and you the nail ahead um I don't know if people really realize the sacrifice that the spouse is tting on uh this their significant others serving so far we thank you to you too so we wish you well you your beautiful thank you thank you mayor thank you very much anybody else wishing to comment May mayor I'll just get on the act real quick just just to say what a fantastic four years we've had together on behalf of myself and the firm and we will all miss you thank you thank you councilor good evening Council um Mar um I just came today because I think it's on the agenda with us renewing the contract for the county so I just want to make a couple comments since we started the program back in 2011 so we started back in 2011 um once we're only six of 25 uh townships actually doing this program that we're doing it um we did a total of 34 different Saturdays we went out since 2011 and then we did a total of 16,000 so that is included with Ida and a lot of count Ida um once again it's been in the mement program I have seen a difference on our County Ro mostly Lincoln Baron and Riv Road um with me doing all the cleanups in town this is really really important and once again the labor cost the County's paying for it basically will only P for for the litter so it's a great program and they were doing it for us for another four years it seems like with the county talking they really really like the program they want to keep doing thank you anyone else wishing to comment okay okay at this time we'll close the public portion of the meeting may have a motion to close the public portion and second second all in favor thank you okay let's move to the consent agenda Linda we have resolution 355 202 acceptance of standing reports resolution 356 2023 authorizing participation in the defense defense Logistics agency law enforcement Support Office 1033 program to enable the borrow midle Police Department to request to require excess Department of Defense equipment resolution 357 2023 the tax collector is authorized to issue tax title Le redemptions for Block 299 L 28 resolution 358 2023 authorizing the mayor to execute a share service agreement with the c of Franklin for the purpose of animal control services resolution 359 2023 approval of the 100% exempt stable vet located at block 77 blot 3 resolution 360 2023 L arises the purchase of firearms and accessories for the middle sex bur Police Department from Atlantic Tactical in the amount of $613 7751 resolution 361 2023 authorizing the administrator to execute the proposal for digitized of archive records from fob bionics Imaging Technologies in the amount of $2,210 resolution 2 362 2023 authorizing the mayor and B clerk to execute the litter pickup program agreement with the county of middle sex resolution 363 2023 accepting the resignation of Laur Mike spals on meals driver and play play group coordinator effective November 10th 2023 resolution 364 2023 approval to advance police officer Danielle gerell to police officer class I at an annual salary of $614 48 backed January 3rd 2024 resolution 365 2023 special items of Revenue appropriation drive so drive sober or get pulled over Grant resolution 366 2023 authorizing the reimbursement of medicare premiums for certain eligible pensioners under chapter 3 Public Law 1973 New Jersey health benefits plan resolution 367 2023 authorizing the treasure to remit the condo reimbursements 2023 the various properties resolution 368 2023 special idence of Revenue and Appropriations National opioid settlement fund resolution 369 2023 authorizing the transfer funds from the 2023 operating budget effected December 20th 2023 resolution 370 2023 acknowledging the change in status for certain properties and senior citizens disabled person veterans tax deductions for Block 83 lot 3 resolution 371 2023 authorizing submit a Grant application and execute a grant contract with the New Jersey Department of Transportation for the Mountain Avenue and South Avenue improvements project resolution 370 to 2023 Award of contract for public relations and design Consulting Services dep Positive Solutions from January 2024 through December 2024 in the amount of $31,500 per Year resolution 373 2023 authorizing acceptance of two quick claim deeds from the United States of America General Services Administration the property known as 239 Mountain Avenue a portion of block 318 lot 1.01 poos North Parcel and a portion of block 318 lot 1.01 and block 319 lot 45 proposed South parcel thank you Linda does anyone wish to separate any of the resolutions from the consent agenda no okay in that case we have a motion to approve the consent agenda motion and second second a roll call please Linda C president KH yes yes counc Caso coun MC counc Quinn okay let's move to the non-consent please Linda I have resolution 374 2023 pay claim excuse me we have a motion to approve resolution number 374-2020 three payall claims motion second second any comments questions I did not get a chance to read it I'm going to have stay there okay no problem all right any other comments okay a roll call please Conan yes councilman Corin okay councilman de now yes coun M yes counc Quinn yes okay thank you we'll move to the U agenda Workshop tonight we have the one item for up for discussion um and uh I'd like to um ask for a motion to open up please and second all in favor okay for uh Heather Lane um I just want to uh just uh reiterate that um the residents there I speak to almost every one of them once a week uh to try to reassure them that uh that the burrow is finally going to be doing some emergency emergency work which is vitally important it kind of goes against my grain because again I have to say in all transparency to uh expend taxpayer money um for private property is just it's just hard for me to accept this is the exception because none of the uh government agencies EPA Region 2 um you name it U they no one's coming out to help D the Army Corps Green Brook flood control um there no one's coming out FEMA I've asked every one of them time and time again it's it's in many of their wheelhouses because we are an underserved Community that's the verbiage they need so when there's an emergency an environmental