all right I think you're good okay yep thank you here we go good evening everyone welcome to the work session for Monday November 13 2023 for the Bureau of Ramsey mayor and Council this meeting is also being conducted telephonically the dial in number is 425 436 6365 access code is 213 563 pound sign for hashtag it's also can be viewed on the YouTube channel that can be found on the Bureau of Ramsey website may we have roll call please mayor Dylan present councilwoman cusk present councilman gutwetter here councilman kilman here councilman Papo here councilwoman poppy here councilwoman Woods here may rise for the flag I pledge aliance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for it stands one nation God indivisible withy and justice for all the New Jersey open public meetings law was enacted to ensure the right of all citizens to have advanced notice of and to attend all meetings of public bodies at which any business affecting the public is discussed or acted upon in accordance with the provisions of this act notice of this meeting of the mayor and Council was published in the Bergen Record and the Ridgewood news on Friday January 13 2023 do we have approval of minut I'd like to uh make a motion to approve the minutes from 10223 and I will second it does anyone have any comment on those minutes not seeing any may we have roll call please councilwoman cusk yes councilman gutwetter yes councilman kilman yes councilman Papo yes councilwoman poppy yes councilwoman Woods yes thank you no Communications with who received this week so we'll move directly to public comment anyone wishing to address the governing body please give your name spelling the last name and your address please speak in an audible tone and address your comments to the chair there will be a f minute time limit for speaker unless reduced because of the volume of business in the agenda please note public comment is your time out of respect and fairness to all there will be no interruptions or questions answered during your time no time shall be seated to anyone else and no time shall be saved for later use any responses may be given during the governing body's comments later in the meeting or as directed by the chair the burough clerk is the official time keeper do we have anyone in the audience today would like to give public comment good evening mayor councel chance Parker PR K ransy New Jersey um I appreciate your comment comments at the last volunteer night uh in regards to the uh addressing the the void of pedestrian access on South Central um East West there are no crosswalks um from the very heart of town um past uh numerous uh Community facilities so you had mentioned that it's possible but not at Orchard Street Orchard Street uh as I've said numerous times and I think is everyone can agree is a major uh pedestrian access point uh to West uh connecting the the town to uh many Municipal uh Services Community Center Senior Center um Conlin Park U bike trails etc etc right um that wouldn't be possible at this Junction because of the turn so I'd like to just understand what that is what type of dot specifications exist because there's a similar uh circumstance just south of that south of uh East Oak uh where Maris uh is right so there's a very sharp uh turn to the the north northwest there and then there's a a c pedestrian crosswalk on on East Oak as as there should be so in just thinking about that I wanted to you know kind of my driving point is that I don't want to address stuff in a very ad hoc manner because I don't think it's ultimately efficient nor uh effective um so I did also peel back that up until as recent as September of 2016 there's actually crosswalks all the way down south central that run north south at the intersections of Polish Cleveland Grand Prince and Orchard those have been resurfaced and never restriped so there's uh crosswalks that run north south down south central but uh again I think we should really focus on you know a program approach uh to getting crosswalks East West and and I think eliminating right away Orchard as an opportunity is shortsighted and probably not the best approach considering that is the most highly used eastwest pedestrian Crossway across South Central so uh wanted to uh wanted to follow up on that and just add additional context to the uh the north south striping that was historically there which had not been restriped from other uh surfaces um arriman to I mean complete streets right um talked in front of the planning board uh here um if you've ever sat in the Redeemer parking lot and watched every day dozens of school kids walk on the grass uh across Blauvelt where we had the $95,000 grant uh South on acrian there's no sidewalk it's a block or two away from the school's you know B biggest Elementary School um you know and then then you take that South and there's El Bert also we did a rep repaving project at Elbert but we didn't even do a feasibility didn't even talk about sidewalks where people just there's traffic there every single day so I just want to like really try to encourage a more systemic approach to this major uh lack of pedestrian access uh so we've actually lost access right if you take away all the crosswalks on South Central um in as many years as we should be adding to this um community-driven you know um Health orientated property value substantiated investment for non-vehicular pedestrian Bikeway access in Ramsey thank you very much thank you Mr Parker do we have anyone else in the audience do we have anyone on the line who would like to make a comment I'll ask again um does anyone have any comment to share with us this evening and third time would anyone like to speak to us during public comment