this Council without you no one would know that girl scouts is growing and thriving in the city of planfield so I thank you all and I would be remiss if I did not give a shout out to our assembly woman uh Wonder Woman Linda Carter she also serves on the Girl Scouts Heart of New Jersey Board of Directors and she found it not robbery to come here and be with us on this special occasion to all of our new little girl scouts um we are so excited to be taking over the city of planfield and if you didn't get their QR code or get an order from them for their cookie season which is going to end on April 7th please do so before they leave here tonight um there are Girl Scouts still coming in and each of each one of them has powered their program through the cookie program this year and are doing incredible things with their funding and lots of service in and throughout the city so we want to thank them for being here I know we have you out a little early tonight but there's plenty of homework home for you to do when you get there I'm sure um but please every single one of the community members who are here represented tonight want to support you in your Girl Scout cookie sale right so make sure that you use your five basic skills that we've taught you and sell to your hearts content because this is an untapped audience I I hear that all of you do not have your thin mints in the freezer yet and so you need to get these girls QR codes and um allow them to give you their sales pitch and overcome the objections of the nose okay thank you very much right the May's over there and he hasn't been asked by Girl Scout cookies yet so we will uh leave you now and not disrupt the rest of your meeting but know that you have entrepreneurs in your midst and they are here to um to sell you their Girl Scout cookies so that you can power their program girls got take picture oh okay all right well we GNA move the microphone again that's how we [Applause] know detective Frank H this young lady's calling you for the microphone just give me for the [Laughter] microphone okay we now move to discussion items uh there will be a presentation by DMR Architects regarding the 202 for Community energy plan um DMR Architects how are you sir all right how about you thank you very much thank you I was just about to ask how to raise this appreciate it um good evening everyone my name is Dan hin I am the senior project planner from DMR Architects uh for those of you aren't familiar with us we are a uh full service architecture uh planning and design firm in Bergen County our offices are located in hburg Heights uh right off the edge of hackin saac we have uh Municipal clients uh as far south as uh Middletown I'm sure we potentially some further south than that um this is uh uh I'm here to present our community energy plan that we prepared uh for the city of planfield this is uh the third of four that DMR has prepared I think we probably got the highest count of uh Community energy plans of any firm in in the State uh don't quote me on that but that's my impression um if you could proceed to the next slide please thank you um one back in that actually yeah um so uh the uh Community energy plan uh program was created in 2021 by uh the state's Board of Public Utilities in order to uh encourage municipalities to um uh Advance the goals of the state's 2019 energy master plan which is a plan that's adopted periodically by the state I think they're now trying to do it every five years although they're not consistent about it always um the uh 2019 plan was unique in that it set a goal of achieving 100% clean energy throughout the state by 2050 and reducing the state's en uh greenhouse gas emissions to 80% of the 2006 Levels by 2050 as well I think the governor wants to bring that uh down to 40 as soon as possible um it's a unique plan in that it uh was one of the first to Target Vehicles as it made to uh expand clean energy should I should I pause while everyone coming if You' like to pause for a minute I pause that's fine I know uh the the Girl Scouts you're welcome to stay if you want to stay for our meeting but certainly are not obligated to stay I know some of you have homework so you can feel free I'm going to put them to sleep yeah that that you can uh I know some a lot of the chatter is just people getting ready to go home and contemplating if they want to hear this architect plan yeah they they shouldn't they shouldn't stay here for me um just just just one more minute because they're thank you ladies so uh the BPU when it launched its Community energy grant program it uh offered $10,000 to uh all municipalities in the state except those that were designated by the state as overburdened municipalities which those communities like planfield got $225,000 uh and they could use that money to uh create a community energy plan internally using their own staff or they could contract it out planfield like many towns that got the money I chose to contract it out to firms like my own um sustainable Jersey which is uh the uh lead probably um sustainable uh uh uh uh sustainability advocacy group in the state it's a a organization uh coming out of the College of New Jersey um offers technical assistance to communities that get the $25,000 so they have been uh helpful to planfield as well as other communities around the uh the state and implement ing uh the plan uh the community energy plan uh is designed to uh help municipalities create a strategy for uh improving Energy Efficiency in their own buildings and uh privately owned buildings uh encouraging and advancing uh renewable energy uh generation in the city and uh facilitating the transition to electric vehicles the plan is designed to have a 3 to five year uh Outlook and I think that's because the state is trying to update its energy plans every five or so years um and unlike master plan element this is not a planning board document it is a document that is adopted uh and implemented by the governing body next slide please uh so uh as you would imagine the purpose of a clean energy plan is to promote uh clean energy and less expensive energy sources than your traditional oil gas coal um the uh the clean field energy m plan includes 23 initiatives uh and those initiatives span a wide range of issues including uh improving the Energy Efficiency of buildings like uh these municipal buildings uh encouraging um uh private property owners to improve their Energy Efficiency uh educating the public and particularly a low and moderate income households on ways to uh improve their Energy Efficiency and even get uh assistance from psng uh and the state to uh uh pay for their energy bills um to uh ensure that zoning permits uh solar and other renewable energy sources um uh improving uh uh or sorry electrifying uh Municipal fleets so police cars for example uh garbage trucks um and expanding uh uh a or creating rather in the in the city a public EV charging Network so allowing people uh to park in municipally owned parking lots Park in the curb and be able to charger Vehicles while they're uh going to these meetings going to the library going shopping uh taking the train to uh to work please so the master plan uh from the state had uh seven strategy areas only six of them apply to the uh municipalities so those areas as you can imagine are uh reducing energy use from the Transportation sector expanding energy uh renewable energy generation improving Energy Efficiency of the in buildings uh promoting Green Building practices in the uh for new buildings and making sure that Community energy uh and options for more affordable energy are accessible to the public and again particularly low and moderate income households uh and expanding The Innovation economy and what that uh means is um uh putting municipalities municipalities at the Forefront of emerging Technologies like energy storage batteries and uh Solutions like micro grids where uh municipalities or portions there there of can generate their own electricity and not be dependent on uh the Statewide grid uh when it fails uh being able to uh uh have power for uh uh critical facilities like Municipal facilities or hospitals uh sewage uh treatment plants Etc next slide please uh so again the uh initiatives uh in this plan include everything I've mentioned zoning and adopting regulations and permitting processes to make sure that uh the city is ready for electric vehicle charging renewable energy generation battery storage um creating uh not only a public electric vehicle uh charging network but also encouraging major workplaces and fleets for example uh Enterprise uh truck closer to the I'm sorry to have their own um uh EV charging Solutions on site um training staff and making sure that your Public Safety and uh building permitting uh reviewing staff are educated in uh the technology and making sure that they are uh know what to look for when inspecting buildings that are installing solar charging facilities Etc um establishing uh a uh green standard Green Building standards in the mun municipality through a Green Building checklist which uh doesn't uh have a power to force developers to adopt Green Building practices but uh puts them in a position where they have to publicly disclose uh what practices they are or not adopting which might uh make them more inclined to do things they wouldn't otherwise have wanted to do uh ensuring that the public uh and businesses are educated about the wide range of incentive and Assistance programs that are available particularly right now with the uh political environment there's a big push uh by the state and federal government to uh expand these Technologies and this infrastructure and make sure that there's money for uh communities to uh to uh reduce the local burden uh on producing uh for these charging networks uh the infrastructure Etc um I want to uh emphasize not on that checklist uh part of the plan is to uh explore Mobility sharing so bike sharing car sharing uh to reduce the burden on uh residents of having to own their own car to get around uh own their own bike uh to encourage people to not drive to have to get everywhere um next slide please uh there is currently implementation funding there's currently a part of the reason that we're um adopting this plan is because there's up to $500,000 available per municipality uh from the BPU for communities that have adopted a community energy plan to implement the steps in those plans and 5,000 $500,000 is quite a bit uh especially if you're looking to uh renovate a building and you want to have Energy Efficiency or if you want to uh purchase uh a a uh partial an electric or partially electric garbage truck for example um there's also uh another uh uh several sets of uh uh incentives out there for communities to go for I believe we got an email from sustainable Jersey about one of those program so um we should be looking at that as well the plan encourages the city to establish a Green Team and that is body comprised of a mixture of volunteers and staff and officials uh who will be respons responsible for implementing some of the soft uh components of the community energy plan particularly the Outreach it takes the burden off of uh staff and officials to have to uh address that when they have so many other duties already uh uh taking up their time um the plan uh believes that there's a uh uh an emphasis on Commercial um uh Energy Efficiency will have the greatest impact especially in a city with so many households being renters renters don't have as much of uh the ability to to um reduce the uh energy impact of the buildings that they live in as as a homeowner does because they don't have the ability to unilaterally put solar on the roofs or Chargers and their driveways so um the commercial uh and I think commercial in my mind also includes uh landlords and multif family uh buildings uh it a route is the best for uh Outreach um uh the takeaway I think uh from the plan should be that uh energy improvements pay off they reduce the energy cost for the uh Community which uh translates into reduced uh tax burden um there's incentives from every level of government right now to to make these more affordable to uh communities around the country uh and uh there's renewable energy credits that you basically if you have solar panels on your roof you can uh generate some level of income if you're not using all the energy created from those solar panels so there's a the environment right now for clean energy and renewable energy and and Energy Efficiency is is is perfect for taking uh implementing this kind of plan so uh that's the end of my presentation um I'll open it up to questions I believe the uh agenda tonight is to adopt the plan uh we do have a deadline that we're trying to meet for uh making sure that you close out the grant as for your uh deadline so you get the grand money um that's it sure I'm sure uh my Council colleagues have questions I I know I do um you know many know me as a proponent for uh the electrification of plan field and electric vehicles uh so looking forward to seeing that infrastructure be built out uh through your guidance um also I know a lot of people because of all of the incentives that the state offers regarding solar you get a lot of calls of people trying to solicit uh you to put solar on your home uh is there any guidance that you can provide or maybe a manual some way where we can fill some of these companies so we can identify the good ones the bad ones what's a good deal what's a bad deal uh for people who might be interested in solar but are just weary from uh all these unknown companies calling to uh to get them to install solar yeah uh I I wish I could um you know I've heard mixed things about companies that ask about leasing rooftops um for solar uh in some cases I've heard that people are getting stuck with uh the uh the cost from those from the previous owners who put the you know the lease cost don't actually pay off pay pay enough to to uh for the for the benefit of it uh and then I know people who are you know bought electric cars lease their roofs out to uh to these companies and the the lease is basically paying for the the charging cost of of their electric car so it's sort of a mixed bag um you know I think the uh I think there's probably uh uh the BPU might be in the business and that's the Board of Public Utilities they might be in the business of uh providing guidance on that you know I'm sure there's there's scams and and often the these companies uh the BPU likes to will will have guidance on what companies they trust I know that they've done that with um with companies that provide you know solar as an alternative to psng or jcpnl uh they have a list of companies that they actually say you could trust these companies to um provide you solar or or clean energy as your source of electricity so so in terms of a best practice you would suggest that they vet a potential Company by contacting the BPU to ensure they're reputable yeah I think that's probably a good place to start um you know uh I think if you want to have some level of control over the solar you're putting on your your building loans or or ownership is probably your best bet um but uh I know leasing is enticing especially if you you don't have to be stuck with the bill when you move out of your house or uh you don't want to have to make any sort of down payment um so I think I think reaching out to the BPU upfront is probably a good place to start my colleagues have any other any questions question um I thought I heard you say that each City could possibly be um eligible for up to was it 500,000 or 5,000 it's 500,000 and