in accordance with Section Five of the open public meetings act be advised that a notice of this meeting was made by posting on the bulletin board in town hall and forwarding to the officially designated newspapers that this meeting would take place at Town Hall at 7M on Tuesday March 5th 2024 meeting details and the draft agenda were also posted on our Township website please all stand to salute the flag States America and to the for it stands Nation indivisible andice for call vot please Mr Colin missus here Deputy Mayor secondy Mr Stoler pres mayor Romano here thank you may I have a motion to approve the agenda may I have a second second all those in favor I I any oppos may I have a motion to approve the February 6th 2024 regular Township committee Mee minutes may I have a second second all those in favor I I and may I have a motion to approve the February 6 2024 special Township committee minutes so may I have a second second all those in favor I oppos may have a motion to approve the February 20th 2024 regular Township committee minutes so may I have a second second all those in favor I may I have a motion to approve the February 20th 2024 special Township committee minutes so may I have a second second all those in favor I I oppose okay okay so now we are going to present our community service uh award to the Interfaith Food Pantry of the oranges and I'd like to introduce Laura Jan from the community service award committee to provide a little bit of background [Applause] um just use the microphone oh sorry I'd like all my members of the community service just to stand up just to acknowledge who's on the committee the community service Committee of Milbourne Township is proud to award the honor to the Interfaith Food Pantry of the oranges which serves to food insecurity um residents of Essex County um when I first moved here in in to town in 2006 I was introduced to this organization through my synagogue after a few years of living in town I would PE periodically volunteer I was in awe of the number of my fellow residents from Milbourne Short Hills who were actively involved in this organization and I realize this must be a special organizations since attracted so much support from our local town I also like to honor the founding member Julie towel who is here tonight um thank you very much for all your efforts in starting this wonderful organization our committee is thrilled to recognize this organization for many reasons we were especially impressed how our Interfaith Food Pantry uh partners with local houses of worship from all over Essex County and their long-standing relationships with other nonprofit agencies their ability to engage Milbourne shorthill residents of all ages demonstrated throughout the district school districts helping to provide much needed supplies including canned goods and serial drives and hosting a winter coat drive this organization represents what our community can do and will and will do with strength determination and commitment they identified a problem and developed a scalable solution to effectively address it through maximizing EX existing resources it is our hope that by honoring the Interfaith Food Pantry of this oranges tonight our community will continue to support this impactful organization and publicize the important Services they provide in addition to providing food for 600 F families a week which is an amazing number this organization led by Kristen Sterling jod cooperman and many other Milbourne shorthill residents is committed to also ensuring that the families receive holiday gifts feminine products diapers and they even host Wellness clinics where clients can assess preventative health care options please consider donating or getting involved by volunteering that is our job as the community service to make people aware that they can actually donate um funds or as well as their time which is important to them as it is Meaningful experience you will never forget I have been on this community service committee for almost 10 years and it warmed my heart to present this proclamation of the Interfaith Food Pantry on behalf of the township committee and the community service committee because this organization truly makes a difference thank [Applause] you whereas the Milbourne Township committee values the contributions of Volunteers in the township and wants to recognize outstanding volunteer efforts that reflect the giving spirit of our community and whereas the internet Interfaith Food Pantry of the oranges was founded 30 Years Ago by residents of Milburn Short Hills and officially incorporated as an independent 501c3 several years later in 2012 half of the current board members and many of our of the core volunteers are also Township residents and pride themselves on their unparalleled teamwork and commitment to the organization and the community and whereas the inter Interfaith Food Pantry of the oranges was formed to help meet essential human needs of food insecure Essex County residents with dignity and respect doing so by delivering their services 39 weeks a year and whereas along with many other volunteers a record 11,000 plus yearly volunteer hours where volunteers currently serve 650 families a week providing enough Provisions for 25,000 people a year which double during covid and whereas the Interfaith Food Pantry of the oranges has forged and maximized Partnerships with local state and federal agencies businesses corporations and other nonprofit organizations in addition to providing sustenance for their clients internet ifpo distributes diapers personal hygiene supplies and toiletries and hosts quarterly Wellness clinics where clients have access to preventative health care and now therefore I Anette Romano mayor of the township of Milbourne on behalf of the township committee and members of the Milbourne Community acknowledge and applaud the continuing efforts of the local volunteers and board members of the Interfaith Food Pantry of the oranges who are committed to supporting food insecure families and individuals in Essex County [Music] thank you to the mil Township committee as well as the awards committee for recognizing the important work of the Interfaith Food Pantry of the oranges um as mentioned roughly 30 years ago Township resident Julie towel who's with us tonight and hope lampy came together to help our neighbors in need with dignity and respect they passed the papeton to another inspiring pair of residents Diane Stein and Janet schwam who dedicated over 20 years leading and expanding the ifpo today the ifpo is truly a partnership between an amazing group of people our current working board board several of whom are in the row here under the leadership of jod cooperman and Karen buen light who's with us tonight also as well as an incredible volunteer pool of more than 400 many of whom are Township residents in addition we have Partnerships with many local businesses Community groups schools nonprofits healthc care providers government organizations who come together to make every distribution possible when I first volunteered at the ifpo about 12 years ago we were serving roughly 100 clients a week by January 2020 just before covid hit our numbers increased to an astonishing 300 Pantry visits a week levels we never dreamed we'd have the means and the manpower to assist since Co our numbers have doubled we regularly assist 650 clients in a morning reaching roughly 1,700 people when you add in all their family members in 2023 there were more than 25,000 Pantry visits a 20% increase over 2022 and the need continues to grow over the years our offerings have expanded as they mentioned from basic non- perishable food items to include fresh items such as fresh produce milk eggs protein menstrual care products and household essentials this often means purchasing 650 units of these items we also have a robust diaper program that assists 400 babies a month to further help clients ifpo invites agencies on site to provide information on benefits such as snap Wick and health insurance we partner with Healthcare organization to provide screenings and vaccinations on site throughout the year making us a One-Stop shop for clients they can come and get their food and then continue right on to get a covid vaccine in the early days of covid our leadership team dedicated countless hours planning how we could reopen we repeatedly worried if we here in Milbourne were having trouble acquiring food for our families how are our neighbors managing it led us to start from scratch to reinvent our entire opper operation move to a new location and develop an outdoor distribution system we are all so proud of what we've managed to build not simply a distribution model but a community as well a community among our clients and a community among our volunteers who are often so inspired they bring their friends to come along and work with them our registration team knows deeply personal stories of countless families and helps direct them to support when the burden becomes extra heavy the ifpo community is truly the most amazing dedicated hardworking caring group of people and we all feel honored to be a part of it it is such an honor to have our work Rec recognized by the township on behalf of the entire ifpo team thank you for this award to learn more to volunteer or to support our mission please visit our website at oranges food pantry.org thank you so much for this [Applause] honor the award just pull off that little sticky there you go okay it's official now thank you so much yeah I will make sure you guys us thank you very thank you so [Applause] much thank you for all you do and thank you to the community service award committee for recognizing our volunteers um we're going to take a five minute recess for those that don't want to stay for the rest of the meeting a member of the maintenance team at the Short Hills Terrace Apartments on Morris Turnpike was made aware of an elderly resident of the complex that wasn't feeling well the gentleman was not able to reach him by phone so he called the police to request a welfare check police responded and found him uncons unconscious on the floor he was immediately taken to the hospital just in time the gentleman's actions saved the man's life we will recognize him um at a at a future meeting so stories like this are what make our community so special so I wanted to share that with everybody um the uh we started planning for the Memorial Day Parade it's going to take place on Monday May 27th at 11:00 a.m. uh more information will follow on that tomorrow I will be presenting a proclamation to opportunity project um at their clubhouse at 60 East Willow Street for a brain injury awareness month I've worked with opportunity in the past when it was with the Red Cross they are an amazing organization and they do great work to help individuals with brain injuries uh so if anyone wants to join tomorrow uh it's at 10:30 uh we're also setting up a series of uh we're trying to set up a series of town halls with our legislators so um we will let you know when that's going to take place hopefully um mid to late April lastly I'd like to address a comment that was made by Mr gianetti who represents RPM development and the settlement agreement with the fair share housing center in his February 23rd correspondence to judge Santoro while agreeing while disagreeing with a Township committee decision stated in quotes it's clear that the inmates are running the Asylum end quote as an elected member of this Township committee and as mayor I find this type this insulting inflammatory rhetoric unacceptable and I feel that he owes the township of Milburn the township committee and the residents of this town in apology that's all thank you um okay few uh updates uh special improvement district uh Main Street application final edits were made and uh that's going to be sent to the state this Friday Restaurant Week that's coming up uh March 17th through the 23rd we have 40 restant restaurants so far participating everyone needs to stay in town and eat local uh lot of special events great dishes uh deep discounts across all the lake local fair uh everyone uh please