and share any concerns or issues that they may have not hearing anyone I will close public comment and we will move on to the advertised public hearing for final consideration of ordinances and I turn to councilwoman Judy cuser thank you council president be it resolved that an ordinance entitled an ordinance supplementing Chapter 3 of the code of the burough of Ramsey County of Bergen state of New Jersey so has to establish section 3-31 entitled privately owned salt storage having been brought up for public hearing and all persons interested having been given an opportunity to be heard Past final read reading by title and that said ordinance be adopted as an ordinance of the buau of Ramsey and be it further resolved that the bureau clerk B and she hereby is directed to cause a copy of the title of said ordinance to be published in an official newspaper of the buau in the manner provided by law together with a notice of the date of introduction and Adoption of said ordinance a second thank you any comments on this ordinance uh as pre uh council president as previously discussed when we introduced this um this is a really nice pollution prevention ordinance for um the privately owned and um other salt storage it's proactive in its nature and those are the comments that I have okay thank you since this is a final consideration of this ordinance we open it up for public comment it's uh for anyone to speak about this ordinance or concerns or issues or even um positive comments about the ordinance this is your time anyone on the line as well not hearing any I will close the comment for this final consideration of ordinance 14-223 may I have a roll call please councilwoman cusk yes councilman gutwetter yes councilman kilman yes councilman Papo yes councilwoman poppy yes councilwoman Woods yes thank you Madame mayor appointment thank you I hereby Point Anthony Padilla and James heners to thank you very much at this time I'd like to have a motion to go out of order to allow BR our burough administrator Bruce Bose to give comments that will be uh reflected in a number of resolutions that we will be listening to and approving tonight do I have a motion to go out of order I'd like to make a motion to go out of order counc president thank you do I have anyone who second it I will second this Council woman you second thank you thank you I turn the floor over to you Mr BOS oh excuse me roll call please councilwoman cusk yes councilman gutwetter yes councilman kilman yes councilman Papo yes councilwoman poppy yes councilwoman Woods yes and now burough administrator Mr Bruce B thank you council president um a few of the resolutions I'll comment on tonight uh first one's resolution 20 207 ratifying the colletive bargaining agreement with local 125 Union for 4-year term through December 31st of 2025 the buau has reached an agreement subject to the governing body's approval with local 125 and a new collective bargaining agreement I'm recommending the agreement to the governing body for approval with tonight's resolution local 125 represents the non-supervisory DPW employees in our road buildings and grounds and vehicle maintenance divisions the agreement is for four years going back to 2022 and ending on December 31 1st of 2025 the agreements in line with the terms the buau has settled on with the other five unions uh we have in the buau that represent our other employees and their collective bargaining agreements in our last round of negotiations prior to this with the unions we had eliminated compensation for unused sick time with which remains we've also maintained employee health insurance contributions at the levels the state had implemented with its chapter 78 legislation on salary increases the agreement has 2% % annual increases for each year 2022 through 2025 resolution 208 is the awarding of a contract for purchase of a vehicle for the Ramsey Police Department under a state contract util utilizing American Rescue plan funds the burough will be purchasing one vehicle for the Ramsey Police Department under a state contract from Neilon DOD for $ 39,6 n2.0 the vehicle replace the current tour Commander vehicle which will be reassigned to the traffic Bureau minimum izing its idle time and allowing for an extended service life of the vehicle burough will utilize some of its remaining American Rescue plan funds for this purchase resolutions 209 and 210 are awarding contracts to land Associates for preliminary Engineering Services for field and lighting improvements at Burrow parks and Fields these two resolutions are regarding professional service contracts with land Associates for preliminary Engineering Services for two potential projects under future review resolution 209 n is to review Field improvements including installation of artificial turf multisport playing surfaces at mcfar Fields resolution 210 is to review lighting monitorization to the existing lighting at Finch Park and a review of adding additional lighting for the basketball pickle ball courts and playing fields number one and two as well as general Lighting in the field 3 gazebo area to eliminate the use of generator lighting the Ramsey Sports organization has have approached the burough about reviewing improvements to these fields to meet their expanding programming usage this would provide the buau with preliminary engineering to determine what exactly would be needed at the sites and provide cost estimates this does not approve either project it just allows for preliminary due diligence from Professionals in the fields for subsequent future review and consideration by the burrow resolution 21 is the approving of budget appropriation transfer number one this resolution is a budget transfer