what would be the determining factor for a city to become eligible for that amount so the uh any City that's a community energy plan uh can apply for this grant I I know I've been working with uh Miss fields and uh Mr White and The Economic Development Department on uh understanding how to proceed with that process um uh towns are able to uh uh provide to to to submit up to 10 projects and I think they they get up to 100 $250,000 per project um and with the maximum being 500,000 so um you know I think I lost track of what the what question I was answering can you ask it one more time okay yeah so um there's a bunch of scoring criteria including how uh uh shovel ready so to speak the project is um if you're a overburden community um like plane field is you have get an extra I think five or 10 points out of 100 towards the scoring process um uh there's determination of uh uh how uh effective your organizational structure is in a municipality to implement the program um and then there's also uh there's there's uh some projects are pre-scored uh so uh you know if you want to be sure how many points you're getting so for example I think uh Energy Efficiency projects for a municipal building are automatically something like 35 out of a total of 45 potential points so um and and so is um and I think electri in your police Fleet is something like 25 out of 45 potential points so there's definitely projects that the program is encouraging towns to do although there's a level of um uh Innovation that's allowed in the application process anyone else oh one more thing on the subject of money uh the New Jersey uh Department of uh Environmental Protection and the BPU jointly uh are applying to the EPA for a huge pool of money talking Millions um for towns uh to uh eventually apply to I think it's going to hopefully be in the summer the application program will open um for U the criteria for the projects has to be projects that will realistically uh reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and uh so most of these will most of the the projects in your community energy plan meet that criteria uh and I from my understanding from my conversations with people involved in the grant program there will be a uh a slice of that money that's reserved for towns that have done Community energy plans so um there's a lot of money down the road as far as I'm aware cman white uh yes thank you for the presentation um this is very important and I did know we had some concerns you did a presentation was it March 7th to the community and Mrs Lon you did send an email stating that the public could still um ask questions or make comments what was the date that they have to March 29th all right so the public can still make comments and any uh concerns or questions that they have until March 29th okay thank you that's it anyone else question how often is this grant funding available so for the implementation grant funding this is the first year they're doing it and the hope is that they're going to do it every two years um and it depends on whether the state obviously the state budget whether the federal government is going to give grants to fuel these grants um so it's the hope is there'll be more but this is kind of the the opportunity to try and get it right now thank you all right um so with respect to your presentation was really good uh can you just briefly uh discuss how this program benefits residential property owners um the when when you say which program what the solar program you mentioned solar and I guess the solar panels and leasing panels oh um so that's uh the mayor or I'm sorry the council president was asking uh about um uh you know different ways of putting solar on a private property so there's there's basically three ways for to for you to get solar on your property and that's you buy it outright you own it there's you get a loan and typically the loan is designed to be just shy of what you're currently paying on your electric bill um at the moment and then you know there's leasing some companies out there who are mostly the ones who are doing these cold calls they want to lease to you they want they basically want to say We'll lease your roof we put solar on it they get they get credits from the uh State's renewable energy certificate program for the energy generated and you get a slice of that through the lease program but just based on your presentation um what incentives I guess does your program or presentation offer to the homeowners outside of them getting you know the renewable energy credits uh perhaps uh if they are even eligible uh if trees don't have to be cut down if their roof faces South uh so for the eligible homeowners um I guess your your presentation how would it benefit them as as far as additional incentives so um the uh when we started the process of preparing this plan we s the the city uh I guess the economic development team and others uh selected the initiatives that the state sort of laid out to start uh that they wanted to include in the plan and uh the ones that pertain to private solar which is what we're talking about uh essentially is limited to um uh making sure that your zoning allows people to put uh solar on their roofs in a without overly burdening them with high permitting fees or or excessive zoning uh standards I will say though that one of the options uh of initiatives that uh the city could take and some have done and you still can just even though it's not in in this plan uh is uh to um uh put out an RFP for basically uh a uh one or two solar contractors who you know aren't going to be getting any money from the city but um basically they're going to be the designated solar contractor for property owners around the city and what uh that does is you put yourself in a pos position where you could say you normally would charge you know if somebody called your company and said I want solar you might say it might be it'll cost you $20,000 for me to do it but because they're uh you know being designated by the city they're getting this high level of marketing essentially you can Levy a discount from them for all Property Owners so you can work you can say we're going to we're going to do this RP we want you to be our contractor but you have to give x amount of perc discount to property owners in the city that's a way that you can make solar more affordable in town that sounds good thank you okay okay well you you did say that the um we have until what the public and U the constituents have until the end of the month but what is the exact deadline you said it's approaching but what is the exact dayline the um so what's have to have thank you yeah well if the city were to designate a a uh a contractor or installer or two it would make it even more important to really vet them to make sure that they're good right so all right thank you I appreciate your presentation thank you very much thanks okay we have ordinances MC 20248 through MC 20242 which are scheduled for public hearing second reading and final passage for the regular meeting as advertised uh we'll now move to public comments limited resolutions motions and ordinances to be considered on first reading see state your name in it a combined meeting uh we'll have the second half as well but this is public resolutions motions ordinances on first reading on on First and all the resolutions that are on the on the on the agenda okay uh Nancy p uh 11:29 Myrtle Avenue correct uh planfield New Jersey I come before you with a heavy heart I am speaking in reference to resol solution R 168-46 and has been a church parking lot since the 1960 is alarming to me as a resident why is this piece of property included in a Redevelopment plan when the parking lot is used on a daily BAS basis is used by the church Charter and Elementary School and it leaves the neighborhood of an on street parking it is an asset to the neighborhood not a detriment as the study implies I have I have tried to take a step back from this and I have tried to look at it in the eyes of the administration plan and Consulting planning board and redevelopers but what keeps echoing in my ears and my mind are these words on page 28 of the study quotes since this parking lot on lot 2.01 continues on to lot two effective Redevelopment a lot two cannot occur without the inclusion of this property unquote this sentence could be rearranged to read since lot two encroaches on lot 2.01 and both have an easement effective Redevelopment of lot two can occur without the inclusion of lot 2.01 however lot 2.01 would have decreased parking spaces the study looked at what could be done for a potential developer but not for a church that has been a local institution in the city since 1915 over a 100 years the decrease in parking spaces is the Crux of the matter any decrease would substantially burden the exercise of freedom of religion and cause significant harm to the church this parking lot has been grandfathered in in the late 1990s when there was a subdivision went went before the planning board at that time I probably was at that meeting but I don't recall I say all this to put into context what is being seen by the inclusion of the church parking lot into a Redevelopment plan the perception is that is not it's anti- religious I pray that I am wrong but I simply want to protect the interests of the city and ask the city and city council members to take a step back make a pause and let the religious hierarchy take care of their own religious business this is supposed to be a there's supposed to be a separation of church and state once the religious hierarchy takes care of their business then it may be appropriate for the city to step in I thank you very much thank you anyone online [Music] okay okay uh that portion of public comments is now closed uh we move to the legisla body uh R 13524 through R 13824 uh do we have a consensus to add these items to the voting meeting yes yes comment uh councilman why uh yes on r 14124 I would like to say to Tracy Bennett welcome back um I do know the community will be happy to see that you are back as I received calls over the past few years expressing how much you were missed unfortunately there will be no time for you to have a honeymoon phase as it is tax appeal season however as a season vet I know that you will hit the ground running so I just wanted to say welcome back Tracy thank you okay I I see you president if we could advise members of the public to be seated while we're in this portion of the meeting okay we will have another opportunity for public comment Miss Ansari I'm actually confused there will be a someone can clarify this is not a question and answer period right now this is an opportunity this is the council's partion of meeting when you want there will be an opportunity to speak at the general public comment section we are not there yet I want to speak about a resolution well that that period is now ended you had your opportunity and didn't speak thank you my apologies council president thank you no problem okay so uh I heard I we had consensus to to bring those right those those were the legislative body items correct we had a consensus 35 through 138 all right great okay uh would the business administrator please present her items yes thank you council president I have three items on for this evening the first one is a resolution um with brown and brown which you've seen for the past couple of years they handle uh the minimization of Our Workers Comp fraud cases as a risk manager the second one is um approval to submit and accept a grant for $18539 our tax assessor which is really wonderful news um she's a beloved tax assessor who was here from 1988 to 2022 as our tax assessor and we are looking to get advice and consent to bring her back any questions from Council Members open to all Council councilwoman Cherry resolution 14024 could you talk about what those programming would look like for the drug and alcohol yeah it's really it's Recreation programming so it's educational it's like the Dare program um things things of that nature what AG is Young under 18 okay it's all it's all children thank you I just want to uh Echo councilman White's comments regarding uh Tracy Bennett she's a superior and fair tax assessor and I'm also happy to have her back absolutely any other questions all right do we have consensus to add those items to the voting meeting yes okay all in favor I I any opposition or abstentions it's added to the voting meeting okay Corporation Council thank you council president I have one item this evening uh resolution to uh provide additional appropriation to the law firm of McManaman in Scotland uh these are bills uh for services rendered in 2023 uh we received these invoices over the last couple of months um and once we received them we realize we were over the previous appropriation to $45,000 um as you know McManaman Scotland works on is our is our primary Redevelopment Council works on numerous matters all the Redevelopment plans or the uh the designations for areas in need of Redevelopment uh they are uh essential to what we do uh so I ask that the council uh uh award this appropriate this will clear out 2023 and anything coming forward will be for 24 okay any questions from Council Members seeing here and none do we have consensus to add this to the voting meeting yes yes any opposition or abstentions okay this shall be added thank you you're welcome Department of Finance please present your items budget just temporary budget through June resoltion resolutions 14424 and 14624 our year in transfers we make of unspent money Monies to put money into Reserve resolution 147 d24 is um cancellation of erroneous stat sales certificates um two of the there were six properties two of the properties had bankruptcies but there were incorrectly coded and four properties sewer and solid was had sub accounts with credits so we need to refund to cancel the St certificates resolution 14824 is um authorized an approval to refund duplicate payments the mortgage company paid us by check and by wire so we need to refund one and resolution 149-24 isn't authorizing the approval of a refund for a mispost lean payment the lean holder made a payment and it was credited to the homeowner the homeowner later redeemed the lean in full so we need to refund the be the payment made by the lane holder question from Council Members regarding any of these resolutions yes regarding 149-24 um it said that the amount was $615 4.71 and then the interest is $1,375 58 are we incurring the interest because of human error since we had the monies we have to pay the interest and the interest is calculated through the today's meeting thank you further questions okay uh I I did note the contract with Millennium strategies uh 60,000 but do you uh somebody may have a rough idea of how much uh in grant funding we get through their efforts I know it's in the millions but about 13 million about 13 million so that's a good bang for your buck paying them 60,000 a year for them to return that assist us with grant writing to get additional funds yeah yeah we definitely been uh pleased with their services okay do we have uh a consensus to add these items to the bo voting meeting yes yes all in favor say I I I any opposition or exstension let it be known okay hearing none those are added okay Police Department please police uh present your items good evening council president good evening I have uh three items for your consideration 15024 is resolution authorizing approval to extend the contract agreement with extra Duty solutions for the years 24 and 25 to administer the planfield police departments