participate that's again uh March 17th through the 23rd uh educational program through programs through the Chamber of Commerce uh March 7th at 9:30 a.m. a session focusing on uh e-commerce programs other uh upcoming uh events uh for the explore founding day is on May 18th at Taylor Park and then girls night out on June 6 from 5:30 to 8:00 pm for everyone who wants to participate in that uh joint dispatch meeting report no reports right now um flood mitigation update um work continues on developing the master plan for flooding uh had a couple great meetings uh the depth survey for the orange Reservoir has been completed and turned over to Mt McDonald uh M McDonald is the engineering firm uh used by uh the township they did a 2d flood modeling uh for J solution along Ridgewood Road and are doing the planning for the orange bypass uh we've done some enhancements to the storm water pumping stations at the Gilbert plant uh and Heron Circle have been completed etc etc uh re Department uh seventh boys and eighth boys lost in their championship games uh in town wreck basketball leagues those finished up and then the wreck wrestling we had three wrestlers finished with bronze medals in the end of season tournament uh we'll give a shout out to Russ Lombardi Chase Lee and Johnny Smith uh they all finished in the top seventh of their respective weight classes um joint facilities committee uh High School fields The Architects working on the potential layouts for turfing the fields behind the high school uh collecting the information on the flood areas to confirm what is feasible uh they have all the information and now just doing all the heavy lifting on that work Cricket uh for late spring the Board of Education uh has proposed that the adult cricket league uh be done behind the uh baseball the varsity baseball uh Field behind the high school on the grass fields uh there Rec Department is buying a rollout Cricut pitch uh which can be used uh for all of the students as well Elementary Middle School and High School uh and then the grass fields that you see on all of our wreck Fields will be lifted in a couple weeks and once those are up and the fields are dry everyone's welcome to uh start practicing and that's the reports thank you any more coms yeah I have a few things from the library uh first of all Lisa panarelli who is a teacher at Hardon was appointed as the Board of Education liaison to the library since there's a lot of overlap between what goes on at the Milbourne free public library and the school library there's a ton of events going on at the library more than I could ever mention on the spotlight one um Tomorrow there's going to be a virtual talk with Nina totenberg from National Public Radio on her book about um her friendship with Ruth Bader Ginsburg but that's just a drop in the buck and that's virtual and you can register for that it's actually just one of millions of events going on there so I suggest that you check out their their website and also um plans are starting to uh to for the annual book sale which is a huge event so start going through your uh your attic and wherever you keep your old books if uh because donations are are very much needed and welcome um and then um lastly uh I participated in a meeting with the director of the library and the town planner um because as as we've talked about the uh the open space element of the of the master plan it's being redone and that includes indoor Recreation of which the library is a major uh constituent and location so um that that section is uh is under review and uh more to come on that in the next few weeks thank you uh Deputy Mayor sakandi sure uh just a few quick updates um so on the HP SE front um the director of the Sid uh and the director of the HPC met um so as you all know the uh Sid uh is pursuing the Main Street New Jersey designation one of the um things that they one of the criteria that they look at is whether the town has a historic district in their downtown um and so this gave um those two groups a unique opportunity to talk about future collaboration uh on historic districts um you know particularly in the downtown areas of Milbourne and Short Hills so um the Sid is going to be doing a resolution at some point at their next meeting um in furtherance of this collaboration and um one of the things that uh we're looking at having them support is a historic district for the Short Hills Village now that's the area that includes the uh short housee train station It's associated parking lots um and then also um a support for a designation for Taylor park because apparently Taylor Park even though it's historic has never been officially designated um so that's something that we're looking to um collaborate on um next uh on the environmental uh commission um they met and um during the meeting they modified their open space tax resolution um and they brought it down so in a future meeting uh we're going to have a um opportunity as a Township committee to vote on whether we want this to go to a referendum now the open space tax is actually a tremendous opportunity for the town um basically you know we would have a one cent um tax 1ent per $100 of assessed value and the money that acrs from there would be put in the open space trust fund and that could be used for things like acquiring property for you know Recreation fields or you know upgrades to existing recation facilities also building new parks or um basically preserving open space and this is something that many other towns have and for whatever reason Milburn has not had one um and you know the county actually has correspond to open space funds so we're sort of at a disadvantage by not having one um because there's some opportunities that uh we haven't been able to take part in uh funding wise as a result of not having this so something that uh will go to a referendum if it passes on the TC and uh residents will get to to vote on it so those are my two updates thank you committee woman prus yes thank you the downtown traffic circulation Improvement subcommittee will be having their meeting um on March Wednesday March 27th to go over the concept plans and for this is talking about doing two-way on Essex Street and former mayor Dan bear will will be presenting with also what he's sat on the planning board for many years the current chair beul will be presenting the concept plan um with Kier so please uh the date the time isn't determined yet but Wednesday March 27th it'll be in this room and there'll also be a zoom off thank you um Mr McDonald thank you mayor um if you don't Doge me I do have quite a few reports um first and foremost just want to put a plug in to the residents uh that on April 18th uh the Township's office of emergency management will be holding a flood resilience session uh the presenters in this it'll all be via Zoom the the information the date the zoom information will be communicated uh through the Township's channels uh Thomas song will be presenting he's a FEMA 2 uh region flood insurance liaison and resilience specialist uh he'll provide the uh presentation and um also Tyler ardron is a certified flood plane manager with experience in the insurance field both of these individuals will be presenting and talking to the township uh regarding their their areas of expertise uh this does not uh change or take away from uh the normal May session that the office of emergency management will put on uh in preparation for for Hurricane Season which starts on June 1st um the budget schedule for the Township's budget uh will be the budget will be intro on uh April 2nd we will hold a budget information session on April 9th or 11th uh and the public hearing and adoption will be scheduled for May 7th The Pedestrian safety Advisory Board met um and uh discussed a few things uh but sort of most notably is that The Pedestrian signal at lacana PL Place uh by the library lot and the uh commuter lot at lot 7 uh we'll start to undergo renovation to make sure that there's advanced warning both for cars uh driving toward Glenn Avenue uh so that they can see that on the other side of the train trestle a pedestrian is looking to cross it'll be another pedestrian activated uh signal the the difference in this one is that we are going to install a motion activation as opposed to a push button um so we're going to work to improve the safety of uh of that Crossing which is a pretty heavy Crossing especially on the weekends uh in addition just to uh let everyone know the townships engineering office did apply for a cdbg grant uh this is a Community Development block grant these run every year however we have chosen and I've announced it at these meetings in the past to hold uh uh for one one year so that we can get a larger Grant award normally our grant award is in the ballpark of 35,000 uh it doesn't really get a large project or a lot of work done so we've we hold for an additional year so that we can um uh get more things accomplished through that Grant so we applied for just under 70,000 uh to do curb ramp repairs um and uh barrier-free accessibility um in various intersections throughout the township parking out hack also met uh we discussed um lot five safety concerns um for those that frequent lot five like myself um there is a lot of cut through traffic um people are utilizing the cut through from messic Street to Milbourne Avenue um some of them are speeding through the lot so we're looking at uh we're doing some observations in the lot as well as looking at uh ways that we can improve that safety um perhaps without having to go so drastic as changing the circulation altogether uh to one way in and one way out but hopefully we can make some improvements there uh to uh to bring additional safety uh we discussed Essex Street delivery spaces uh there are a few uh unused parking spaces on essic Street um uh up by the train station uh we are converting those to delivery driver spaces um we're indicating to drivers from Uber Eats uh GrubHub Etc to park there and wait for their um for for their calls or their messages or however they receive uh the information to get to um a particular restaurant and pick up a pick up a delivery um and then we are also uh looking at several pay stations that we have in the in the downtown area and upper Milburn Avenue area that are life cycling out um and there's probably about six or seven of those that we are going to have to replace so um that was the discussion from the parking a hoc just to quickly go back to pedestrian safety the next meeting is on April 15th at 9:00 A.M via Zoom for those that are interested in uh participating lastly well somewhat lastly um Town Hall Renovations um as you know the township has been working since the end of 2022 and most of 20 and all of 2023 uh toward various um Town Hall Renovations um quite a big project quite a quite a big undertaking um we are we've authorized the additional High Lev look at a combined PD town hall and or a new town hall location just to make sure that we have all of the uh all of the options that are available and all the information for the uh public information session that we plan on holding uh late in March uh right now is going to be tentatively for March 28th um again time to be determined uh there's a lot going on right now and a lot in March that we're trying to schedule um so we are um but we're we're just asking people to pencil in uh that's where we'd like to introduced the town hall renovation uh to the public lastly um at the last meeting um a lot of information discussion and um comments were made with regard to Police Department matters and I'd like to provide an update to the public and to the township committee on those matters first and foremost the uh police department will be doing training over the month of March uh to develop a program for home assessments we plan on starting that program in April um so be on the lookout for additional information on that that also uh the township will begin communicating to the public through its current system um which is um Rave or Milburn alert or um uh smart 911 to provide uh information to Residents when home burglaries or attempted home burglaries take