resolution Simply reallocates Fun fing between line items in the 2023 budget it does not have any tax impact it shifts funds from lines that are underspent to other lines where actual expenses exceed what was anticipated operating expenses in certain areas including pool pool utility and the water and sewer utility have increases above levels anticipated at the time of the budget adoption therefore we've made offsetting adjustments to other discretionary line to mitigate these increases and remain within a net neutral budget I would also be we're looking to add resolution 214 2023 tonight which is authorizing the submission of a Grant application to the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs fiscal year 2024 American Rescue plan firefighter grant program uh the grant would be uh we are seeking to obtain a grant for $75,000 uh for funding uh for the Ramsey fire department for Fire Protection cleaning and sanitation equipment this this is just for submission of the Grant and there's no um cost to the burrow and this is as I said the submission of the Grant and for consideration by the state of New Jersey that's all I have thank you thank you Mr Bose um I make a motion to go back in order motion to go back in order and second councilwoman k i second and all in favor I I at this time we'll go to consent resolutions and I turn the floor over to councilman Michael GW uh thank you council president kilman be resolved that resolutions 203 2023 through including 214 2023 having been considered by the governing body of the B of Ramsey bat and are hereby passed and approved there are no special permits or block party requests this evening I would like to make a second may we have roll call please councilwoman cusk yes councilman gutwetter yes councilman kilman yes councilman Papo yes councilwoman poy yes councilwoman Woods yes at this time committee and leaan reports finance and administration councilman Michael goder uh thank you again council president kilman uh first of off I just like to congratulate Anthony sadilla and James Henderson on our appointments to the Ramy Fire Department thank them for the service uh first off this evening I would like to thank the voters who reelected myself and councilwoman hich on Election Day we promise to always put Ramsey first thank you once again for tonight's report first the library board as mentioned previously the HVAC replacement project started today and will last through mid February the first phase will be in the meeting room and will have minimal impact on Library operation ations this will take two to four weeks the next couple of phases will require some temporary closures and will be reported on in future meetings and check the library website for more details October 21st the boo bash was held at the library it was a very successful event with over 700 attendees and a library thanks all who volunteered to help the 2024 budget is in a discussion stages uh the pool commission has no current report per director Bach uh for the rec commission the Halloween parade had over 100 participants and partnering with the Ramsey fire department was a success wreck basketball and wrestling for grades K through 8th grade uh registration is open till December 15th and play will begin in January and go through March uh director triers is pleased to announce the new online registration and payment system Civic wreck in an easyto read catalog format which is very mobile friendly uh as a segue from the recreation department a high school winning team starts with a successful dedicated Recreation Department with volunteer parent coaches and entree to the travel and this past Saturday the Ramsey High School boys soccer team won its group two first state championship in 16 years after finishing runner up the past two years finishing the unbeaten season with 22 wins two ties and zero losses congrats to the players and coaches on this Monumental season not to be outdone on Sunday the Ramsey High School girls soccer team team won its first group State 2 championship team in TW championship in 12 years and fourth in school history and finished with a 19 and3 record oh and by the way the JB girls team won the county Championship congrats to all players and coaches on these tremendous achievements that's my report for this evening thank you very much councilman got letter um Public Safety and that is my report um first I'd like to say say congratulations to councilwoman Judy cusk and councilman Michael gut wer on being reelected to the council that's going to be a pleasure working with you again this year and I look forward to your contribution um also I'd like to congratulate Anthony Padilla and James Henderson on their appointments to the Ramsey fire department and I appreciate the service and I have a couple of short reports one uh which has been forwarded to me from former councilman uh um Joe verdoni uh and Al who is also a military veteran and he is speaking about VW post1 12148 on Saturday November 4th several VFW members replaced American flags on Fallen veterans Graves at Union Cemetery Ramsey and Redeemer Cemetery in Mawa on Monday November 6th several VFW members attended the woff YMCA salute to Veterans luncheon approxim imately 300 veterans from the area enjoyed a luncheon with uplifting talks and entertainment on Saturday November 11th Veterans Day the VFW held its Veterans Day ceremony at Ramsey Veterans Park the VFW Post members thank all those who attended to honor the veterans after the ceremony at Ramsey Veterans Park BFW members congregated at the BFW building and enjoyed watching veteran Alex Neely breaking the knuckle push-up record the record was 9,239 knuckle push-ups in 24 hours Alex stopped at 9,250 in 