off duty work assignments at no cost to the city of planfield resolution 15124 is a resolution for one-year annual subscription renewal for the police department's document Management Service with power DMs and amount not to exceed $781 1646 and the last is1 52-24 resolution authorized an approval to apply and accept New Jersey Division of Highway safeties 2024 distracted driving Crackdown grant that takes place around the uh Easter season from April 1st through April 30th uh distracted driving is uh you know texting talking on the cell phone eating while driving those typ thanks M that's all I have sir well eating while while driving is not permitted no sir that's good to know thought it was just a cell phone now we all know we're all on notice uh any questions from uh council members I have a question for resolution 15224 um first thank you director abne for this um can you explain what the $7,000 will be used for and is there an opportunity to engage high school students in this campaign actually there is yes it can be used for Education uh a lot of times it's uh used for um overtime efforts uh to go out and basically Patrol the city uh catch people basically uh committing an act of distracted driving but yeah we can use some of the money for uh for high school students absolutely to try to create a program thank you you're welcome for resolution uh 1 15-24 is that as just simple as it sounds with where if a company or um person wanted to hire uh off 30 plane field police office they just go through this company pay the fee and it's just as simple as that as far as as far as the police department is concerned yeah pretty much so uh they would speak to um uh police Lieutenant who is in charge of the program they would work out some of those uh you know fine points the details and then the uh company handles everything else got it okay anyone else yeah I I always like those those those uh four or five words no cost to the city of Playfield is always a good thing uh but I'm sure something's in it for them but it's on the back end we don't have to play um yeah all right do we have uh consensus to add these to the voting meeting yes yes yes any abstentions or opposition all right we'll add these to the voting meeting as well uh fire department go right ahead uh director childr is not here today so I'll speak on his behalf but his resolution is pretty self-explanatory so if anyone has any questions okay any questions from Council Members regarding this grant I had a question what do you do with the old gear the old gear is the gear expires after a certain amount of time so the old gear has to be thrown away and because it's condam contaminated from fires there's a certain way that they have to dispose of it thank you any other questions we have consensus to add this to the voting meeting yes yes yes any opposition or abstentions okay that's added Department of Public Works please go right ahead with your agenda items good evening council president M hucker members of the council Department of Public Works has nine resolution present resolution R1 15424 resolution authorized the to send resolution r672 which was voted on last month and replace it with R1 15524 which is next uh resolution uh this resolution we're just increasing the amount of money that we're going to receive for the uh Jake law uh play playground which is important to us and it's going from 4553 to220 to 886 93 this is two resolutions and this is because we're going to really enhance the park we had to really be in compliance with all laws in J Jak law uh for playgrounds completely inclusive playgrounds so we're going to add more it's going modified to have uh more Green Acres requirements such as more elements more equipment uh ramps fencing Ada parking a concrete walkway so lot of things have to be added to it that's why you see the increase and this is still a grant that we're going to they're going to cover 75% of the course of it we have 25 to cover but it's important because it's going to be uh it's going to be really nice the way it's going to come out based on everything that's here and we going from 5700 ft to 6,000 ft another 300 ft on the uh playground itself that's resolution 154 and 15524 uh resolution 15624 res award professional service contract and only Associates for $43,000 this is for the environmental study has to be done at the Madison Aven Gate Park area we' want to do an outdoor Fitness Ascent it's going to be really nice rubber service Etc but we have to do an investigation this is green ex requirements we have to investigate the site to make sure it's in compliance with everything resolution 15724 resolu Bo of a contract to ja Alexander this was for part of our route 28 project for 4, 34792 this goes from Rock Avenue plf Avenue it's a total 1.6 miles this will before traffic lights being installed Etc so it's quite a bit all concrete work really nice million pavement Etc resolution 1582 for res the water of a contractor F and son this was for East Third Street from Berkeley Terrace to Terrell Road and amount not to see 333 9850 resolution 15924 resolu a contractor fing Son Two for the same East Third Street from Leland to Berkeley and Grant Avenue from West 7 Street to wassworth for 1, 24127 resolution 1624 res approval toiz at escnj Co-op this is for Citywide speed humps uh this is speed humps in various locations total in 18 speed HPS this is under Educational Service Commission of New Jersey and this is a co-op and resolution 16124 resolution or final payment decreasing original contract of our change order by 69,3 $767 and return of the retainage an amount of $3,488 92 and it's because the as built materials that we utilized for the project decreased quite a bit that's the purpose for the uh Return of the funds in resolution 1624 resolution authoriz in 12 cleaner leans that we did 12 cleanups totaling 7, 9.72 that concludes my resolutions Mr President thank you these are all much needed improvements throughout the city so we appreciate um your efforts here uh if I had a magic wand we would just wave it and everything would be improved instantly but we know this is the the grind that we have to to to go through in order to get playing field uh better than uh better than it was the day before do we have questions from council members regarding Public Works yes Caron resolution 156-29 so I think every be really pleased what we're going to do because it's just about quite a bit equipment for everything thank you you're wel anyone else yeah excuse me uh regarding uh 157-22 I think I remember there being a a struggle between the state and the city with getting that road done like how how did you finally get it done uh based on the honorable mayor Maps help behind me and everything else we will receive quite a bit of grant funding for the project and in addition to that we have some more Grand funding coming our way soon for another something else that uh the May has inquired that we received so it's another $4 million that we may having and help us really get this whole project done and totally Grant funded yeah that that's Kudos because it was it took a lot of years to finally get that part of uh Front Street done with knowing uh the history of that so kudos to Mayor map and um you director um I actually want to um divert my question regarding the speed humps to director uh abne because I really want the public to understand why the speed humps are important to have because there's this struggle about you know why do we have them we don't we don't want them we don't need them you know and then we have people complaining about cars flying throughout City so can you just explain why why having speed humps is important um i' I'd rather pass this on to my colleague director dbne we're kind of a onew punch on this and he's The Knockout so I'll let him hand sure well just respect said thank you uh director too we like you said we're one two punch work together and all our information that we do we put in speed homes of course we have to do a traffic study first and foremost before we can do anything and that all comes based on the accident that he provides to us so we can have and monitor it and then we start doing a study to see if speed humps are warranted in the area so the methodology a lot of things we use you anything 30 m an hour or less and less than 3,000 cars may require a speed hump whereas more wouldn't so there's criteria that we have to use and methods we have to use before we can install the speed HP and that's on the dot guidelines it's not like we just can go put them anywhere we have to do the study analysis and everything else and then we install the speed humps in additional signage that goes with the speed humps uh in different areas and 18 that we put in are in various locations throughout the city and as time goes on there'll be more to come based on again accident that received from our our finest and it just takes us over so we can get everything done so that's what warrants a speed hump for anything so there's a lot of criterian that are used and there over 7-Day period that they do the study in the area to make sure it warms Speed high yeah I just want to say that I want to continue to see um the increase of our children riding bikes through our town getting from one end of town to the next and going to the store and things like that and I want our uh cars to slow down and be mindful of our children riding bikes in our city and that's why we're taking that's why we're taking all these traffic calming measures that the mayor wants us to take to make sure everyone is safe the kids everyone we want to make the safety for everyone the traffic calming that we're doing across the board whether it be the four-way stops enhanced now intersection with traffic lights or speed HPS so we're taking every measure possible to try to make things better for everyone and safer and I just like to follow up on that also it it does and it does entail traffic enforcement the police department plays a major part in what we're doing besides providing information of studies to be done by the Department of Public Works we're out there our Traffic Unit is very very active they're very visible they they are constantly doing uh different projects in town to uh let the public know that we want them to slow down because we want to make this town safer for our children for our elderly for everyone but especially for the children and the elderly of the city director davney a quick question I get this question a lot from my constituents about speed bumps how would somebody go around how how would they go about requesting a speed bump on their street and that's a good question you can refer it to my office and from that point in what I would do I would contact the police department to so we can see check the access data that's available see what goes on in as we get quite a few calls we'll do a study a traffic study based on maybe we get like eight to 10 complaints you know but so we can make sure we have enough because the study cost money to do and you want to do it based on a few quite a few streets and we do right around and we qu we do get quite a bit of data information so we would that would help us to think about doing it thank you for that you're welcome any other Council colleagues wish to question uh okay do we have consensus to add these items to the voting meeting yes yes any opposition or extensions okay these shall be added to the voting meeting uh the Department of Economic Development please present uh your items good evening council president I am presenting items 16324 through 171 d24 so the first resolution is approval to adopt the plan Fields 2024 Community energy plan that was presented today the energy plan focuses on increasing Energy Efficiency expanding renewable energy generation and promoting electric vehicles the next resolution is support for uh pursuing a technical assistance grant for Main Street New Jersey this is a program that is administered by the Department of Community Affairs it offers technical assistance any training for advancing issues related to marketing downtown business Recruitment and also support for professional Consulting when we're looking for advancing support for Small Business Development the next is related to remove to returning a maintenance bond for Wawa that is the South tarot urban renewal LLC they have been opened for 2 years we hold on to a maintenance Bond at 2 years after construction that maintenance bond is $ 3,879 188 the next resolution is related to acceptance of a grant for 1.5 million for the center of excellence this grant is given from the DCA or Department of Community Affairs the grant would support the center of excellence through the construction bid process the next two resolutions are related to directing the planning board to develop a Redevelopment plan one is for Block 308 the next one is a redevelop vment plan for Block 458 Lots 2 and 2.01 as well as block 548 lot 9 these one Redevelopment plan block 308 would be for entertainment District the next Redevelopment plan would focus on educational use the next resolution is to conduct a study for Block 551 lot 21.1 and block 612 Lot 8 which is otherwise 614 through 20 Lee place and 534 South Avenue the next resolution is to designate a redeveloper the designation would be for 314 BSD LLC as the redeveloper for 314 to 322 East 4th Street this would be a project to develop a five-story building it would include 48 residential units five of which would be affordable so 10% affordable 48 parking spaces the next resolution is to amend and restate the to West urban renewal LLC effort this ranges from 225 to 31 West Front Street this is to revise the project originally the project was going to be 10 stories in most cases now it's going down to six stories it was originally going to be 355 unit it's going down to 282 units with 262 parking spaces and that concludes my presentation okay any questions from council members yeah yes 16724 I know that one of our constituents asked a question earlier regarding that so um are you referring to block 308 or block 5458 on George okay looking at 1224 George Street to 36 George Street this involves both the parking lot that is owned by St Bernard's church that's across the street as well as a neighboring lot that that has a building on it by a separate owner that owner is here today and that owner has committed to working with a shared agreement for parking with the church thank you question um first r165 d24 I'm happy to see that we are receiving grants do we know the total cost that it would take for the excellent Center we are working on the estimate right now but we're looking at how much it would be for a 55,000 ft building so this is profer professional service not for the construction okay all right my next question R 16724 it was stated that the lot was sold uh that's which one 2.01 I believe um however research during my research I see that there was not a deed recorded at the county but I do know sometime it depends on the attorney they can just not have fathered with the county at the time but can you go on record confirming that that lot was sold that lot was sold and the owner is here today all right thank you any other council members uh Madam director I know you indicated that the owner of uh the lot on George Street is here I don't know if we need to hear from him um in terms of hearing about the parking uh agreement I also heard from the that constituent via email as well expressing concern about uh about that parking uh so we want to make sure that uh communities concerns are ass swaged in that respect