place in the township a uh we are setting up a rave category that people can opt into or opt out of or not participate in for Police Department notifications uh we going to start slow we're going to we're going to start with communicating um uh home burglaries and those attempted home burglaries the the information provided to Residents um for that will be um General location a brief description of what occurred uh locked or unlocked so in other words whether it it's forced entry or not forced entry time of day if it's known we're going to provide contact information if it's still under investigation and we'd like to ask the residents for uh assistance and and for those that may know something about uh something that occurred in the area I would also just point out that this occurs immediately after the police respond they go around door too and they speak to Residents and they make sure that they're getting as much information camera information whatever it might be that residents may have uh but this is just another opportunity for us to cast The Net a little bit wider uh in addition those those notifications will provide tips to protect your own home and property um again what we're going to do is we're going to migrate uh a the list in in our Rave system to this uh notification system so at first everyone will get them if you decide that you do not want to get them you can always go into your uh your account and opt out of those notifications in addition um res the resent protection ordinance that was brought up by the township committee has been um uh looked at by the Township's attorney uh the police chief as well as the judge um and will be on for consideration on March 19th um on tonight's agenda is also a resolution for the township committee to consider the support of two bills that are currently in Committee in the New Jersey senate these bills upgrade the charge of a burglary uh to a home uh from a third degree offense to a second degree offense uh I think both of these bills while um you know are slightly different uh both accomplish the same thing which is that uh creating a greater penalty for those that continue to um do this type of crime the township also added to its website uh easy to find information on on our state legislators and how to contact them um part of the the overall ecosystem of uh combating uh crime in your community is making sure that your your legislators know about it and that they know that you are uh uh you want change and so being able to find that information uh readily on the Township's website it is actually under how do I and how do I contact my uh State Legislature so you that you can so that our public can contact them when these issues arise as well we are working on additional kpis with the police department um this is a work in progress currently what we what we categorize and what we follow are um car thefts car burglaries cars recovered from car theft home burglaries uh shoplifting and cases under investigation to uh to just provide both the township committee and the public with um the February statistics um we had uh zero car thefts zero car burglaries um I'm sorry zero car thefts zero home uh two home burglaries and we still have about 23 uh cases under investigation um shoplifting is obviously a a crime that happens quite a bit with the mall um but those are all posted on our website uh for people to to view while it does take a little bit so our kpis are due um from departments on on the 5th of the month following um so that's today um so they're not going to be up on the website currently but uh they will be there in the next day or so as we as we develop those uh front-facing kpi so we just encourage people to go on there it's under uh um performance measurement uh on the Township's website so you can continue to follow that and I will be continuing to provide that information directly to the township committee on a monthly basis um public information session on matters we are still working on that I do apologize that I do not have a date specific but we are actively working on that and its format um as I had mentioned there are many forces kind of pulling on March right now and we're just trying to get something set up as quickly as possible and um and make sure that we have everybody that needs to be there there um and so just uh wanted to let the township committee know that we are actively working on that uh and as I said March is turning into be a pretty busy month um in terms of public information sessions and various things going on so that is my update on Police Department matters um and we'll continue to uh work at it thank you Mr thank you mayor good evening um just a brief update on our pressure housing litigation um so on uh February 27th um there was an in-person case management conference attended by several governing body members and several residents of the Town Milburn um going into that case management conference fair share housing and the developer of not the nine Main Street site the proposed developer of the nine Main Street site RPM as the court on that date to sanction the township uh increase penalties um and force us um to do some action um the township responded I office wrote a letter uh advising the court that we thought we were entitled to a briefing schedule um we wanted to fully flush out all the issues um the court agreed with the township um and set a briefing schedule and a motion practice um motions are due tomorrow tomorrow um from the developer um fair share housing and if the township is going to file any motions um for the purposes of tonight um because they're not made public until tomorrow it's going to be held under litigation strategy but once those motions are filed they'll be available to the public as they'll be on the Court's docket um and those motions will be heard uh on March 21st um and that's pretty much the full update on the fair share housing litigation U that brings everybody up to date thank you mayor unless there's any questions thank you thank you public comment when invited to speak to offer your comments please come to the Lector clearly state your name and whether you are a nobber resident and or property or business owner please do not provide your full address seeing our meetings are recorded and readily available to the public for the convenience of our community there is a remote option if you called in and would like to comment please press star six now if you are attending by computer or or electronic device please use the raised hand button and be sure your video is on when you comment all members of the public wishing to speak will be put into the queue to address the committee to help facilitate an orderly meeting and to permit all to be heard speakers shall limit their comments to one three minute session you will be prompted when there is 30 seconds remaining a reminder that this is not a time for dialogue or to debate a matter and this is a time during our business meeting for the public to offer comments I will now open the public comment period good evening mayor Romano Deputy Mayor sakami and the rest of the township committee my name is Mike stots I'm the executive director of paper mill playhouse at this evening's meeting a resolution will be introduced to authorize $7 million in support of Capital Improvements to the paper campus I'm here tonight to thank the township committee for introducing this important resolution that will contribute greatly to the safety accessibility and aesthetic of the papermilk campus over the last several months we have presented the plans for upcoming renovations to our theater in the campus and hope that we have adequately answered yours and the community's questions about our plans as we have tried to express these Renovations are not a want they are a need and without the Township's financial support the longer term viability of paper mill Playhouse would be in question over the past few weeks you have heard me speak about the $36 million in annual economic impact paper mill has to the local economy some of that economic activity is Gen generated by the Papermill staff and the artists who work at the theater in 2023 we issued 1,164 W2s and 1099s to Paper Mill employees representing salaries and fees to employees exceeding $13.6 million that's a large payroll all of these great individuals support the local economy by dining in Milbourne frequenting the Milburn Deli Oscars and Goldbergs shopping here celebrating our opening nights here some of them raise their families in Milbourne and pay real estate taxes here too tonight I'm here with several members of the paper mill staff who help to produce our shows work in our box office in front of house maintain the facilities work in marketing fundraising finance and operations work in the Carriage House restaurant or the paper mill Studios with our education programs they are the heart and soul of Paper Mill and the backbone of the organization that is arguably the single most important business entity in this community speaking out against the bond a bond ordinance in this project is speaking out for the demise of paper mill Playhouse and the slow death of downtown Milburn it is that simple and as you can see there are a lot of jobs at stake Mark Hobie and I at our board have been very forthcoming dis in discussing our project and the organization I'm grateful for the time that we have spent with you each of you on the township committee and applaud you for your vision your candor your understanding your collaborative Spirit and the positive force you collectively bring to our local politics and decision making when the renovations of the theater and upgrades to the Papermill campus are finished everyone in this room can celebrate the collaboration between Paper Mill and the township and take great pride in knowing that the facilities have been improved and maintained for future Generations thank you all right well I'm talking about the paper mills yes well I enjoyed seeing the accolades that the charity that provides food for and diapers and all that um you know as a former social worker my first career those kinds of stories are really important your name and address for the record sorry sorry Fran Feld um South Mountain neighborhood um so kudos to the food and I know the food bank is a big part of your your life in it so I think we all see the importance of Charity charity begin what do they say charity begins at home right so I think it's a way for me to look at the paper mill ask because I don't know how else to look at the noun of money that they're asking us for unless we want to say it's charity um your fiduciary duty is to be good stewards of town assets that means being guardians of these assets which include taxpayer dollars when you're ask for money with no strings attached shouldn't you examine what kind of stewardship of its own organization the supplement supplicant has demonstrated a supplicant who made promises years ago that has not fulfilled for example the promise to keep up their facility maintenance that was the promise made in the lease they signed when million Milburn purchased the theater for $9 million to keep it from succumbing to bankruptcy from poor management over 10 years ago but it seems that supplying millions of dollars to make repairs and snaz up the building is not enough the Papermill board wants to create a new and extremely costly four-story glass front on the building I don't think you have have to be an architect or an engineer to even guess how much money that kind of um addition would cost so I think you should ask how much this large new addition will cost on its own apart from the maintenance and repairs that we keep hearing are so desperately needed and I'm not arguing about the maintenance and the repairs perhaps when you realize the enormous cost of adding such a vanity project on this building you might consider subtracting that figure from The 7 million that we have been asked for so you take that addition and you subtract it it may be a negative number is that oh an organization that cannot keep its promises does not need a fancy and very costly new entrance and