20 hours he beat the record by 11 push-ups and in four hours less time many Ramsey residents also witnessed the event and it was great fun toward the end and that was his report um my report work continues with the Neta Architects on the development finalization of the design of the new fire department rescue Squad in OEM Station House replacing the 70-year-old deteriorating structure on South Island Road burough administrator Mr V and I have been providing regular updates on the Station House project over the past several months at mayor and Council meetings the current project schedule has both design development and construction documents drafted and finalized by early 2024 we have set up a page on the burough website for this project under the Community heading on the landing page and It's featured in the left column of the sidebar the folder is entitled fire rescue and OEM building project where anyone who is interested can find the plans and pertinent information as it becomes finalized or you can find it by simply typing in folders in the search bar and it will be uh visibly listed additionally minutes for the past mayor and council meeting specifically outlin what's included in that is contract of 1,100 $152,000 over the four main phases of the services which will cover a timeline of approximately two and a half years Neta contract fees also incorporate costs of Neta outside engineers and professionals working with them on the project this combined approach with Neta Architects on this project will save the bureau money and time and will provide greater proficiency and coordination by having all these different disciplines working through Neta I want to conclude my or conclude my report today with this as elected officials of this great buau of ramsy our main charges are to preserve and protect our desirable community and keep it moving forward to address the needs of the Town keeping it safe is something we take very seriously this Capital project will help ensure that we have a First Rate Emergency Services complex that will serve Ramsey for many generations to come and that concludes my report moving on on to building Planning and Zoning councilwoman Jane Woods thank you council president uh congratulations to councilman Mike gotw and councilwoman Judith cusk on their win um thank you for all your hard work Ramsey is better for it definitely um I would also like to thank the burough clerk um Meredith bendian for her outstanding efforts with the election and uh congratulations to Anthony Padia and James Henderson on their appointment to the Ramsey fire department and also congratulations to the Ramsey High School soccer teams that's so impressive uh the design review board meeting on Tuesday October 24th had one application for New Jersey Health and Wellness and it was approved the senior trustees board is quite active uh as always membership is up to 464 people the senior trustees would like to thank the mayor and Council for their volunteer recognition they very much appreciated it uh the Senate just got their own mailbox and we no longer have to pick up from the burrow the community center and the senior center are both in need of more sound panels so I will coordinate and get that uh taken care of the holiday lunch already has 117 people signed up for the Ramsey golf and country club and they will max out at 120 people um and they are looking for new venues for next year since the club will be closed uh for renovations Tech workshops continue to be very popular and necessary uh 30 people attended the hearing loss presentation by Dr Sto very informative watercolor painting classes will begin in January and luckily one of our yoga instructors is also certified art teacher and works in watercolor they are setting up senior to senior gab sessions for seniors in high school to spend time with the senior citizens in town I think is wonderful and uh planning ahead they're looking to take a trip to the botanical gardens in New York in April the Zoning Board of adjustment for uh meeting for November 15th was canceled the next meeting will be December 20th thank you thank you very much councilwoman Woods utilities buildings and ground Browns councilwoman Judy cusk thank you council president kilman on Saturday I had the honor of attending our Veterans Day ceremonies in town at Memorial Park um the ceremony and presence of Patriots are so appreciated God Bless America congratulations to Anthony Pia and to James Henderson for their appointments to the fire department um I also congratulate the Ramsey soccer teams um and to the people of the burough of Ramsey uh I'm so incredibly grateful to you all for your support and confidence in me to select me to serve you for another three years um thank you I also thank my husband Kristoff and Son Kobe for their incredible support this report will provide an update regarding our planning board our shade tree commission and Board of Public Works planning board last met in October the next meeting is the 21st of November there'll be an article in the Ramsey Journal regarding our planning board so watch this space the Shay Tre commission met in October and then the next meeting is next week November 16th um there's information on our bur's website and there is also going to be an article in the Ramsey Journal regarding our shade tree commission regarding Board of Public Works um it last met on October six 16th and the next meeting is a week from today the 20th um and guess what there'll be an article in the Ramsey Journal regarding our Board of Public Works specifically the lead service line replacement made I'm making Bruce smile down there so um the lead service line replacement folks this is um the Board