thank you and good evening thank you Mr council president my name is Gregory Tobin I'm president an executive director of renew International um and we've been um located at this property under question for 30 plus years and owner of the property for approximately 25 plus years uh and yes due to with conversations we've been having um internally and we are in conversation with the arch dases of Newark who is uh basically our governing body by bylaws uh we are and I just want to reaffirm what Miss field said we are absolutely committed to uh ensure that the the uh parking uh will be contined to be available um through the cooperation and the commitment of any any potential buyer and we have in conversations as well as in written form those commitments and have our commitment to do that we'll be meeting with the arch uh dases uh later this week as well it will reaffirm that thank you council president the New Jersey Arch dicese is here too if you would like to hear from them okay can we hear from them too as well thank you all right they they don't have to speak if they don't want but they they're welcome to Good okay no worries thank you okay um any other questions from Council Members no okay um for I'm sorry council president one more question please go just for clarification I didn't write it down in my notes r170 d24 uh you said how many would be affordable housing five 10% 10% mhm okay and do we know how long the pilot will be um the financial agreement hasn't been negotiated yet okay thankk you okay uh I'm going to abstain from 16724 so I'm going to ask if we have consensus for the remainder of the items and then we'll vote on 167 uh separately do we have consensus yes no did I hear or no me 17024 as well I'm sorry okay so we we'll pull that one as well is that uh the resolution you were uh saying no to as well right cuz I wanted some more details on it when you were talking about when the um gentleman came and stood up and was talking about the parking lot I know he was saying that um they made a deal but I want to make sure okay oh that so that was 167 as well correct all right so those for separate vote yeah yeah those are separate separate yes oh okay okay yeah the numbers are off I and I'm saying these numbers are off which one is it officially though up the printed agenda okay and that'll be 168 and councilman Wyatt I believe that's uh the 170 171 168 and 170 okay got it okay consensus for all others to be added to the voting meeting yes okay any opposition or exstension okay those shall be added Department of Health please present your items good evening council president and Council I have five items for presentation tonight uh the first one is 17224 through 1 uh 76-4 uh 1 72-4 recognizes uh 2024 National Community Development week this is the 50th year of such activity uh and we will be having a reception at New Covenant Pantry which is part of New Covenant Church uh invitation should be going out that will be April 1st at 1:00 we recognize all the organizations that benefited from the block grant um and this is an exciting time for us uh second resolution 17324 is recognizing or uh requesting an agreement and authorizing us to use uh jobs for blue Services which are our public uh protection services for the house music estival not to exceed 20,500 uh uh resolution 17424 is also asking for approval for firework agreement um for the house music festival not to exceed 15,000 uh resolution 17524 uh if if I may I may take a couple more minutes to to discuss that one um essentially how did we get here uh how did we get here uh we did have a contract with the planfield Area Humane Society and they exercised their right uh contractually to uh not extend or to to end their contract which was their right but they put us in a position on how we are to manage the abandoned animals that are in planfield now the nature of abandoned animals are just that they are abandoned animals they are not owned by anyone um well they were owned by people and so as a municipality it's our goal to do the best we can to take care of these abandoned animals uh because it's an unfunded mandate by the state and we have to adhere to this unfunded mandate and so I will talk about the cost in in a few minutes but it's important for us to understand that an unfunded mandated exactly that it is the cost to the city to take care of animals that have been abandoned in the city uh certainly we we are experiencing some challenges around why we're having so many animals abandoned in the city and certainly that could be education uh it could be many reasons it could be inflation the cost of taking care of animals the cost of Medical Care all those things have gone up I mean we even have a hospital that uh that was in Burger County and that was just for uh abandoned animals that had to close because of the cost of what it is to to do the business so I'm I'm going to get back to why we are here and and and why we are putting forth this resolution that we have today uh but this is uh the second time in I think in six months that we had to come before Council to ask for this authorization and in this authorization we're asking for uh animal control services which were mandated to do uh certainly we all know that the last Animal Service uh didn't work out for us and it didn't work out for other municipalities that contracted with them we were not the only municipality um and unfortunately it was a terrible experience right so how do we recover from that it's been a challenge we we have spent uh Untold amount of hours reaching out to about 106 pounds and animal shelters in the state of New Jersey we have gone to the southernmost and the northernmost parts of New Jersey to find services to meet the needs of the abandoned animals in Playing Field um most of them has said they overwhelmed and for those who like to Google you you can Google that and find that most of these animal shelters and pounds are overwhelmed municipalities are Challenge and do not have a way or place to put their animals but planfield is trying to do the best we can uh I realize that people are not satisfied with what we're doing unfortunately uh we can't satisfy everyone but we can do the best that we can do and that's what we're doing right now and so before you we have a resolution that that's reaching out to title shot LLC they they are new um well they're not new but they this is the first time they've worked with a municipality uh they have not worked with a municipality however that's not a problem because we' worked with uh uh organizations that work with municipality and it has not turned out well uh we are doing this for about two months part of it is to see how this goes uh to see how we we work this out uh certainly there may be bumps along the way there may be communication bogs along the way uh and we hope that the community will give grace and mercy when when those things happen uh but we are at this spot and we are at this place because we need as a municipality an unfunded mandate to find a place to house abandoned dogs and abandoned cats so for those who who don't know what abandoned they're on the streets they're turned in or or owners surrendered them they're abandoned they wor someone's pets maybe but they're abandoned and we have to find a way to resolve it so before you is a two-month contract uh for the course of 13,000 a month for an agency that has not um worked municipalities they also um a a planful resident who stood up for us so I forgot to add that uh I do want to add uh excuse me I do want to add those was first I want to thank the community for giving me so many questions and and and quite a few questions I'm not going to answer them all tonight uh certainly there's no time to do all that uh but I I'll talk about the main ones yes it it's a new kandel for us it doesn't work for any municipality uh their their offices are accredited uh not all three of the of the anal control offices are accredited which means they have to go through the licensing process the facility is licensed we work with the health officer of that town uh so the license is not only is the place certified uh it is satisfactory and that is what we have to abide by uh all the things that we abide by are governed by the Department of Health we don't make those decisions we are governed by what the statutes of the Department of Health uh tell us to do um just going to go through questions and I I'll be finished um I think this is of uh great public concern so I don't uh okay I'm not rushing so the kennel has a capability 12 dogs and 10 cats uh is it certified yes um is there separate isolation for animals with communicable diseases yes does title shot kennels own a micro chip scanner yes and I also want to say that city of planfield has hosted four microchipping events and of those four we have been able to register 200 animals uh so that's been quite successful but it also speaks to owners being responsible for their animals and doing the right thing um and what I mean doing the right thing when they don't do the right thing we the residents we the taxpayers now have to pay for that um what happens to the pets if they're not reclaim they go for adoption um what is the protocol for animal intake that's the New Jersey Department of Health protocols which are online what is the protocol for deceased cat and dog again that's the New Jersey Department of Health protocols and those are what governs uh what we do uh there isn't a current uh website it's again this is a new agenc for us and it it's in development uh so while we do know they work with um adoption agencies they they just need to put it on their website and they need to create that and hopefully that'll be done uh relatively shortly um um it's Monday through Saturday 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. closed on Sundays uh what is the protocol for Community straight and feral cats New Jersey Department of Health protocols uh does title shot kennels have a trap new to vaccination vaccination policy no they don't do trap Anda uh and does title shop provide services such as Michael chipping no but the city of planfield does and again I I want to bring to the fact that we have done 200 uh through four clinics um and there was some statements about what the county can do and certainly I know that mayor M has facilitated a meeting with the plan fi Area Animal Control I mean animal um shelter with the county and the county while sympathetic and certainly they are sympathetic it is cost prohibitive and when I say cost prohibitive I'm talking millions of dollars uh and we certain I mean that's for them to discuss that's for them to certainly come up with and that's for them to also come up with an area it doesn't necessarily have to be in planfield it could be in in one of the other 21 municipalities where you can put this shelter uh we like to think that planfield has to be the place where it happens no there's 21 other municipalities in the county of Union that can host an animal shelter so I I tried to answer as much as the questions that were in that comprehensive email um I know that the the person who wrote has a good relation working relationship with the animal playing area animal shelter and and that's good uh but but we we're facing challenges that most municipalities are struggling with as we are uh most municipalities are failing at doing this work and most municipalities simply don't know what to do and it is not just the city of planfield it is not just that city of planfield is not doing their job we're doing the best job with the resources we have with the available place it it it's it boggles the mind that I we can call 106 places and they cannot help us we even called here in planfield um of course they couldn't help us either but I'm sure because of resources uh so I'm told but um that's where I'm at right now and and and I will certainly entertain I look forward to entertaining questions on that matter um let me just continue uh resolution 17624 is a residency waiver for which seagler uh we had that vacancy open for approximately 2 to 3 months um we advertised in about six or seven places outside of our regular uh Personnel U website uh and one of the three people that applied one was a plane Fielder but they did not have the credentials and not only do they have to make the credentials of the city of planfield but they also have to make the credentials of uh the wick program as well the national Wick program and so I asked um so those are my five resolutions any questions from Council Members I have a question right ahead first thank you um director Brown for your due diligence I know you've been working around the clock around the clock to try to figure this out and you've been yielding a lot of phone calls from our constituents and me as well I do see that the cost is comparable to the old shelter um that we're using that we approved in January was 156,000 for the year so I see that it's two months correct that's correct after if we think that it's going to be a viable shelter will we move forward is that the plan right I will come upon city council again with a uh resolution that takes us to the end of this year okay and then my next question is how many pets on average a month do you if you know I don't know if how how to break this down I mean the print is too small that the staff gave me so I'm not even going to pretend to read that however uh in 2023 we sheltered 143 abandoned animals in 2022 we sheltered 162 abandoned animals and in January which is the latest number is there's some confusion about that and I understand why it looks like it's 18 thank you any other council members wish to question the Department of Health uh yes regarding um the title shot um shelter I think this is a great opportunity for them as a small bus business science Zone to partner with the municipality um it's an opportunity for them to expand and grow and we could be the reason why they are able to expand and grow especially since they have um high ratings and they passed all the tests that need to be passed in order to be eligible to do business with us um and the fact that they don't neuter animals is that true yeah they don't so I no I think that's a good thing because you know if I Rescue an animal and if I want to PP off of my dog that I rescue you know that is still an option for me so I actually like that option you're welcome sir any other anybody else want to chime in uh yes question yes go right ahead has anyone from the administration performed the site visit excuse my back um problem uh no we did not physically go to that site what we rely on is the Department of Health in that town uh who who does the ratings and the inspections and and I I would like to say that with all the attention placed on this whole experience it is uh getting Statewide attention because all municipalities are struggling with this I would imagine that they would just not take that lightly right they they would be there before they would tell us it's okay okay and I asked that question only because January like you said we did vote unanimously on a resolution um so we have to trust but verify the information um do they understand understand the scope of the word cuz I believe you said there were 12 they can take in 12 Dogs they have enough shelter so the information that I got it says that we receive an average of six dogs a week so how what's the solution for that and how would that work out with them I don't know where that information is coming from um $6 a week I'm not sure what that is um that that's quite a bit uh it's it's actually 12 a month right 12 