Atrium instead it needs Supervision in keeping its promises is the township committee ready to commit to that or is this whole thing just pure charity thank you thank you anyone [Music] else my name Judith Christian I own a home in the Wyoming section I'm I'm here to appeal to the township to work with the county to have Crossing strip Stripes placed across Wyoming Avenue as is done on Wyoming Avenue in Maplewood and this would entail only six Crossings at the following locations Chestnut Cedar Pine Elm Maple and Mountain as Crossings already exist at lyen for the Wyoming church and Cypress brother Wyoming School although Wyoming is a County Road this is still a residential area with many Walkers and Runners they should be able to access the Crossing at every Side Street between Mountain and Cyprus traveling north Northeast towards Maplewood there is no sidewalk on the right hand side of Wyoming anyone walking up one of the side streets between Mountain and Cyprus returning from a walk to Maplewood Maplewood Village for example has either to walk in the street or Char across Wyoming to at the other side in order to continue on a sidewalk having spent more than a few decades living on the corner of whing and Lyon which I shouldn't have said I am very aware of how many how much cars and trucks that are traveling from the Maplewood Direction speed up once they cross Cypress Street one reason for this of course is the down grade downhill grade in that area but I think the consistent use of pedestrian Crossings as is done on Wyoming and Maplewood would help keep drivers more alert to speed limit since they would have to watch out for possible pedestrians Crossing and having a pedestrian Crossing at both Chestnut and Cedar streets would make the already established Crossings at Linden and Cyprus more safe the crossing at Linden can be precarious at best because of the speed of the traffic the addition of these pedestrian Crossings on Wyoming would maintain the residential nature of this beautiful historic area and would make it more walkable over the decades Wyoming Avenue has become more and more like a highway thus reducing the quality of life and the neighborhood feel of the area as well as jeopardizing the safety of the many Walkers and Runners who travel along Wyoming I sincerely hope the township can work with the county to add these Crossings something that is clearly possible since it is done at every Wyoming side street through Maplewood thank you thank you I'm Carol mik kers um also in the Wyoming section um I would like to support the request to consider adding more crosswalks as well as additional Crossing signage and effective speed limit reminders on y in Avenue I have lived on the upper side of Wyoming Avenue for over 40 years 35 years ago when my children first started to attend the Wyoming Elementary School I like other parents in my neighborhood were very concerned with the necessity of our children having to navigate this highly traveled multi- toown accessed Road just to get to their school or visit with their school friends who lived on the opposite side of Wyoming Avenue or to access plon field the only play area in the Wyoming section while I believe that the addition of many crosswalks would serve to enhance the safety of this road the long-term absence of a Wyoming Avenue crosswalk an effective School awareness signage on the Pine Street side of the school in particular especially in light of the absence of sidewalks in this vicinity is in my opinion a longtime and important Omission that is particularly concerning for various reasons on so many of our roads today the speed and often impatient behavior of drivers has dramatically increased and has made roads like Wyoming Avenue even more dangerous now for school children and other pedestrians and drivers alike I am aware that because Wyoming Avenue is a County Road it therefore requires County involvement to address this concern as one who had re regularly attended Milburn Township committee meetings for many years I remember a time when a county representative gave reports at these meetings and regularly appeared on the agenda I am delighted to find out that we are inst stating this having expressed similar safety concerns to the Verona Township committee about Lakeside Avenue which borders the Verona County Park and my grandson's home I was impressed to see that they had a regular County representative reporting at each meeting this County representative remained present to listen to Community member concerns which he then communicated back to the county I believe having a county representative present and on the agenda to report at milburn's meetings and to hear of these types of residents concerns can be helpful in attempting to get these and other safety concerns addressed and hopefully resolved thank you thank you um Jeffrey Feld from the poet section I'm gonna just be addressing right now some agenda items um we heard about various public forums um I wrote to you and I thought it was promised to us that there would be an announcement when there will be a public forum on the paper mill trans transaction because I think the public needs to know what are the promises what are we getting back um the sales agreement because there is a acquisition what is the appraisal in addition I think we entitled to an legal opinion from our U Municipal attorney regarding whether we comply of article 8 section 3 paragraph two and article 8 section three paragraph three of our state constitution with our prohibitions about using um public assets for private purposes and I think we're entitled to an opinion to to know where we are um but I think we need to know know the appraisals and when the date and we are going to be having problems because we have the Easter holiday coming up and Passover in early April that we really need to have this before a couple days before um the April 19 second reading my other question always comes back to this has been a pending question almost every meeting when you talk about um reconstituting or creating establishing committees and departments why do we do that by resolutions and why don't we do by ordinance um yesterday in the Star Ledger there was a notice of fona amending their um recreation department and that's done by ordinance and again this is consistency uh I hate to be bounding it when I started showing up in September 2020 this is Municipal law it's cookbook law you're a creature of state law your fuer is a public trust and I think every year rather by if you do by resolution every year you have to reconstitute if we do by ordinance we know what the rules are and there's a question when you go to the administrative code or you go on to our website why are some committees why are some commissions contained and some aren't I think there should be we should all know what committees are established what are the rules for appointment because I think this is the real issue you're all having now is about the advis of consent of the entire committee that we should be or Council that we should have this done so we at least it's codified and so we don't have to do this every year the only thing do every year is appoint new members thank you thank you uh Charlie bambarra uh Sher Hills resident for 27 years um want to address the looming threat uh to the uh uh transient housing market that uh uh particularly I only one copy there's a a a piece of legislation that was introduced January 29th uh in the state senate for uh accessory dwelling units where people can convert their attached garages and things to additional dwelling and it severely limits the Township's ability to uh to uh restrict that so that that's one aspect I I don't know whether you have a plan to address this or at least theose it uh for the record U secondly there's also uh a trend that I've I've been reading about for private private Equity investment hedge funds to purchase single family uh housing within towns and I think Milburn is a and Short Hills is a prime target for that because of the uh the potential for uh for uh uh uh investment assets so uh I wonder if there's a way to prevent uh uh corporate purchase or or uh non-private purchase of of uh single family uh houses within town and the third relates back to the accessory dwelling units I I don't know if we have anything on the books that restrict restricts airbnbs within town we do okay right because that that ties in with that but I'm just I'm concerned with you know with what we're seeing with fair share housing there's so many other pieces of legislation being introduced um I some of you may be familiar with this uh I I could leave you a copy of it if you need it thank you thank you anyone Mr hi J morale resident um I'd like to start with a couple of thank yous first to Mayor romano and committee man Cohen for meeting with me and a neighbor uh representing several of us in the Glenwood area to discuss owning concerns so thank you for that for your time um and I'd like to se commend mayor Romano for signing on to Mayors against illegal guns and joining Mayors again across the country dedicated to reducing gun violence in our community and in our country um and then just one uh comment regarding the two-way traffic study that I guess is uh going to be discussed on the 27th of March I've asked in the past whether or not there would be measurable objectives associated with this initiative and I think even Comm man Stoler at one point talked about the need for a dashboard saying here's how we're going to measure whether or not if we make these changes to two-way traffic they are indeed successful um we had a similar project complete streets number of years ago um I don't think there were any measurable objectives set up before that were discussed set up after in response a large part of complete streets was taken down um hopefully we do not have that same experience with the two-way traffic and I think it would be helpful um to communicate to the community what it is that this is going to accomplish in measurable terms that we can measure before and measure after to Jud success thank you thank you good evening Jean Pastor resident um thank you for the update on the police uh Department statistics that's a refreshing change and we're really happy to hear it as residents um the as far as the case management conference on the fair share I just want to acknowledge Mr Canter's um excellent work and that I'm glad you acknowledge the residents that attended and I think while we may not be many um I want somebody here to know that we really appreciate that and know that many of us support all of your efforts fully on the fair share challenge um I am in full support of the amazing Paper Mill theater um as a nonprofit and a really GameChanger to our region and town um but I don't agree with our town being involved in the management of a nonprofit and I I I believe others share my belief that I've spoken to um we don't believe the township should involve our taxpayers in in um in any way managing uh a nonprofit I understand the decision that was taken it was hard it was difficult uh it's also a long-term risky one for a municipality our town is changing rapidly and as fiduciaries making long-term decisions for us we should expect a thorough and deep review of expenditures and Alternatives possible for the use of those funds of the size and implications I applaud the hard work done by all involved including those at the paper mill and making this very difficult ask and decision but I'd appreciate acknowledging that it is one that has risks attached to it and I ask that a commitment be made by the township committee to conducting a long range and strategic review of all major expenditures long-term expenditures by this committee during this year my last comment is about zoning uh I've raised specific issues and Alex has been responsive and so so have some others um in the township Town Hall but I have an issue um generally which is we have a lot of building going on in town both commercial and residential I don't believe we have enough or sufficient resources uh to conduct the reviews that need to be done by zoning enforcement