emergency that automatically releases funds I know that they're not willing to do anything so we have to take it upon ourselves to help out these poor residents because it's not just excuse me Heather Lane Holly Court is next uh it's it's it's terrible so we have to stop the blood letting and we're going to be hoping that the resiliency money will come in and and reimburse so that's what I have to say about that anybody else would like to comment on on the property erosion um the only thing John is Mayor is that first week in January I was going to ask Bobby to and Michael okay okay and that's all because of materials yeah matala I know the S is prepped everything's pre pre the road access road is in trees were cut down for enbl us to get in there but it's just uh we're waiting wait okay and U I guess um it looks like CU I talked to Lenny that the material should be in soon right or do we anticipate another delay shows up there anything possible okay any other comments or remarks we need to know about this no we just stopped by again there today and look at it compared to when it first started and it's my heart hurts for them and everybody on here has been trying their best to do something that we're learning how to help them in our community while staying in the rules um for our for our community but that's just incredibly sad watch that amount of land way where the corner of their house is about to thing our thoughts and whatever we can do is you know we were in the O building last night and Martin went over and saw how swift the water was moving Sude it it's obviously the P have turned out I mean there's no question about it I don't understand how the Army courp can keep telling us oh that's outside of the scope of our job the scope of your job has caused this problem I I'm yeah and one of the agencies reported that the pumps pump only 10,000 gallons a minute the truth is it's over 100,000 gallons a minute it's to 100,000 gallon a minute right right you can see the crest of the Border in the middle foll the tra it's on yeah and there's a big sycamore tree that's ready to go in when it goes in it's going to be a Natural Dam it what a disaster uh any other comments wait till the house goes in yeah be a real National thing yeah unbelievable okay um any other comments I just feel like extra like we need to commit because there's are some people out there acting like we're not doing anything to our ability and I just feel like that needs to be bur that we have that everybody has done the best of their ability to help in the ways that we can yeah absolutely and I even uh one thing is worth noting because it kind of disgusts me from a political point of view um I was told that a reporter who had knowledge of this including the governor the reporter asked the governor uh uh what's your stance on this and he had two words to say no comment that is yeah tell the residents that anyway if there no more comments um I can say that because I'm leaving administrator I have a a motion to close the public portion of the workshop motion and second second all in favor I okay thank you all right I at this point I will give my I'm sorry public I don't think that's going to happen but if there's anyone from the public that wishes to speak on this agenda item only please come up okay all right okay in the meantime uh I will give my uh my address I'm going to be at the no the Le turn I I first have to say uh I'm not used to getting all these accolades um which is going to balance out some of the residents complaints but uh I I'm very impressed come here to catch those accolades but I thank everybody sincerely and I think the one person I wish who were who was here and Eddie I think you know I'm going to say is um um Ron dois he um he always had always kind words to say to me uh just a just a wonderful individual and he did a lot for this town so uh I do miss him okay this message I'm going to call it Reflections by time is mayor upon being asked to run I was very much aware of the imminent Gathering storm brewing at Burl Hall my initial reaction was why why do I need to insert myself in this Vortex of the simmering swirling entropy was I Delirious I was planning on leaving office on a high note as council president however with much painful apprehension I finally made the decision to run with my wife's blessing the general election of 2019 produced many surprises for me first first surprise was that I actually won couldn't believe it secondly I won by the largest marches between any two mayors of mcbo History unfortunately this yielded very little resit with a seemingly insurmountable task still before me with no mentoring or mayoral training I was given a day or two to prepare to run the next council meeting due to the immediate resignation of my predecessor it was time to roll up my sleeves and take the plunge so so much for leaving office on a high note which then became a mere footnote of the past not long after the first couple of meetings I received a call from standard reports Global our credit reporting agency their ominous message concerned the potential drop in our favorable credit rating of doublea due to our burgy debt and significant trough in our Surplus all of which were largely ignored in addition the best practices guidelines as set forth by our auditors were also largely ignored these were indeed perilous times so my reply to S Global was to reassure them that we are addressing the problem now by some time must be needed my reassurance was my collateralized offering that my business of then 41 years at the time was due to prudent conservative fiscal planning if we survived through the Great Recession of 2008 that we were doing something right we were then given some time to retire the debt burden and replenish the Surplus with a new plan in place coupled with some divine intervention it looked like we were on the right track thanks to the diligent work by our staff then the next shoe dropped in March 2020 a new a new guest quickly took up lodging the pandemic so soon we were faced with another unexpected challenge which hit hard the virus brought not only an unprecedented amount of illness but also much of our anticipated