a band animal per mon yeah right okay all right so all right so there must be misinformation the second question was looking at the website um it speaks about dogs in the city of Playfield there are many cats as well so do they have a plan for cat intake sure they they can take up to uh 12 cats all right thank you I'm sorry 10 cats 10 cat dogs 10 cat further questions from Council Members regarding the uh of the Department of Health seeing none do we have consensus to add these items to the voting meeting yes any opposition or abstentions R 175 d24 say that again councilman why that's it it's a no to 175 d24 okay please pull that one from the and that that's intended to be the one the title shot one right yes is it different on the written one I'm sorry no it's not one 175 on both agendas okay thank you I'm can I ask one more quick question sure since um you did say that this was an issue with mostly all the municipalities throughout the state has there been any conversations about creating a co-op in in in the state or in the county county state Shar any shared services agreements at all so you no I I can I can attest that there have been numerous requests to for the county to step in and provide services uh to all municipalities in Union County um and so far the county has not been willing to step up to to find a location um mainly citing the the cost involved um and so frankly the municipalities are now left to try to find options as as we are that's uh it makes it incredibly difficult okay so any uh animal friendly entrepreneurs out there there's some money to be made all right okay um we'll move on to the Department of communication and your resolutions thank you council president I have two resolutions for council's consideration and approval this evening the first R 177-204 and it's a resolution authorizing a lease agreement with Superior office systems for 41 copers to the city of planfield for a 5year lease agreement in an amount not to exceed $279,800 Solid Waste that's me again okay I will speak on behalf of director Louise uh he has three resolutions tonight the first one is uh looking to do an auction through govdeals.com for vehicles and Equipment which are Beyond repair and currently represent a safety hazard the next two are both related to a new fueling station that we're looking to add at the transfer station so this would be a 10,000g fueling station at the transfer station there's currently not one there and the important thing to know about it besides the fact that it would be more efficient for them to be able to fuel up there than at DPW is is that because it will be 10,000 it will be 10,000 gallons it would carry us our entire operations police fire sewer and solid waste DPW for a month so if there was a public if there was an emergency if there was you know another hurricane Sandy something like that we would be able to function for a month um on the fuel from that tank right now we could operate for about a week so the first resolution is looking for the the two are are related this is for the pieces to for the station and then the other one is to build the pieces to create the fuel station okay any questions from Council Members go right ahead okay Hearing in seeing none do we have consensus to add this to the voting meeting yes yes yes okay all right add those to the meeting all right introduction of ordinances on first reading put this back on okay so we have six ordinances to introduce to you tonight I'll give a high level overview and then um you can ask you can ask questions of of all the directors the first one is an ordinance amending a current ordinance to add explicit language allowing the police department to tow vehicles that are parked in violation of this ordinance the second one is an ordinance to adopt the uh to amend the most recent iteration of the Todd South Redevelopment plan to add Park Avenue from 7th Avenue down down the third ordinance is currently an outdated ordinance so we're updating it to comply with DCA and to be consistent with the fees that we do charge um the fourth one is that we are looking so in the I believe the second reading was was last month for the um cannabis transfer tax and in it there was language saying that we would lean the property but because the Cannabis vendor is not the owner there the tenant we can't lean the property so we're removing that unless of course in an instance where the Cannabis vendor is the owner then we would lean the property if they were delinquent in payment um the fifth one is um regarding shade tree and we're looking to document the process for removal and replacement of the trees this will give us an application process for for doing that and fees for non-compliance and then the last one is we are looking to ban the sale of hemp hemp hemp derived products like you might have heard of them as Delta 8 Delta 9 at smoke shop smoke shops that are popping up everywhere um and so we're looking to ban that and and be able to enforce that questions from Council Members question uh yes what's what's the reasoning behind Banning selling hemp okay so first of all we we are looking to we're we're inviting the Cannabis industry here right we've given out uh licenses and we're opening if we for if people are selling Delta 8 Delta 9 first of all it's it's unclear what they're selling second of all we're trying to give a benefit to those who are coming to our community to open these businesses and by saturating the market with these other very similar products you're really not giving them a a good shot in PL field third we really don't intend to have a smoke shop on every on every block that that was never the intent and it's you know we're over we're getting oversaturated with those so we want police to be able to go in and and have some teeth behind going in there and you know finding the product and fining and you know have a process for that any others I have a question m 202 24-13 so this is the ordinance um eliminating limiting the use for for certain Vehicles 4 tons as I was reading it it was noted that Vehicles anything more than 4 tons what is the time frame like that they cannot park on the street so it's buses it's Road tract to trailers commercial vehicles I didn't see a time frame hi hi uh couple things one it's it's not just four tons it's all commercial vehicles the city ordinance has clearly stated for years that no commercial vehicle should be parked on city streets at any time that's 24 hours um the language has been somewhat unclear uh we wanted to make it uh clearly known to the public what we intend to enforce we've got numerous complaints over the years and months of um vehicles parking throughout the city overnight Vehicles idling overnight tractor trailers buses tow trucks uh any type of a a commercial vehicle so we're looking to fall in line with most of our neighboring municipalities um we we feel that planfield is a better Community than any of the communities around us so we want to make sure that we are enforcing things that will improve the quality of life of the citizens of C of the city a plane field so that's where this change to the ordinance is coming from it's not just uh Vehicles over 4 tons thank you MC 2024 uh- 17 the um they want to put a process in place regarding putting trees down and removal um I I understand with me being on the shade tree um committee that uh they do knock on the doors and say something to the constituents if they want to plant a tree down but just recently uh not too long ago when they were planting trees one was planted and a constituent called me and of course I had it removed because the tree was planted on the line and and that can cause some Interruption on the line right in front of their house I believe it was the gas line or something and their concern was that it it would grow so um yes it was moved and this is a good thing for to for them to have this in place um this ordinance um just the same but the residents definitely have to be notified um because this particular constituent was concerned and of course it was taken care of um as always and um also I want to say it's 20 MC 2024 D3 uh about the oversized Vehicles what about on private property um I know definitely in the fourth ward um there's a shop around the corner for me and he got tons of trucks and everything around there um that I would like to see removed or looked into or something because um again I believe the certain size um it probably shouldn't be there it's on planfield Avenue I believe it is is is it a commerci commercial property or is it a residential property um it's a Danny's work workshop or something over there if if it's a garage M like garage that repairs vehicles I I think it's okay I have to dig into it a little bit deeper this is more of a concern in regards to uh Residential Properties right we have a lot of people parking Vehicles like like I said in front of their residences um if the vehicle is parked on private property it becomes a Code Enforcement issue it's not really a police issue but um we're trying to keep these vehicles off the roadways okay yeah cuz those Vehicles they change quite a bit I can see it practically out of my back door so I'm watching all the time go right ahead May Council that's a good question that that that was asked because we've had complaints um over the years and commercial vehicles should not be be parked in the driveway are on the property of residential um properties it affects the quality of life of neighbors and neighbors don't want to see it so trucks should not be parked in the driveways of Residential Properties and if you see them you should contact the city so Court enforcement can pretty much enforce the ordinance I don't think anyone wants to see a tractor trail of Parkinson W driveway anyone else all right do we have consensus yes to add these to the voting Mee any opposition or any opposition or abstentions um I just have one more statement also as well going back to the shade tree again um my suggestion also as well is that once if it does passes when it does passes is that you know the appropriate notice goes out to the constituents and let them know what they're doing um because you know the constituents they do need notices so that they'll know you cannot put a treat out there unless this that and third and um unless you follow these rules and um also that they'll know this cannot Happ happen unless you get the permission Andor U complete that application so they definitely need appropriate um notification thank you Council M was that support for the resolution or opposition general just for the record you supporting the resolution or no no I'm supporting it but I just want to make sure that they get appropriate notice all right thank you thank you for that input Okay add that to the voting meeting as well well we will now recess for 5 minutes council president yes do you mind if I just make one quick announcement before the recess okay I think it would save some people sometimes so we have here um the director of housing for Jewish Family Services and he brought with him two bilingual staff members I know there are probably some people here who were affected by the condemnation who have not been able to connect to resources I'd hate to see you have to wait another potential hour or so before connecting with Jewish Family Services and their staff so so while we're on recess if you want to take the opportunity um to take advantage of the fact that the agency is here I would recommend that you you do so oun president if you can give Jewish Family Services the opportunity to speak for a couple of minutes apprciate why don't you come up Sir no worries good evening Council uh members of the city of planfield pleasure to be here again my name is Peter Jacob I'm the director of housing at Jewish Family Service we're located at 655 Westfield Avenue in Elizabeth New Jersey but I'm also very proud to say that beginning this year we have an office right down the road at the Joan Hallis Gardens we're there on Tuesdays and Thursdays providing the same Housing Services we do rental assistance we do rental aers we also do diversion which is emergency funds for needs uh we were here on the ground the day the week of when the incident happened here in planfield with the condemnation we were at Pac it was wonderful to see the community come together to address this issue and we were happy to assist numerous uh individuals and what we have learned that you know there's a lot of things going on people are still in need of assistance and our staff here I have Stephanie Enriquez with me as well as Marta Otero with me today they're both bilingual Spanish English speaking so uh we're happy to assist anybody who is in need of any type of rental assistance ongoing assistance case management services and uh for those who are able to make it today we're glad to assist we have a signup sheet as well you could set up a time to meet with us as well as take the information back to people you know in the community thank you okay we encourage all who need uh still in need of services to utilize those services and to meet with them tonight uh beginning with this recess uh when the recess starts if you still need service we just ask that you step outside to the hall uh to continue to get Services while we continue uh the business of the meeting uh if it takes longer than that all right five minutes e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e we'll get back to our business I love it we'll get back to our business those still receiving Services uh just step out to the back so that folks they can continue to get services the intermission is a particularly exciting time you know talking to everyone you know we still have a little bit of still have a little bit of energy uh because we still have a little bit of the meeting to go so I understand the excitement and not sharing that but we'll reserve some energy for the remainder of our uh meeting and agenda items agenda items and certainly there'll be a a uh public comment for all uh to uh to also expense some energy all right so we'll move on recording in progress okay Mr clerk will you public comments first sure all right we'll now uh move to public comment limited let's see it's not limited public comment limited the ordinances on second reading resolutions motions and ordinances to be come right up total of 30 minutes has been allocated for public comments limited resolutions and ordinances being considered this evening each speaker will be given three minutes state your name and address and identify your resolution that you wish to speak about s what CH you or 17525 I get it Mr Brown I get that you've worked on this I get that it's a problem throughout the state however we've had many opportunities fact you and I were supposed to be six years ago about Humane education for both companion and wildlife animals that would cut down the numbers of abandoned overbred nonp neutered animals that add to the population title shot's description sounds exactly like Aaron wood did oh they're great they know what they're doing we love them okay both breed animals large dogs Asser of dogs I love all dogs but each dog really needs to be in the right setting and Dober mins as title shot breeds and the Belgian Malo which aaronwood bread are iffy animals it's scary the methods they use are incredibly aggressive full body armor attack dogs again serves a purpose but not in a municipality the state the state has nothing to do with our ordinances other than saying you have to have animal control so if an animal's lucky enough to walk from a non-friendly to a