and I'm just asking is there some way that we can get more resources focused on that um while I embrace our change in town and the growth we need balance and adherence to our zoning rules and regulations to preserve the quality of life that we all deserve thank you thank you shall we go screen there's currently nobody on hi um my name is Dina friedler I'm a resident in Short Hills and a mom at Deerfield and I'm also an employee of the paper mill playhous so I wanted to speak on behalf of um my support of the paper bill um as the Papermill Playhouse is without a doubt part of what makes our town special as someone who works in the Arts it was important to me when I moved to the suburbs that I find a town not only with excellent schools and an easy commute but also I'm sorry my daughter keeps calling me um um with excellent schools but also support of the art the paper mill Playhouse showed us that this town fit that bill a lot of other like-minded people have similarly chosen to live in mbour in parts because of the Arts that our town supports as a resident almost all of my friends and I have a subscription to the paper mill it affords us the luxury of a guaranteed date night out and offers us a unique cultural experience moreover I'm home I'm home to relieve the babysitter in five minutes I've been at PTO meetings and at school pickups and soccer practices many many times over the years when moms are discussing what is playing at the paper mill and whether or not they should get tickets to this show the next show or both when the Paper Mill House Performance is running the town is especially vibrant filled with folks from all over the area coming to dine in our restaurants and Shop in our towns I know and Shop in our town I know that studies show that Milbourne has more restaurants than other towns similar to ours the success of our town is so contingent upon the success of the Papermill Playhouse it is a unique and wonderful gift to have a Tony award-winning regional theater in our community as a mom my children have attended classes through the Papermill playhouse on and off over the years attending Children's Theater and family shows and that has afforded my kids the opportunity to see Broadway caliber theater right in their own backyard but the most amazing experience that my daughter had this year was when the paper mill opened its doors to the middle school so that the entire school could see attend a production of Fiddler on the Roof this experience not only opened up the doors for many children who had not ever never been to the theater before it also opened up necessary discussions as important as Math and Science are and they are important the Arts is an important part of children's education as well I know that paper mill playhous has offered to have more events like this in the future which strongly benefit our children finally finally I am an employee at the Papermill Playhouse I have spent my entire career managing and producing Broadway shows when the opportunity opened for me to get involved working here I jumped at the chance I'm not sure how many of you realized how prec ious the PaPeRo Playhouse is many of the top professionals on Broadway spend time working here many of our shows go on to Broadway the theater has won a Tony Award this is not typical of theaters in small towns we are lucky that the Papermill Playhouse is part of our community and we should do what we can to support and guarantee its future thank you thank you good evening my name is uh Cody Andress I'm a resident of East Orange and uh I am as of three months ago I joined the paper mill team um in the marketing and Communications uh Department um one of the reasons I came to Paper Mill was because of the services that they provide not only the shows that that they do um before this I was at New York City Center and I was at Lincoln Center theater in the city again older buildings that are very prestigious and can't really help the people that they need based on the buildings that they are in uh paper mill has the opportunity here and Milbourne Township does to serve more people different people expand our services one of the reasons that I came to Paper Mill was because of the amazing access Services we have uh in my department we have uh amazing amazing manager of audience services and access Services who helps us do our uh performances for those living on the autism spectrum those those who are deaf or hard of hearing those who are blind uh we do performances with each and every show for those specific audiences and I think it's important for us to expand the reach of the paper mill Playhouse and to show what an amazing Place Milburn is uh I've lived in East Orange for three years now but I've been coming to Paper Mill for the last 20 uh I came from the city on the train got off uh had you know lunch at the diner so showed paper mill had dinner in the city and took the train back um and now as a staff member of paper mill I'm here five days six days sometimes seven days a week uh I I don't really want to admit how much I spend at the Milbourne Deli uh but it's quite a lot uh we actually come here instead of um you know staying in East Orange because Milbourne has the best downtown the best restaurants I've switched my shop right Pharmacy to Milburn uh don't tell West orange but I say this all personally knowing as a marketing department the impact that paper mill has on both local residents uh around the state and as we saw with this last year every state in the country and uh 26 countries yeah 26 countries coming to see our shows um so I just want to uh remember how important paper mill is and how much this Bond ordinance will help us to expand that reach and to expand the reach of Milbourne Township thank you thank you anyone else okay we'll now close the public comment period uh any remarks from the township committee start with committee misser uh sure so uh for Judith and Carol I'm a neighbor I'm at Wyoming and Cedar so I'm all for the crossing walks and whatever else we can do to manage traffic on Wyoming it is very very difficult Crossing Wyoming at any time of day um so I think the most effective was really the speed traps that Chief Guild feder and we started to to set uh those give us the most U those are the most effective ways to to stop feeding uh but I do feel that we should look at doing the crosswalks in the uh six or seven consecutive blocks because it will uh force uh people to slow down um especially during the uh after school and prior to school there's a lot of children walking uh to to the school um in terms of uh J moreli and the dashboard to measure I I think we're putting that in place for for the uh two-way traffic on essic to have some measure of success and be able to measure how that goes um we're bringing the paper mill Playhouse uh we're going to have a uh public session uh for Mr Feld we was GNA mention that tonight that's going to be on Thursday is that correct Alex or no on Tu Tuesday March 12th just for me I'm glad what's that for me it's going to be on March 12th we're going to have the public session open to the entire Community um and we're going to go through all of the different pieces we did an extensive amount of work looking at uh the funds that are going to be allocated to the Papermill Playhouse and I'm going to do some information session tonight as we go into I'm going to be reading uh the ordinance reading the bond and such but I I want us to be very very careful how we approach it and then understand what we're going to be doing with the paper mill Playhouse and it's really a partnership we're working together to ensure their success we were very very careful to make sure that when we look at utilizing public funds that we were also getting revenue from the paper mill Playhouse and the revenue that we're getting is actually funding the bond uh that we're issuing uh for their part our contribution to the paper mill Playhouse and let's be very very very very direct about this the paper mill playoffs is a huge part of our town anybody who does not think so uh needs to hear the numbers they are a direct impact on our restaurants in town of $3.8 million a year that's $68 per Patron for about 30 cents 30% of the patrons that come 190 shows including Maes 100 that's about 55,000 visitors who come downtown about 375 visitors per show I personally went downtown over a two-day period I met with the owners and Proprietors and the general managers of all the restaurants majority of the restaurants caramia La pergola B zilico the standard fyama I went in sat down I looked them in the eyes I said whatat does the Papermill Playhouse mean to you guys every conversation I got back with they wouldn't be able to pay their rents without the patrons of the paper mill Playhouse the demographics of our town are changing folks people aren't eating out as much as they used to eat out the paper mill Playhouse brings people down town and they eat out before the shows and that keeps our restaurants in business it is maybe it is the single most important business to our Township we must support it and if we can support it through the revenue that we're bringing back from the lease and the revenue for the parking which we negotiated we negotiated hard I think uh Mark and uh Mike will tell you we negotiated hard at one point I packed my stuff up stuff up and left I promise you we worked hard and maybe it was a little too hard but we negotiated hard with it and we made it a self-funding deal with them we got back we have $1.2 million on the books which is a reserve a cash Reserve that's sitting there to fund some of the repairs we're getting back 20 Brookside a deed for 20 Brookside $1.8 million that leaves roughly $4 million or so we're getting $1.6 million in revenues for the parking we're getting average $300,000 per year in lease payments but it's going to be self deesing we're getting about $350,000 in revenues per year from the Papermill Playhouse to fund the bond it's roughly $197,000 we're going to be net positive on this we're using our balance sheet because it's an Arbitrage on the interest expense but if is one of the single most important assets to our town do not be myopic in our view of the paper mill Playhouse and from a culture standpoint from cultural standpoint we've got a whole litany host of other things tickets for the needy tickets for children under 20 performances for the children and I'll go through that list later but we got a really good deal folks thank you thank you can call sure um a couple of things I obviously I also agree the crossing stri the crossing stripes on Wyoming Avenue are important I would think that this is something that The Pedestrian safety Advisory Board should take up and and add to their agenda to work with the county to make that a reality so I'm not sure which I don't sit on that I don't know who does but uh whoever does I would ask that you bring it to that to that committee um adus access the accessory development units we are aware of them we are aware of the bill we're formulating our strategy and what is the best way to to deal with that um but it's something we are aware of and Al certainly I'm concerned about um lastly some of the issues around the zoning we we have formed that uh we have had the pre-existing zoning code subcommittee we last at the last meeting we added a member of the public I think there's still one open public spot will be one of the things in the consent agenda adds a couple more members from the planning board but that is the way way when that committee uh holds its meetings that is the place to address the concerns that some of the people tonight have have talked about and uh they're the ones to look at the existing zoning laws and figure out a way to make to tighten them up if needed or or to make sure that they're enforced thank you Deputy Mayor second Mandy sure um so for Mr B um we are aware uh as Mr Cohen stated uh about the pending legislation quickly moving through the Senate on the accessory dwelling units I find the legislation particularly concerning because what it does is I view it as the state encroaching on local municipality