Revenue took a nose dive as if things couldn't get any worse for me on a personal level I lost my mother in 2020 my son Kyle in 2022 both unexpectedly and then the recent loss of my dear mother-in-law quick financials looking at the financial situation of the burough during my term in 2019 our net fund balance which is our Surplus was down to 397,000 in 2022 the less reporting year so far our net fund balance came in at a much healthier 1, 566,000 due to the buring debt in 2019 which accured in the prior years a plan was put into place to address the aage however we still have to increase property taxes by approximately 7% in the first year in order to stabilize future Municipal tax rates since that increase property taxes up to the present stayed relatively flat in addition we were able to retire much of the old debt I'm going to go some accomplishments first of all uh I did merge thanks to Frank reminding me the planning board and theing board and the joint land use board and I was the first mayor to push through the worldwide revaluation which had been kicked on the road since 1986 this mandatory plan equitably spread the tax burden to all properties taxes on most Residential Properties dropped while valuations significantly increased the burden of the tax tax is then shifted to the commercial and Industrial properties I have been an active participant on the master plan reexamination committee which is a 10year plan to create a vision of the needs of the town it's very important every 10 years acquire 302 Union ad to be part of pictor C Park welcome two Warehouse projects with pilot programs which will provide substantial revenue for the town for 30 years Revis the Lincoln Boulevard Redevelopment plan establish the Cultural Arts and Heritage committee establish the film committee received back the once heavily contaminated milc samplin plant utilized for the Manhattan Project regarding the atomic bomb the federal government cleaned the property to residential standards and sold it back to us for a dollar upgrades to our pars include playground equipment new bathrooms and other improvements the street skate project along Route 28 is close to completion establish the environmental commission I rewrote our shry ordinance uh authorized emergency Appropriations for covid funding upgraded a large part of the sanitary sore rehab project police dispatching is established a s in a total of nine officers which brings them to full staff uh plan we planted many shaes along Route 28 and Mountain VI Park many road paving projects completed including road related improvements bakeland Avenue infrastructure project is underway burough property assult the USAC Army Corps for continuation of the flood control project during my term we had 1,400 uh resolutions adopted and 119 ordinances adopted a lot of work my final remarks so now I come to you tonight with mixed emotions some bittersweet with unfulfilled tasks and others of pleasant and meaningful accomplishment in the pursuit of making middle sex Boro a true Hallmark Town it was my pleas that said my next contemplation was to put my parting thoughts down into words which was probably the most difficult task before me in this epilogue of my tenure as your mayor I've had many amazing memories enjoyed the many years of VAR veral duties assigned to me established some wonderful friendships and acquaintances and really gained Insight of how demanding the role are of each employee and all the Personnel connected with the operations here my sincere gratitude goes out to all our staff employees our professionals our governing body members all the department committees commissions and Jason sento thank you for coming out with theel and mayor uh the legal municipalities for their guidance our fire department oam rescue squad and our Police Department for their dedication and making this community a wonderful place to live I wish to give a particular shout out to Lenny our DPW supervisor Linda our Clark Chrissy our library director Chief G for our police department and the wonderful work he's done and our many uh Pleasant conversations that we've had our business administrator Michael Le he has been this the great sounding board here um for me and has been very welcome and our highly capable bar Chris corini thank you if I left anyone out or any group out please accept my apologies at this time I would like to call my wife Barbara and Grandson to come to the elector and she you're not going to be sworn in tonight Lesly all this was only possible due to my wife's constant support and advice Barber has always provided a ready gear and sounding board for all four years of frustrations and exhilaration when the stars align she has been an an indispensable voice of reason for me all throughout this experience in addition dealing with all the problems paperwork doctor's appointments hospital visits right beginning school schedules and meetings Transportation issues trip Specialized Hospital for Tanner and yet still have time to manage the business especially in my absence for burough Hall time I cannot thank her enough each day at Burl Hall I always paid a convivial visit to many departments to share some non word conversation some levity and often burst forth in the songs put a smile on faces for a day worth of serenity I want to sincerely thank all our residents who put their faith and trust into my leadership along the way quote the pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity The Optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty Winston Churchill in the final analysis I would not have wanted it any other way so I thank everybody thank you Merry Christmas and happy holid thank you about what I yeah you really did a good job well thank you a lot of time yeah all right okay uh at this time uh Linda please read a resolution for executive session I resolution 375 2023 executive session may have a motion to go into executive session motion second second a roll call please l c cin Conan yes c k Cino c m yes C Quinn yes thank you no action will be taken tonight uh I will uh direct the room uh please 10 minutes let's clear the room thank you everybody for coming out have a happy