friendly municipality it has a chance at life 12 Dogs two cats come on I know Foster people who have more than that given a choice is title shot going to use his lucrative kennel space for his training boarding and breeding or for picking up our stray animals it's an easy answer I did call council president speaker's time isap one last sentence I heard good friend who has a long standing rescue in Rockway the only comment made to me was we will not deal with them no Detail no comments work with us you all got emails today I only got one reply thank you and if you read what's on that email you will see that we really can make this easier many of you don't like animals hey it's your choice however we have to mitigate complaints and that's what you want I give a legal opinion yeah thank I know Mr Mell wants rid of me no no he doesn't thank you Mr it's okay but thank you for your com we can work together on this we can mitigate complaints human mainly I've seen grown men and women cry when their animals are taken away that is not council president can I can I just give opinion as to why we maintain a three minute rule thank you thank you thank you thank thank you did you want to say something before speaker yes thank you council president and and I know some members of the public get frustrated with the fact that we have a three-minute rule but the it's really important from a First Amendment perspective that we apply the rule equally to everyone regard everyone thinks there everyone uh has has issues that they are incredibly passionate about but if we start to make allowances for certain uh topics or certain issues of importance over others we violate the First Amendment so it's really incumbent upon us to maintain the three-minute rule for all speakers thank you council president next good evening Council my name is Robert EDS I live at 510a w yeah 510a West Fourth Street planfield New Jersey A continuing safety hazard in retaliation for the planfield Police Department on September 29th 2001 and March 18th 2022 the housing authority of planfield has retaliated against me in different ways one is that the EMR which I had brought to the council's sentent before has increased U and council president speaker identified resolution it's on the agenda I'm sorry no I didn't hear a resolution this this particular uh portion is for Resolutions being considered this evening so my apologies no worries we'll see you back soon hello Gloria Ben kelsky woodmeere place in planfield and it's pertinent to this uh topic I'm actually a veterinarian I've been a veterinarian for over 30 years I'm talking I'd like to speak to resolution 17524 thank you there's a lot that could be said about it but I just want to say a couple of things and hopefully uh you will table this resolution for now just because an animal is on the street does not mean that animal has been abandoned that animal could be just gotten out have gotten out of its its enclosure gotten loose somehow so you cannot call an animal on the street necessarily abandoned and there are different rules that apply for abandoned animals meaning truly being brought to a facility by the owner um so the law is the animal has to be kept for seven days before he or she can be euthanized so make that clear and really speaking to Mr Graham's comment I'd like all shelters to be out of business I really the homeless animal situation is very bad and it's bad due to economic reasons it's bad to lack of education and um so I want them to be out of business not to to continue and be a thriving business thank you thank you and by the way it says $113,000 from March 12th to May 12th um don't you mean $113,000 a month per month 26,000 for be per month so I hope you will work on this a bit more maybe I know you need to do something now but maybe you can just make it by the month or maybe you can find a local boarding facility local to here that will take the animals from plan field and do it on a month-by-month basis thank you thank you name address and resolution Kate Corbett 938 Madison Avenue resolution 175-20 um I want to thank the members of council who responded to my email uh Council person's Cherry to San Wyatt you may know of me uh as the author of a petition that now has 700 signatures from the citizens of planfield encouraging us to to identify a safe and reliable provider of animal control services the candel being proposed today is not validated to be safe nor is it proven to be reliable most of us carry a smartphone which any person could have connected to that facility before bringing the resolution before the Council of today and conducted a video call with a member of their staff or the local Department of Health to confirm that it is actually a safe and functional facility I myself will be travel in North tomorrow to Wayne New Jersey if it's necessary for a member of the public to go to said facility to arrange that video call with the administration or a member of council I volunteer to do that I think that we're quite serious about the idea that we need to have functional Public Services I am not here to tell you we need to save every single puppy and kitten and cudle it and love it forever I'm here to tell you that animals on the street who are people's pets deserve an opportunity to be returned to their home safely and quickly and that animals on the streets who are unsafe of which there are many need to be dealt with rapidly by appropriate trained professionals otherwise they pose a risk to public health and safety so I would also encourage the council to consider what they're signing up for you all signed up for aaronwood kennels please don't take responsibility for signing up for another inadequate provider of these Services we have the opportunity to engage with multiple animal control services providers and it sounds very clear that we have not yet pursued a shared services arrangement with the county understandably they're not going to take over our responsibility but we can pursue other options with other municipalities in addition to attempting to work with the state so I know we're not there yet I know that this is urgent but I also know that you all can do better thank you thank you Salvatore Coran 1284 East Front Street I'm here today as a 54e resident of planfield council president uh I first would like 174 I'm sorry 17524 thank you Mr map for your ability to get a hold of the county and attempt all the things that you've attempted it's it's a tough tough tough solve for any municipality it really is but let's be fair about equitable distribution of responsibility and blame and faults citizens should be responsible for their animals law-abiding citizens should be responsible for following laws not going through red lights all of those things but they are enforced by the municipality if we don't frontend our crisis and it is a crisis I've read I've heard upwards of 350 animals came through that shelter last year 350 not the numbers you're all quoting tonight this is what I have heard we're talking animals not just dogs not just cats but animals in general they're not all abandoned they are citizens animals lost get out of their yards they are abandoned they are fight animals they are Court animals they are many different levels we as a governing body and an Administration should be responsible and hopefully let that be your legacy in addition to your success Mr Mayor let that be your legacy to work towards a resolve to frontend the problem so the back end won't be as difficult if you spay in neuter more if you educate more if you do many things upfront work with many many organizations that will assist you in my humble opinion the back end wouldn't be as difficult but make no doubt about it I'm here at the microphone telling you you all are in a a pickle have been in a pickle understandably and I sympathize with the positions you're put in but but we have had decades government Decades of this problem thank you thank you Ellie campoy 1158 woodmar pleas uh thank you for giv me the opportunity to speak um regarding um resolution 17524 um I just have a couple of questions um I'd like to know if the owner Darren wead is an animal control officer if he is certified by the state of New Jersey as an animal control officer and does he have that background um and how many people are on the staff there at title title shot the um it's my opinion that the planfield health department should absolutely go to this facility and check it out on your own not rely on Rockaway Health Department this is our animals that we're talking about and I think that the health department should absolutely go to this facility now and in a couple of weeks and in a couple of weeks so that we can avoid what happened of what happened at Arrowwood it says that there are 12 runs 12 dogs so what happens when there's more than 12 dogs in intake what happens to the dogs that are there what if we had get 15 dogs or 20 dogs what happens do we euthanize those dogs that are over the number and what about the cats 10 cats this is kitten season you have 10 cats in a day in an absolute day what about adoptions how are they going to present adop options to the public how are people that lose their animals for whatever reasons they're not abandoned we've talked about that animals that get out of the Yards whatever how are people supposed to know where to go and how do they get their animals back what happens how are they going to do adoptions the bottom line is this facility title shot is a kennel it is a boarding kennel and Training Facility it is not a shelter when we asked about the protocol for animal intake and disease U deceased animals and Wildlife the answer was it's the protocol of the state of New Jersey they're not governed by the state of New Jersey they are a kennel they're not governed by the state of New Jersey because they're not a shelter it's a difference it's an absolute difference I think this the council and in due diligence and you've I know you've done a lot of work and we made the mistake with Arwood was a terrible horrible mistake we don't even know how many animals really died but I ask you to please please reconsider this and look into this thank you much more than has already been done but I thank you for all your work thank you I'll be quick Nancy p 1129 Myrtle Avenue on r141 d24 I too am glad that uh try Bennett's coming back um um you know I've known her for a while in that position and I'm glad to see her back and I do want to thank um the council people who read my email um about 168 um r 168-46 what was posted on the website on Friday night was 167 and then what's on here is 168 so I do understand that confusion that's why there was confusion there probably something was added and um as far as um prior When Miss Marie got up um the first time I I think the city forgot or somebody forgot to ask if there was anybody on the on the on the uh video whether they needed to speak so that I think that's what that confusion happened why that Fusion happened why she got up after because I think you know you know I think that's what happened thank you okay good evening Gail Jones 512 Stella Avenue um I have I just I'm just here because of um well I'm here for a lot of reasons but I'll start with this one MC 2024 um 17 um there's I'm on the shade tree commission and I haven't seen this ordinance in full but from what I've heard and what I've talked to the people involved in this there's a lot of conflict between what the shade tree commission is and what this ordinance is um I want I would greatly appreciate it if it could be reviewed because nowhere is there a definition in this about um create it says um to apply for an application what is application who's going to pay for the replacement who's going to pay for the removal how do you apply I know that beginning in April people can call in from the city to ask the the commission to have a tree planted and if we have people apply to have a tree planted we don't even know how many the County's going to give us this year we had 66 to plant and we had money and we bought trees and we planted them but we don't know what it is and who's going to enforce this I was told that the zoning group The zoning board is going to enforce this how does that work with the shade tree so I'm there's a lot of questions unanswered here so could could you please review it and have it stated more clearly so that the lay people could understand it and how does somebody I know that um two and districts two and three um get involved a lot more than one in four because we have our own system of communication we have all the newsletters going out but one and four seem to be lacking in that department so I don't know how to get it out and it and it's not even involved in the mayor's newsletter to how to apply for a tree to be planted and which would be very helpful Mr Mayor for people to realize that they can request a tree because when people call in and ask we go out and look take pictures say yes or no to something and a tree roots do not do not get involved with a gas line the people who planted them this year force and another thing I have an argument with the county about is why do we have somebody come in from Long Island to plant the trees when we have so many nurseries in New Jersey we New Jersey is not even supplying the trees for this tree City so I'm so confused and I hope that some of this can be outlined here and the other thing I just want to say is I was just kind of uh shocked when um I was told when we heard tonight that in reference to r 17524 that nobody had gone to look at this kennel to see if it would be accepted for the animals and I agree people's animals that are found I know that we have on our neighbor we have pictures all the time asking to find owners thank you thank you hello I'm Mary Alan Chanda 9115 Hillside Avenue here in planfield um I just have a couple of things to add to the r 17524 discussion um one of the things that concerns me when an animal is picked up many will be injured in some way some might have been abused what kind of medical facilities will be available to these animals when they're brought there will they be allowed to sit there uncared for um you know it will be a sad thing for them and many are in pain they're going to be very traumatized um kennels are not happy places well shelters aren't either but you know kennels um and many dogs get very anxious there and you know um a lot of problems psychological problems can arise with them as a result of that um and I because they don't spay neuter I'm assuming there will not be a a trap neuter return program that they have for our city which is very important um and going back to 2000 when we lost our you know Sterling Garden State kennel we formed in planfield a group of us an animal initiative committee and we offered to work with the city you know to try to help educate we um had a celebration of animals each year um a blessing of animals and some kind of an informational program which was fairly successful very successful in the beginning and many churches started doing the blessing so we had fewer people but you know we're still out there you know the animal initiative committee but please careful consideration to how will these animals any injured or very frightened be dealt with when they get to these kennels thank you thank you do we have anyone online with their hands raised currently no okay um the information to call online is on the city website you can also dial 6465588656 and E enter the meeting ID 938 3643 9534 and dial Star n and raise your hand seeing no others uh may I have a motion to close public