zoning rights and uh it's actually interesting because the league of municipalities seems to agree with that sentiment uh and they are opposing this as well um I would suggest that if we have consensus on the committee for next meeting we should put together a resolution officially opposing uh that because I think more municip IP alties need to speak out against this um because I think we're seeing this all too often where the state is coming in and starting to find ways to encroach on our local zoning they did it with fair share they're now trying to do it with these accessory dwelling units um and really that should be something that's under an individual Town's control so that they can customize a policy on Accessory dwelling units that'll fit the town or maybe the town will say no accessory dwelling units each municipality is different and um this law takes away our ability to craft our own zoning so I think it's something we should strongly oppose um Mr morale um you wanted to know if there's going to be measurable objectives uh for the traffic study um before and after the uh 2-way streets um I know we've had some discussions up on the Das about this um and you know I had also brought up the idea of a townwide traffic study um that's something I actually spoke to Mr McDonald about again on Friday and he said he was looking into it um but yes obviously as we're formulating the plans for the two-way traffic I do agree that we should find some way to get metrics both before and after so that we can see if we've achieved our goals um I also think the townwide traffic study would dvil nicely into the concerns about wiring Avenue um it is my understanding that is a county road so you know um you maybe we can reach out to someone at the county to see if they'd be willing to put some striping in but I think before we do that we ought to try and get some concrete data uh on exactly what's going on there you know are people speeding by only at various times during the day would it make sense to put stop signs in addition to crosswalks do we need a traffic light things like this so that's again another reason to you know do a townwide traffic study um so hopefully in uh future meetings Mr McDonald will have an update for us on that um there's been a number of individuals that came up tonight to express both their support uh and uh for the paper mill and others that stand in opposition to it um look anytime the town is going to spend money there's always going to be naysayers right um the question is is this a responsible use of the money and is this going to help Advance uh the interest of the residents in town and the town as a whole and I'll admit I was torn on this because I see valid arguments on both sides um but the conclusion I came to is that the paper mill is definitely a very valuable asset to our town and while we are being asked to invest in them yet again um as Mr Stoler pointed out it is sort of self-servicing right the revenue that we're going to get from the remaining lease payments is going to cover the bond now in exchange for that we're getting $36 Million worth of improvements to a building that we own we own those improvements outright as soon as they're completed so if the papill decides in 5 years to walk away from their lease I don't know why they would considering how much money they'll have just sunk into the building we would get that new shiny improved building and we'd be able to go and get another Theater Company um now I don't think that that's something that will happen because this is an investment both ways right so it's an investment from our town of a few million dollars at the end of the day because as Mr Stoler points out there's a seven million doll ask and I will say that was a $7.5 million doll ask before it was negotiated before it was negotiated the paper mill wanted to stop paying uh for their lease for a period of time they're going to be paying uh for the lease throughout the lease period um we're going to be getting $1.6 Million worth of parking Revenue over the next 30 years that'll help offset the cost of the $1.8 million property that we're going to be getting in exchange uh for some of this investment so if you you look at at the end of the day it's like a $4 million uh investment um out of pocket and again because it's self-servicing and we're going to get $36 Million worth of value to me on a numbers perspective that just makes sense the other thing is you know the paper mill is is a regional theater and we are so fortunate to have that in our to it actually is one of the few things that brings people other than coming to steal our cars it brings people into our town right and we don't have a lot of a lot of things besides the mall but when people go to the mall they tend to stay out there and that doesn't help the downtown area right well this is definitely uh an engine of economic growth uh for the downtown and so at the end of the day I I think it really does make sense to support this and uh I I do support it and um if you have any further concerns I encourage you to come to the public information session that we're going to have about it because this isn't a done deal if a bunch of people come and have great ideas we can maybe work with those um or if not then we'll proceed as planned yeah and the deal it's March 12th uh and to Frank's Point uh the 3.8 million of direct impact that's per year guys so over 30 years that's $116 million of direct impact to our town and as I said before that impact reduces overall or increases ratables allows rents to remain high and allows our home values to stay high and our taxes to remain a little bit lower even though they are very high thank you uh so let's see uh Miss Pack you brought up um a concern about the lack of zoning code enforcement I share that concern and uh I've expressed that concern uh during the zoning subcommittee uh that that Mr Cohen uh you know referred to um I would ask Mr McDonald to go and review uh our Municipal Staffing specifically with regards to building and Zoning enforcement and let us know if there's a need for greater Staffing or maybe you know we can contract with another town or do some sort of shared services agreement but let's first get the data as to whether there's a need for that I I drive around and I see various zoning violations so obviously I think there's a need that does exist but I would I would leave it to the business administrator to quantify that so that's a little bit of homework for you Mr McDonald um I he he just loves it when I when I'm at these meetings right um but uh I I think at that point that's all I have to say thank you thank you committee appris I'm good it's all been said exactly Mr MC um Deputy Mayor sck Mandy actually uh took the words out of my mouth in terms of um the zoning enforcement uh he did Express his concern at the last meeting uh I actually have a phone call set up with the um chair of the zoning board to discuss a little bit further and start that process so um for once homework's already started so um so we will be working on that and taking a look at the Staffing levels in the zoning department um in particular if uh if you're familiar with the township we have one code enforcement officer uh we have a zoning officer that sits as both the planning board secretary as well as the zoning board secretary as well as a zoning officer so wearing multiple hats um in a busy town uh with a lot going on uh it it is it is difficult and I think it is something that warrants um attention so I'll be working on that um the uh just wanted to comment on and just piggyback on the the crosswalks on Wyoming um that will be brought up to The Pedestrian safety Advisory Board mayor Romano myself sit on that board we'll make sure that that's addressed with that board and um understanding and we'll get a little bit more information understanding of Wyoming Avenue and what particular intersections have Ada accessible curbs uh that plays heavily into it um and whether a crosswalk can be furnished at a particular intersection and so while painting crosswalks would certainly be an easy Endeavor a potentially easy Endeavor in discussions with the county I think there's there may be a little bit more to it but you know again I think it it it warrants a look and an understanding of how we might be able to improve it improve the safety more quickly um and then what might be longer term uh types of improvements um and I think that was it for me thank you mayor I'll address Mr F's question on committees and commissions and whether it should established by ordinance or resolution because I think tonight is is specifically appropriate as we have resolution 24- 093 which is a citizen steering committee on affordable housing that's the type of committee that is actually very appropriate for resolution it's temporary in nature it's ad hoc as it Deals Only with the nine Main Street project um but to Mr F's point a Perpetual committee that we believe will be established for years and there is no end to sight is is more appropriate to be done by ordinance it's not wrong to do it by resolution but then it has to be reestablished every year um so I agree with Mr Fel that um these committees that are Perpetual are established by ordinance um New Year's Day all we need to do is appoint uh committee um members there are also commissions that are statutory and I think Mr Feld RS by are some codified in our code and some aren't we're not required to codify them in as are statutory however as Mr Fel stated a lot of towns do put them in their code um we are currently actually examining our committees and our commissions um and how they're appointed and which ones can be addressed through um the entire Council and some of the commissions are statutory and still require mayor mayoral appointments but we are going through that so um it really it really deals with the Perpetual limited nature of the committee and like I said tonight I think the committee tonight is very appropriate for resolution um but others that exists perpetually um should be codified by or more better practice be codified by ordinance thank you mayor R I just wanted to add one thing on the uh the development the accessory dwelling units so Mr McDonald talk earlier about how we've added the uh the addresses of our state legislators to legislators to the website and I would encourage all of you who feel strongly about this to contact them and talk about the bill that's in the Senate and don't spare the assembly because if it you know it's likely to come there as well uh you know it is a serious issue that we have we are looking to address but you know it can't just be us that does it with the resolution I would encourage you guys to to write to them as well with your feelings great reminder um I just want to um Mr Mr kamano will will bring our Wyoming Avenue issue back to the county I'm sure uh the township committee will now consider consent agenda resolutions are there any comments from the committee in regards to any items listed on the consent agenda I have a motion to approve resolution 24- 082 through 24- 091 which are which are listed on the consent agenda so move may I have a second second roll call vote Please Mr Cohen yes M pus yes Deputy Mayor second Mandy yes Mr St yes mayor Rano yes thank you are there any comments from the committee in regards to resolution 24- 092 may I have a motion to approve 24 resolution 24- 092 so moved may I have a second second roll call vote Please Mr Cen yes M pus yes mayor second Mandy yes Mr Stoler yes mayor Romano yes thank you are there any comments from the committee in regards to resolution 24- 093 may I have a motion to approve resolution 24- 093 may I have a second roll call vote Please Mr Cohen yes Miss cus yes Deputy Mayor second mandate yes Mr Stoler yes mayor Romano yes thank you uh committee man Stoler you are scheduled to sponsor ordinance 2663-20 thank you I would like to present an ordinance entitled ordinance number 2663-20 bond ordinance to authorize the making of various public improvements in and buy for the township of Milburn in the county of Essex state of New Jersey to appropriate the