comment motion second second all in favor I I any opposition or abstentions okay public comment is now closed uh we'll now move to consideration of public hearing second reading and final passage Madame Deputy please read MC 2024 by uh 08 by title and further certify that it has complied with all statutory publication requirements MC 20248 is an ordinance to amend and supplement chapter 16a article 16a section one schedule one no parking no parking on the east and west sides of Elaine court and entire length to West 7 Street it is hereby certified that notice of a public hearing on this ordinance was published in The Courier news on February 14th 2024 okay we will have a public hearing specifically for the ordinance uh floor is now open hearing and seeing none and there being no one online may I have a motion to close public hearing so moov second all in favor I I I okay uh may I have a motion to adopt this ordinance on second reading and final passage and if adopted the ordinance shall be published as required by law moved second clerk may have a roll call C council members Briggs Jones yes Cherry yes McCrae yes sesum yes Wyatt yes vice president Graham yes council president Hy yes this ordinance been adopted second reading final passage thank you Madame Deputy please read MC 2024 d09 by title and further certified that has complied with all statutory publication requirements MC 20249 is an ordinance of the city of planfield in the county of Union creating chapter 2 AR Article 13 section 20 titled set aside program to establish the minority business Enterprise Women Business Enterprise veteran-owned business and joint venture set aside program it is hereby certified that notice of a public hearing on this ordinance was published in The Courier news on February 14th 2024 the floor is now open to any member of the public who would like to speak regarding this specific ordinance hearing and seeing none I'll entertain our motion to close public comment on this ordinance so moved second all in favor I I any opposition or abstentions hearing and seeing none public hearing is now closed may have a motion to adopt this ordinance on second reading and final passage sove second clerk roll call please council members Briggs Jones yes Cherry yes McCrae yes sesum yes Wyatt yes Graham yes council president hak yes this ORD has been adopted on second reading and final passage Madame Deputy please read MC 202 24-10 by title and further certified that it is complied with all statutory publication requirements MC 20241 is an ordinance of the city of planfield in the county of Union amending chapter 17 the land use ordinance Article 1 Section 17 colon 1-23 penalties and fines it is hereby certified that notice of a public hearing on this ordinance was published in The Courier news on February 14th 2024 floor is now open to any member of the public who would like to speak regarding this ordinance hearing and seeing none I'll entertain a mo a motion to close public hearing on this ordinance so moved second all in favor I I opposition extensions hearing none may I have a motion to adopt this ordinance on second reading fin passage and further certified that it has complied with all statutory publication requirements so moved second clerk we have a roll call council members Briggs Jones yes Cherry yes McCrae yes sesum yes Wyatt yes Graham yes council president hak yes that is unanimous been adopted on second reading and final passage Madam Deputy please read MC 202 24-11 by title and further certify that ordinance has been comp complied with all statutory publication requirements MC 20241 is an ordinance of the city of planfield County of Union New Jersey adopting the eth amendment to the 197 scattered sites Redevelopment plan dated February 1st 2024 it is hereby certified that notice of a public hearing on this ordinance was published in The Courier news on February 14th 2024 okay the the floor is now open for any member of the public that would like to speak regarding this ordinance specifically hearing and seeing none I entertain a motion to close public hearing so Mo second all in favor I any opposition or abstentions public hearing is closed on this ordinance may I have a motion to adopt this ordinance on second reading and following passage so move second clerk roll call please council members Briggs Jones yes Cherry yes McCrae yes sesum yes Wyatt yes vice president Graham yes council president hogade yes that's unanimous words been adopted on second reading and final passage Madame Deputy please read mc22 24-12 by title and certifi that it is complied with all statutory publication requirements MC 22412 is an ordinance of the city of planfield County of Union New Jersey adopting the scattered city-owned parking lots and adjacent Lots Redevelopment plan dated February 1st 2024 it is hereby certified that notice of of a public hearing on this ordinance was published in The Courier news on February 14th 2024 the floor is open to any member of the public who'd like to speak regarding this ordinance specifically hearing and seeing none I'll entertain a motion to close public hearing so move second all in favor I any opposition or extensions okay public hearing is now closed uh may have a motion to adopt this ordinance on second reading and final passage so move second clerk roll call council members Briggs Jones yes Cherry yes McCrae yes sesum yes Wyatt yes vice president Graham yes council president hak yes that is unanimous ordinance has been introduced on second reading and final passage okay ordinances on second reading thank you Mr clerk will you please announce the consent agenda council president the consent agenda items have been identified as resolutions 13524 through 16724 16924 and 17124 through 17424 and 17624 through 18124 removed from the consent and will be voted on separately resolutions 168 170 and 175 okay I believe that's correct I think so too now we'll go back and and check but I may I have a motion to approve the consent agenda so move second okay clerk roll call it's roll call on the consent agenda items council members Briggs Jones yes Cherry yes McCrae yes sesum yes Wyatt yes vice president Graham yes council president Hoak yes it's unanimous consent agenda has been approved okay please proceed with the non-consent items you have resolution 16824 designating certain blocks as non-c condemnation Redevelopment are okay do we need public hearing on this on these items just a motion okay have a have a motion second it's second AR roll call please 16824 council members Briggs Jones no Cherry yes McCrae yes sassin no Wyatt no vice president Graham yes council president hak abstain three in favor three opposition one exstension resolution fails come to resolution 17024 designating 314 BSD as redeveloper for the Redevelopment of certain areas it's resolution 170 any questions so move have a motion and a second so mov second roll call please roll call on resolution 17024 council members Briggs Jones yes Cherry yes McCrae yes sesum yes Wyatt no Graham yes council president hak yes six in favor one oppose resolution has been adopted and finally we have resolution 17524 authorizing an agreement for animal control services can we have a motion in a second so moved second clerk roll call please roll call resolution 17524 council members Briggs Jones yes Cherry no McCrae yes sesum no Wyatt no vice president Graham yes council president H yes four in favor three opposed resolution has been adopted that concludes resolutions okay we now move to General Public comment no ordinances on ordinances on first reading okay I'm sorry yeah ORD to First reading okay please proceed MC 20243 is an ordinance amending and supplementing chapter 16 vehicles and traffic Article 5 limiting the use of streets to certain class of vehicles subsection 16 colon 5-2 B parking forbidden on all streets to certain Vehicles I'll now entertain a motion to adopt this ordinance on first reading so moved second okay clerk roll call council members Briggs Jones yes Cherry yes McCrae yes sesum yes Wyatt yes vice president gram yes council president hak yes that's unanimous ordance been adopted on first reading ordinance 20244 is an ordinance of the city of planfield of the county of Union adopting the Tod South Redevelopment plan Amendment dated February 1st 2024 I'll entertain a motion to adopt this ordinance on first reading so moved second clerk may have a roll call council members Briggs Jones yes Cherry yes McCrae yes SES yes Wyatt yes vice president Graham yes council president hak yes that is unanimous this ordinance been adopted on first reading reading MC 20245 is an ordinance to amend chapter 2 economic development of the city of planfield by amending article 10 section 2 colon 10-6 c Fe schedule update I'll entertain a motion to adopt this ordinance on first reading second CL roll call please roll call MC 20245 Council memb Briggs Jones yes Cherry yes McCrae yes sesum yes Wyatt yes vice president Grim yes council president hakay yes that is unanimous this ordinance has been introduced on first reading MC 20246 is an ordinance of the city of planfield in the county of Union amending Chapter 20 The cannabis transfer tax and user tax Article 1 Section 20 20on 1-1 I'll now entertain a motion to adopt this ordinance on first reading so move second roll call please council members bricks Jones yes Cherry yes McCrae yes sesum abstain Wyatt yes vice president gah yes council president hak yes six in favor one abstention uh ordinance been introduced on first reading MC 20247 is an ordinance of the city of planfield and the county of Union creating chapter 17 article 9 section 49d titled shade tree replacement and removal to establish an application process for the replacement and removal of shade trees I'll now entertain a motion to adopt this ordinance on first reading so move second clerk may have you have a roll call roll call MC 20247 council members Briggs Jones no Cher yes McCrae yes sesum yes Wyatt yes vice president Graham yes council president hak yes six in favor one opposed ordinance has been introduced on first reading MC 20248 is an ordinance of the city of PL field in the county of Union amending and supplementing chapter 17 land use specifically chapter 17 colon 9-24 a prohibiting the manufacture sale advertisement or concealment of any illicit THC product I'll now entertain a motion to adopt this ordinance on first reading so moved second Clark can we have a roll call roll call MC 20248 council members Briggs Jones yes Cherry yes McCrae yes sesim yes Wyatt C vice president Graham yes council president hak yes that unanimous ordinance has been introduced on first reading and that concludes ordinances on first reading okay we now move to General comments president before you go to General comments can I make a comment or extend an invitation would be more appropriate sure um I think everyone in this audience and Beyond is familiar with the challenge that we are facing concerning an animal shelter I don't believe it's any secret my Administration is very open to any suggestion that anyone in the audience or within the sound of my voice is able to bring forward I extend an invitation if you have a solution a place where the animals that are picked up in planfield can be taken please don't hesitate to give my office a call at 908 753 3310 if you can provide us with a name of a shelter or names so that we could vet them prior to a meeting that I am willing to have with you please provide us the names of any shelter that you are aware of in the state of New Jersey that we may be able to contract with to take care of the animals that have been picked up in planfield that's an invitation for a meeting with you coming with a solution call my office at 908 7533 3310 thank you okay yes all right public comment 30 minutes has been allocated for all public comments each speaker will be given three minutes uh uh yeah Nancy F 1129 Merle Avenue um thank you mayor for that because um I wish I had an answer for you I'll try to do some research but I people dump animals in greenbook park all the time and my family through all the years have taken care of abandoned animals that people have gotten rid of so I I know the situation is not good um first of all I want to thank city council members for hearing what I had to say tonight um it was really with a heavy heart that I stood up here um I I don't want to go into why but I needed to Do It um for my mother um my question to um my it's a question but it's also a thank you to uh director abne for um responding to an issue that I saw and it got taken care of quickly and I appreciate his uh quick action um I also um noticed today when I was at Clinton in front uh Clinton and Myrtle Avenue that there had been a bad accident a a week or so ago and um the fire hydron is down and I'm concerned about when it could be expedited to be replaced since um Jefferson School um administration offices are nearby and there's also a a housing project nearby and also the rest of us residents are nearby um you know I don't know whose responsibility if that's New Jersey American water or whatever but as soon as that could be replaced I think it would be uh very helpful to the area residents and again thank thank you to the um Council people for hearing what I had to say tonight thank you good evening my name is Robert D I live at 510a West Fourth Street my anxiety is due to the fact that I have no heat no functioning stove because the housing authority of playing field first they Lac the stove with um polyurethane and on the 25th of February after I came from the park and turned the heat up it was in the heating system these attacks this aggravated assault against a 79 year old man because a I took them to court for stealing my rent security the court made them not only pay it back but triple damages during the covert uh pandemic they were they wanted to um put in new windows when it was unsafe almost to walk the street so I refus this is the origin of all of this fortunately when I refused it was based on a law and of course it was based on Governor Murphy's executive orders so when they attempted to force their way into my apartment I called a plane police who actually knew those laws and knew what governor Murphy had ordered so they told the Housing Authority no you can't and they cited that that was in uh September 29th of 21 uh March 18th 22 they came back again and this time they call the police saying well um he's not going to let us in they recited the same thing to them so for that I thank the planfield police department for not allowing them to force their way into my apartment they went to court they went to Superior Court file two claims to come into the apartment without a permission the court said no you can't do that ever since that point in time first I found out there's e um electromagnetic radiation coming into apartment and it's just flooding the apartment the thing that really touched me is that in October between October 4th and 7th they came into the apartment and created a gas leap psng came in on the 7th and shut it off on the 26th of October the Housing Authority came back into the apartment put the defective stove back in place with the sign on it when the fire department had to come and put a fire out in my apartment when the fire department came they also submitted a um uh a violation notice on the 30th of October they come with this replacement and with that replacement they lace it with uh with polyurethan which is poison thank you so I cannot turn the heat on council president time elapsed thank you thank you Ellie Campo 1158 woodmer place