sum of 7 million to pay the cost thereof to make a down payment to authorize issuance of bonds to finance such appropriation and to provide for the issuance of bond anticipation notes in anticipation of the issuance of such bonds the paper mill playhouse has requested Financial investment from the township to assist in updating their facility when compared to Pure theaters across the country paper mill contends its physical plant is severely inadequate very costly to maintain and does not meet the needs of a 21st century inter Ain M facility much of paper Mill's physical facility is functionally obsolete such as bathrooms exterior Pathways drop off areas safety railings Building Systems Ada code requirements failing retaining walls black ice sheeting hazards on parking lots ground water penetration flooding in Orchestra pits and boiler room areas these concerns POS liability risk of both Paper Mill and our Township and will only become worse over time we must be very prudent in using public funds for such projects however there are significant benefits that will be realized both economically and culturally to our town investing in Performing Arts facilities has become very successful Venture for towns offering substantial returns these builds are now all modern and state-of-the-art Facilities used to attract the best and most lucrative production companies of which paper mill playhouses undoubtedly one as such Milburn is competing with Montclair Westville chadam Newark wown and Summit these are all trying to attract top Performing Arts companies such as paper mill it only makes sense for Milburn to in the spirit of collaboration and good partnership find a viable Equitable and reasonable path forward to economically support the paper mill playhous without risking or fly spending taxpayer dollars and that is what we sit out to negotiate and have done so it is rare we can negotiate very hard and come out with a win-win scenario and we have done that downtown Milburn and frankly live of New Jersey has been challenged over the past few years due to covid shutdown social distancing mandates and general climate Affair the very survival of our downtown businesses and entertainment anchors have literally been at stake we lost our first run movie theater as you guys are all aware it turned into a Charles swap our downtown has been plagued with some very long-term vacancies this presents a major challenge to the entire Community downtown not only represents a significant portion of the downtown of the Township's ratables is also reflect of the health and identity of our Township as a whole whatever this TC can do to underpin our local businesses must be done we must remain competitive and invest in our downtown and make it a vibrant atmosphere such such as our peers like Summit Westfield and chadam and maintain a level of quality Our Town residents expect it is no question that the current Jewel of Milburn is the paper mill Playhouse and is helping underpin our local economy as I stated earlier a direct paper mill has a direct local impact of $3.8 million per year to our local businesses dining parking patronage Etc this number was calculated by ascribing $68 spent to 56,000 visitors or 30% of the 190,000 annual visitors per year that regular eat locally prior to attending paper mill P playouts that equates to roughly 375 patrons dining in msh prior to an event as I said earlier last week I spent a couple days walking around downtown meeting with the owners of caramia basilica La perola Etc and the common sentiment was that this is our jewel is very important for all of us to understand the dynamic of our of our town and we were discussing at the Sid just two weeks ago how to improve and create a shop local program specifically for the changing demographics in our town that being said if current trends persist local businesses will only continue to lose customers which makes the paper mill playhouse that much more important to us in the spirit of collaboration and good partnership we found an equitable and reasonable path forward without risking or feverously spending taxpayer dollars the best part of our Township's contribution is that our lease payments and negotiated Park and revenues will more than cover our servicing of the bond we will be taking down a $5.8 million bond which is our $7 million Bond less than $1.2 million cash payment the township will also receive $36 million in Capital Improvements on day one after renovation is complete free and clear to our site we will also receive a $1.8 million deed to the 20 Brookside property as discussed we're going to have receive in perpetuity the direct economic in direct economic improve uh benefit from the paper mill Playhouse for our businesses in addition to the economic benefits we've negotiate many qualitative benefits from the paper mill playhouse that contribute directly to the fabric and children of our community these include a Milburn Schools kindergarten through 12 programs we're going to have adopted School participation for the high school students we're going to have a partnership with the middle schools for a lot of programs similar to the fidler on the roof program we'll have a master class and guest speaking opportunities for the paper mill Playhouse with the artistic staff and artist access for students to final dress rehearsals on the main stage we'll have $20 student tickets for all other performances the restaurant The Carriage House upon completion of the renovation project at the carriage house we're going to have updated paper mill Playhouse uh speaker events live performances Cabaret offerings private events Civic events and it will be offered for meeting spaces they will also offer increased restaurant hours based on demand and then we we will also have discount tickets not for-profit organization invitations for Community Day performances the opportunity project and First Baptist Church of milberg then we will also have discount tickets for in need members of the community such as the family's first program and then a special student rush and 30 under 30 program to Milburn students and residents that will allow unused tickets to be purchased at discount prior to a performances the schedule will be introduction of the bond ordinance tonight crystal clear we're not approving it this is the introduction of the bond ordinance March 12th we will have a public discussion session and then on April 2nd the ordinance public hearing and adoption I move that this ordinance be taken up and passed on first reading and that the Township Clerk be authorized to have the ordinance published in accordance with law in the item and for hearing and passage on Tuesday April 2nd 2024 may I have a second second roll call vote Please Mr Cen yes M puus yes Deputy Mayor sakandi yes Mr Stoler yes mayor Romano yes thank you uh committee woman proof is you are scheduled to sponsor ordinance 2664 24 I would like to present an ordinance entitled ordinance number 26 54-24 amending the code of the township of Milburn chapter 9 building and housing by the creation of section 9-12 entitled lead based paint Hazard inspection requirements for rental dwellings Alex you want to give a free sure um this is an ordinance to codify the requirements have been passed down by the state seems to be running team um but uh that requires municipalities to inspect uh those properties that are rented that were built prior to 1978 and may pose a lead base paint Hazard uh essentially what this does is establishes fees or fee range for uh those inspections and uh give some additional information as to what that what what the requirements are um if you can you know an example would be you're renting a home prior to 1978 uh you can uh work with the Township's contractor to have that inspected um and it's a visual inspection if you pass a visual inspection you're given a lead safe certification it's good for three years um as long as you do not change tenants in the last year between year two and three uh you don't have to have that uh reinspected until at the end of three years um there is then uh there's the ability to be considered Le LED safe certified uh uh you know which um I think also requires some you know remediation of any lead base paint but it's a it's a a certification that will last uh in perpetuity um it's uh this information will be put on the Township's website um once the ordinance is passed and once we started our program for inspection uh with L Corporation who was contracted earlier in the agenda um and again this does not preclude any Resident from going on the township on the state's website and choosing a contractor uh that's been uh vetted by the by the state of New Jersey to provide such Services uh for your rental property I move that this ordinance be taken up and passed on first reading of the Township Clerk be authorized to have the ordinance published in accordance with the law in the item and for hearing and final passage on Tuesday April 2nd 2024 I have a second second roll call vote Please Mr Cohen yes Miss pus yes mayor Sandy yes Mr Stoler yes mayor Romano yes thank you seeing no old business no new business public comment this public comment period is to allow for final comments from the community when invited to speak to offer your comments please come to the Lector clearly state your name and whether you are a Milbourne resident and or property or business owner please do not provide your full address seeing our meetings are recorded and readily available to the public a reminder that in order to help facilitate an orderly meeting and to permit all to be heard speakers shall limit their comments to one three-hour session I'm sorry minute three minute I'm glad you're all listening I couldn't speak that long Charles B a 27 year resident of Short Hills two things I wanted to actually three things I wanted to bring up um I didn't want to introduce them earlier because they they would have been sidetracked this from perhaps more important business firstly uh I've mentioned it in several committees um each time I was told it wasn't the right venue um I'd like to propose that we look at putting a um uh uh in in Milburn uh in in Taylor Park uh in the uh now I forgot the word for it I'll come back to that um I grew up in Bergenfield uh in in Bergen County uh they had a program in town uh every Thursday night I don't I think that's probably too frequent for this town but they closed the main street in town uh for traffic and opened it up as a pedestrian Mall um and with the two-way traffic on an essic street that perhaps opens that as a possibility in town that perhaps not every week but maybe twice a month or once a month we can open up Milburn Avenue for shopping and for for dining and and make a pedestrian wall out of it um and uh uh what I wanted to get back to in Tay Park um was to uh uh uh now what do you call the structure that like you'd put a Bandon or something gazebo gazebo I escaping my mind I'd like to propose we put a gazebo in the middle of Tor a Taylor Pond uh with a an attractive Bridge tying it over to Bower Center it could be used for uh wedding photographs it can be used as a band stand for uh for events in town and I I think it would be a very befitting thing to introduce to the town during the anniversary of Taylor Park coming up that we need a program of improvement for that Park and I think that would be a very befitting and appropriate thing to to announce if if it can be financed but uh maybe this is the right form to to and the last thing I'll that's okay thank you um Jeffrey Feld poet section these are really non-agenda item comments again I renew my offer to provide a certification under oath y perjury in opposition to RPM I don't believe there's anyone else in this town that knows where the RPM skeletons are because remember I we have a show of hands who has ever been sued personally by RPM questioning why they changed the terms of a deal in Orange New Jersey I'm just asking you I'm the only person who knows where they had to get sued by orange to collect their money under the pilot I'm willing to give you a certification and penalty and person surgy I don't know why you don't accept my offer um as to the kpis sub after the last meeting I found out that every month the our police department has to fill out a form with the state um talking about crimes we heard about all crimes like stealing cars shoplifting what about violent crimes why don't we know how many violent assaults are occurring or rapes are occurring in the town why is that information being shared I know it's we don't want to know about it but that is I think form that should at least be supplied to the township committee maybe not to the residents um I do attend Board of Education meetings the superintendent every year gets an annual review by the board and I've been coming to meetings here with all due respect does rbba get an annual review by the township committee saying how he's performed and I raise that because of one of the things that was mentioned at the last um case management conference at affordable housing it came up based on I think my statement that I made at the township committee about how monies were used from the the affordable housing trust fund to pay the attorney one of our attorneys and judge s dantura was not happy she basically directed us to replenish those monies as that occurred um also today there was a very interesting hearing Fel versus Milbourne I recommend I highly recommend that you the town committee get a copy of that hearing because there are a lot of statements because the judge pulled back about how expansive his ruling was he said it was a very restricted limited opinion because we went at it for about an hour and a half I did about what happened in calendar year 2021 did the township abridge and deprive me of a right to be heard prior to consideration official action on non ordinance agenda action items no one ever answered that question that is the third rail in the affordable housing case because the settlement was approved without any public input we did not know the terms judge Gardner punted the issue Santa Maro said Gardner handled it they're going back and forth and today pasamano says I want nothing to do with this that is the real issue that is our Lynch pin to get out of here thank you thank you Elaine Becker Brook Haven way I know that the uh paper mill is a State Theater and I wonder if the state of New Jersey gives money to the U papermilk Playhouse also because I didn't hear that tonight they're providing six million excuse me six million six million a year no no part of this I see just this so they don't as a um cash payment okay but nothing every year is that what you're saying yes we do you get money every year yeah we do okay we should we should let her finish I figured I figured they must but I hadn't heard it so thank you thank you hi J Morelli thank you uh Deputy Mayor and committee man Stoler for acknowledging the need for um metrics around the two-way traffic I think that's fabulous um and if I heard you correctly um committee Moler you said the deal we've worked out um will result in Revenue to the township that will cover the servicing of the debt so I take that to mean there will be no taxpayer increase related to the $7 million that's going to the paper mill since the revenue that we will be receiving is going to cover the debt servicing uh and if so I think that's great but if you could just maybe respond to that that'd be awesome thank you thank you next Tuesday anyone on good evening Jerry Kong Short Hills resident um please excuse me if my thoughts aren't fully formed just a few things um coming to mind um so I got a haircut today on Milburn AV original sharp fully recommend um I I noticed when I made my appointment they said in order not to be late please park in the parking deck which was very good advice so I went directly to the parking deck I didn't circle around but then as I was walking out I noticed you know there were no cars in the parking deck but the curbside spots were just entirely full right so that that leads to sort of a philosophical question which is what is the price of a parking spot and should the price of a parking spot change so you know for Uber there's surge pricing right when everyone wants a an Uber the price of an Uber goes up when everyone wants a curbside parking spot maybe the curbside parking spot price should go up so I know uh Mr Mcdonald had talked about um we need parking machines so I don't know I don't know anything about parking machine technology I don't know if it's possible to look into surge pricing for curbside parking um given there's concerns about traffic with impending development I don't know how many people during uh rush hours are just circling around trying to find a curbside parking spot instead of just going directly to the parking deck um so just some thoughts um I know there's some research out there I was looking um I think San Francisco has done something like this so a little outlandish something to think about um figured I'd leave it for the second public comment thanks a lot thank you Judith Christian Wyoming section thank you for your positive uh response about the crossings on Wyoming um to Mr McDonald there um there there are no um Ada accessible Crossings in the area I've mentioned except perhaps uh cyer street so certainly you know I I don't anticipate that just coming in and striping if they're going to do it um all of those should be Ada accessible and um I'm aware that that could take some time to work out thank you and thank you Mr staller um as far as uh speeding uh between 7 and 8 am just a police car Lyon you will see that um I mean the house shakes you know when the cars come down from the they're really flying down there between I maybe 5 in the morning 8 in the morning so that would be something to look at thank you thank you okay Clos public comment period any final thoughts uh Cedar is ada8 but Cedar is ada8 both coming up and down so and then for for Jay theoretically yes uh theoretically but you know it's uh you know one pocket the other pocket Etc um and then uh do we mind if Mike answers that question we could answer it on March 12 but he's here now so I'm happy to um paper mill does and Mike stots executive director of paper mill I will address the one question about annual support that we receive from the state uh we do receive an annual appropriation through a Grant application process uh it uh is approximately $1.1 million a year it is for General operating support which is what these grants solely fund uh General operating support of all of the Arts organizations uh in the State uh we are also um receiving some uh funding from the state separate from that to support our renovation project so far 3 uh 75 uh 3.75 100,000 has been committed towards this project and we are trying to get this state to commit to it for a total of six million all right and thank you m and uh also too I'd like to thank everybody from paper mill Playhouse who came out tonight as well keep spending money in Milburn we welcome you and your families to Milburn uh plenty of homes available uh Spence SP spend um uh and to Mr Feld uh you know I did spend the two and a half hours excruciating long watching you today on H with judge bosam Maro uh and your points uh we appreciate the work you put in there as well and it was riveting so thank you just following up on Dr kung's suggestion you know the we put the parking deck where we could put it and it's not you know people do prefer the curbside spots so I guess a question I have it I don't know if we have the technology that would support it is to change the pricing so that the parking deck costs less to park it the cide spots it's uh I appreciate the comment I think it's a good idea to look into um you know I think that one of one of the things we attempted last year was just WF finding and trying to get people to find the deck and find it easier to get there we've opened up a lot more spots in the bottom level of the deck um so I think it's an interesting point uh and I think that from a technology standpoint from an ordinate standpoint it's very easy to address on street parking versus lot parking so it's definitely something to look into Deputy Mayor excuse me so um Mr Feld uh I'm very glad you had your day in court uh I would like to reiterate though so everyone in the audience understands that um I believe what happened today is the judge reaffirmed uh his earlier decision that the case that Mr Feld brought before the town be missed now yes he did clarify that his ruling was very narrow um but at the end of the day the case was dismissed um as far as the ba getting an annual review by the TC um you know quite honestly Mr McDonald gets a review every single day because if any four of us decide it's time for him to set sail and and go else where uh we can make that happen so you know if you look at it that way he's constantly getting review um now maybe it would make sense to have a formalized review process but we'd have to take a look at you know what sort of metrics um you know we'd put in there in my experience in the professional World those yearly performance reviews end up being kind of nonsense right um yeah end up having some sort of scale to grate people on in a bunch of different categories and depending who the person is doing the reviewing that scale can vary from year to year um so it's something we can look into but I don't know that it's necessary because again we're constantly evaluating Mr McDonald probably much to his chrin but he is he is still here so um you know make of that what you will improve this trust Mr McDonald would you like to good Mr caner thank you mayor uh to Mr F point on the affordable housing trust fund money uh the T will be taking a position on that which is contrary to what the judge sat on the bench I think she was reacting to fair share housing's position we have a different position on that um as to the point of the third rail um public comment is not required before this committee votes on anything it's it's what this committee chooses to do um to get public input before they take votes so it's best practice so there's they are doing that but it's certainly not a requirement of the open public meetings act to do that um and to the deputy mayor I think maybe we should speak with our labor Council on evaluations and annual evaluations and the importance of doing them somebody has a personnel file and a record so action is taken by the committee um whatever employee that is they have an understanding why that action was taken it also has Improvement points and objectives and things that they're doing well and things that they're not doing well um and I think that maybe that's something we should talk to our labor Council about if it's not happening yeah and I I didn't in any way mean to suggest you know I think it's a very important process for public employees especially if we if there's a discussion as to you know the committee's opinion on a certain employee I think giving them metrics and what they're doing well and what they can improve on is an important process for an employee do you do that in the other towns that you I mean does that happen yes it does yeah I I tend to agree uh because uh all of the managers we have of different companies and such it's great to have that constant interaction and uh room for enhancement room for performance what's working what's not working Etc so the constant dialogue yeah and also from litigation perspective um protects p um I just want to take the opportunity talking about parking downtown just to remind if they're listening our uh commercial property owners and our store owners and the employees not to park on Melbourne Avenue and to save those spots for the people that are coming to get their haircut or their nails done or whatever else and and one other comment too is shop local as I speak to uh the local Proprietors and you know these guys are working hard for us and when Restaurant Week comes up and also if you shop if you park in that deck you're not going to wreck your rims on your car as well so that's another thing about parking in that in that parking B may I have a motion to adjourn the meeting so may I have a second second all those in favor