thank you for your invitation Mr Mayor let's see what we can do um I have a couple of concerns I drive around the city a lot and there's two areas of concerns that I've noticed in the last couple of months on North Avenue um I would say between Leland and Richmond and also on Second Avenue between uh I would say Rock Avenue in Clinton there's been a lot of illegal dumping it's primarily mattresses uh Furniture um tires I was wondering if there's some way we can address that me shaking your head um because it's it's an isore we're trying to beautify the city with everything that we're doing with Redevelopment it's not any isur it's also uh I believe a health issue so I was wondering if someone could whoever's in charge of that could take note of that and um perhaps you know take a couple days here and there drive up and down those those are the two particular streets that I'm seeing um the other thing I I just want I had a question about one of the res uh resolutions for the sewer and solid waste uh 180 and 18124 just for my own uh understanding I think 180 is to install a new fuel dispensing system um contracted with the company in Bridgewater 18124 I believe what if I'm reading this it's authorizing the purchase of a new fuel dispensing Supply system and I think these two resolutions were to save us a lot of money um for fuel intake for our vehicles but 18124 that um purchasing a new fuel dispensing supp uh Supply it's in Hamilton New Jersey Hamington New Jersey I believe is in Atlanta County so if my understanding is that we have to go to hington New Jersey to fuel how is that going to save us that I just didn't understand and I that was just my concern so that's it thank you very much thank you for allowing us to speak and being here this evening thank you Maria and Sari watch Avenue this joint meeting I've said it before drives me crazy residents have no time to review an agenda I got mine around midnight Friday they gave me Saturday Sunday and an hour to on Monday because I was working um to re you if we have hot topics and you know what they are we really need to have pre discussion public discussion even if it's small group and please utilize the brilliant residents that you have they will not come up with the answer you want Mr map you've not not reply to any of my calls or emails I've tried so it's kind of up to you to reach out now but I would love to assist if not with you directly with the people in charge of certain topics and another quickly in response to Mrs chant um question about medical treatment for stray animals it is not required for a facility to get medical treatment for them they at that point have the right to kill them I will not say you the nice it is killing um Sterling kennel and some of you were way too young to remember Sterling kenel in the late '90s was a animal control for plan field they closed following 600 counts of animal cruelty um he was authorized to kill without a veterinarian and he could decide if an animal was injured to put that animal down before 7 days so it's very messy and yes cats should not be picked up Ear tip cats are already vetted and we need a trap neuter vaccinate return program which will at least mitigate our numbers in our complaints until we have a full this time all end thank you thank [Music] [Music] you for [Music] so for for fore good evening city council and mayor my name is Craig Davis A10 Kensington on my block there are two single family homes that have been converted to single apartment I mean single room residency they've even got uh people living in the garages of the two homes that this gentleman has purchased I just want to find out what department I need to go to and how that could could happen and again they were two beautiful homes and there are about 20 30 people living in each one of these buildings that were one family homes thank you Gloria Bowski with your place in planfield Mr H hak I'm quite disappointed in your vote regarding the um 17524 resolution you know the problem is not it's still going to be there I hope you'll continue to reconsider Alternatives and Mr maap we may take you up on your on your offer which we've offered before and uh in regards to this um Miss Corbett's U comment that she'd like to go and visit um title shot will you give us if we call and we go there will the city give us the okay that until the title shot that we can go in and and look at the premises and Mr Mello thing now you I'll wait for you want to wait till the end finish your comment and we'll have him address also um Mr hak would it be within your um ability to change the protocol that there there is a separate agenda fixing meeting per month so people have advanced notice about what is coming up to perhaps avoid situations that are a little bit difficult to uh respond to in a weekend finish all your comments and we'll address everything at the end I don't want to interrupt you also um it does say on the website that residents can make copy uh um comments via email before noon the day of the meeting and the comments are going to be read at the meeting that hasn't happened so is that really one of the regulations can you make it happen so I'm finished okay great so at the conclusion of public comments we'll address your points I'll write them down so I don't forget okay and hear back from Mr Mello about whether we can go visit title shop yes sure thank you I want I do okay so one other thing um you're the health officer just because an animal is not microchip does not mean that animal has been abandoned people choose not to microchip for for good reason okay so they're not the same thing abandoned uh not having a microchip is not the same as being abandoned okay finished thank you sou Carano 1284 East Front Street um welcome back Tracy uh I just wanted to know is she replacing the gentleman that's there okay uh also council president please look into we're getting notifications in the back of the room that the people online aren't able to speak I don't know why I don't know how they're either raising their hand or they want to but they're not right now uh Mr Mayor I'm hoping this resolution or verbiage put forward does give the Authority for the rigs that are parked on private property I myself eight months went through this last year and police came out the uh code enforcement came out multiple multiple times and within 8 ft from my side door for 8 months I had to rig 250 gallons of gasoline within 8 ft of my house and the gentleman said he was renting it from the person who owned the property now all those that know my property there's a storefront next to me that has been unfinished uh for six years now uh it's a two family property but whatever is holding it up I do not personally know but I hope this addresses summonses or something to address those types of situations uh and again about the animals whatever numbers you may have believe me what I'm telling you the health department has accurate month numbers everybody's talking about state regulations State rules state laws that is a law that is a rule and it is hundreds of animals a year so I absolutely welcome to be a part of the solution if and when that takes place thank you thank you El deces ever green Avenue Wayfield I just have a couple of question questions we know that aaronwood was a nightmare we know that they only picked up 30 something animals we also know they not only did they have a contract with planfield they also had a contract with Irvington in three months it's hard to believe there were only 33 dogs found does anyone know if they were our dogs if they were Irvington and at this point exactly where they are and how many animals were actually picked up in Playing Field those three months and how many cats and if so where are cats and this place Board of Health should really look into this this new place with this Darren we because I just Googled him I went on his Facebook page and it's horrific what he's doing to one of these dogs so please check into it thank you thank you we have anyone online with their hand ranged okay I'll entertain a motion to close public comment motion all in favor say I I all right I'll now give the administration uh opportunity to address any questions they heard from residents I'll start okay um okay so there were a couple of questions I took note of the fuel question um that's just the location of the vendor who's going to be doing the Parts but the fuel station's going at the transfer station on Rock AV so that's where that will be um in terms of Kensington the single room occupancy issue and the illegal dumping issue I saw that uh director Dabney and his assistant were taking note of that so I know they're going to follow up with that tomorrow and in terms of the condemnation so I just want to give a brief update as to where we are from the last meeting um after the last meeting I wasn't here but the mayor and um some of the administration stayed back and met with some of their residents and uh made a plan to meet that Friday at City Hall so we had the agencies come to City Hall the mayor was there uh certain members of the administration myself unfortunately only one um one displaced tenant showed up but we had agency there to to assist um that's when we realized that it makes more sense to do this at night people work and you know it might not be feasible for them to be coming to meet with us during the day and so that's why Peter and his team were here today to be able to provide services at night we hoped that we would be able to capture as many people here um as possible because we have been having a hard time getting people on the phone in terms of statistics there were 83 I'm going to say families but some of them were single people but I'm just going to use the term families so that I don't have to keep saying individuals SL families but some of them were individuals um that we originally met with back in August of those 29 have been permanently rehoused with the help of one of the three agencies that's Jewish Family Services Bridges and cspnj so 29 of them have been permanently rehoused they received their funding from the agencies and and you know they're kind of checked on our list 35 of those people or families moved in with either other family members they moved out of state we had quite a few people moved to Texas um and they figured out a figured out a situation there were eight people that their phones were disconnected or they never came back with the documentation that the agencies needed and then there are 11 families SL individuals who are still needing help and that is who um Jewish Family Services was here today to meet with so I just wanted to give some statistics so that we know you know what it is we're talking about and it it doesn't seem so vague every time that we discuss it um and that's that's all I have from my end I could just answer one of the questions there's a question ra uh asked about reading comments into the record I think the clerk will back me up on this and that that was a rule that we uh that we required to do during covid specifically when we had virtual meetings uh since we have gone back in person there is absolutely no requirement whatsoever uh that we read comments into the record we obviously we're it's a participatory uh meeting either show up or we certainly provide the the uh the virtual option uh the hybrid option if you want to participate online but uh we do not read comments into the record that that's correct and just to add to that I thought it was already taken off the website but I'll make sure it's off by the end of the week thank you both of it is me so um the first thing that comes to mind certainly is that what what we saw tonight in in the presentations from the resident certainly speaks to the city of planfield being a compassionate and passionate city um and I want I want that to be addressed and I want that to be recognized and certainly what you heard and uh what mayor Matt asked you to do is if you can help us at the end of the day if you can help us with facilities that are not 106 that we already called we we will welcome that uh you can look it online but I'll certainly talk to you afterwards um I'll be glad to uh talk to anyone who can give us agencies and Facilities that meet the codes and regulations of the state now it's one thing for are certainly uh volunteers which we need and those who are compassionate about the lives of animals but the municipality has to follow certain regulations by the Department of Health and so that is what governs what we do do we wish we could do other things and be able to be fluid in how we get these animals into safe places that have been abandoned um yes but we follow the rules and regulations of the Department of Health um even when you hear what here's my takeaways and then I will talk about some of the answer some of the questions my takeaways is we call the the animals many things right in in the community of of of animals we call them Shel unsheltered we call them homeless we call them abandoned we call them many things but there still ultimately the responsibility of the municipality to take care of at the end of the day whatever we call them uh and it's unfortunate and what I've heard today is that we need to look at education better in C that's something that we will take on um some questions about the vet we we continue to have a veterinarian service in place uh and we also have committed to make sure that this new facility that we are Contracting for two months has a vetar ALC call that is that is what we do is this you know again when I started this conversation I said some will be pleased and some will be will not be pleased but the city has has to do what it is mandated to do with money that it has is is this ideal no with a with a facility that can house I don't know get the animals be acceptable no because there'll be aund animals that still will be need to be housed and that speaks to humans that doesn't speak to the animals and so if if we want to pass blame around let's look at the humans let's I get the people taking these animals whether they're abandoning them whether they're releasing them whether they're Strays whether they got out of the Yards there's still a responsibility and it takes up the resources of the police it takes up the resources of of many agencies and departments in this city but we're committed to doing that right and so so let me talk about um who where did the dogs go um from from the other agency uh there were not dir dogs of of uh from planfield they the bulk of them were for from Irvington um and that's where we we stand a lot of people wanted some information around a communication but when there's multiple investigations going on we're Limited in how we can speak as a municipality right there's that underground conversation your friend knows this friend this friend knows that friend and you get that information that be good but we're a municipality we have to wait for investigations to be complete and to get the best information that we can get so I'll say this to you I'll be glad to talk to someone I'm I'm I'm very glad that that the mayor issued that call and I wait for you those who are committed those who Google maybe you can Google some agencies or or or someplace for us and help us this is this is us asking you for help and and we want that help that's all I have and Mr President I close it out by saying bring us a shelter we will vet that shelter and if pass the test we will sign up bring it forward to okay sounds good I entertain a motion to adjourn motion all in favor I any opposition or exensions meeting adjourned