of Public Works continues planning regarding the nj's lead service line replacement legislation this project requires that all lead service lines served by the water system be replaced by the year 2031 and um our burrow leaf removal continues um help this be safe and efficient and this will also be in the Ramsey Journal um there's the annual fall leaf pickup and it's posted on our website leaf removal is scheduled to complete in December weather permitting um if the pickup timing doesn't work for you please um your leaves can be collected and taken to the Ramsey Recycling Center located in the rear of the Main Street commuter lot and we also ask that you are aware that piles of leaes should not be placed in a manner which could impede our Public Safety and as council president kilman noted Alex Neely our my neighbor my friend um did break the push-up record he um the record was 9,241 and he did 9,250 um Alex noted that this was a special day with family and friends our burough police our firefighters EMTs football teams members from the council and the mayor came by our VW VFW Post to cheer him on um and Alex had just an exemplary non- quitting spirit so thank you very much council president thank you councilwoman cusk public and governmental relations councilwoman Sarah poppy thank you councilman council president here kman um so first I would like to congratulate councilwoman cusk and councilman gutwetter on their reelection um it is great to have you back on to serve um I would also like to congratulate Anthony Padilla and James Henderson on their appointments to thec fire department um and on Saturday I also had the honor being present at the veter V Memorial it was a very well done service there were some just very touching words said um there were very moving um speeches so it was great to be there and it was also great to spend um a portion of the day at the BFW watching Alex Neely break the record I brought my family they were my children were doing push-ups with him till the end and the hard work in person perseverance was just incredible um the ramsy municipal Alliance will hold their next meeting on November 27th the there will be a new Resident mixer on January 21st from 10 to 12 um that Sunday morning we will have bagels and coffee and we'll be coffee with the council for anyone who's moved to the community since 2023 that will be posted in the journal which will be out this week I would like to extend a special thank you to Kelly Sylvester who I could not put the journal out without her efforts um and congratulations to the Ramsey High School soccer teams girls and boys it is great to hear that they've made it to the championship thank you thank you councilwoman poppy health education and Social Services councilman Glenn Papo thank you council president kilman uh I'd also like to congratulate councilwoman Judy kusk and councilman Mike gutwetter on their re-elections uh congratulations to Anthony and James on their appointments uh for R soccer includes this Saturday uh 1118 and finish up the season for our Challenger soccer for environmental nothing to report in our next meeting is tomorrow 11:14 uh for Board of Ed uh They concluded their second strategic uh session on 11:15 and that information is posted on their website on the results of their session I'd like to congratulate the Ramsey High School girls and boys soccer team on their state championship I should say championships and then our next meeting for Board of Ed is 11:21 and that's all I have for toight thank you very much councilman Papo that concludes our Council reports and now mayor dear Dillan thank you thank you good evening everyone and congratulations to council mman husk and councilman gwat on your reelection I look forward to continuing to work with you for the betterman of Ramsey um congratulations to Alex Neely it really was inspirational to see him on Saturday uh frankly was rather F to watch um when they're putting ice on his back and his hands and buckets of ice but he did it it was impressive very impressive um congratulations to the Ramsey High School boys and girls soccer teams for both of them winning state championships that is just simply spectacular and I hope that they will March in the home for the holiday parade um and we're also hoping to honor them at our next council meeting it was a little hard to organize that tonight um since the girls won yesterday so couldn't do that um uh thank you to burrow clerk Indian great job on the election day I know it's always a lot of work in dealing with some new technology this year sure which some people found challenging so thank you very much for it and congratulations to Anthony Padia and James Henderson for joining the Ramsey volunteer fire department that is simply a incredible amount of dedication concern all the training they have to do the fire academy and I did receive a a note from a gentleman could be a lady as well I can't tell they didn't give me any way to respond to them so I'm just they asked about the debit and credit card payments um that are approximately 2.95% of your water and tax bill I want to clarify them to them that the council has nothing to do with that the burough does not get that Ser charge that is charged by the debit and credit card providers it once again it does not come to the burrow it's really a convenience fee by the provider um and regarding sidewalks or crosswalks on South Central the Ramsey traffic group from the Ramsey volunteer I'm sorry the Ramsey Police Department traffic group is working on that with the county um it does take time but they are really looking at it it's wonderful now we have a dedicated traffic officer or team in town and one of the things we're working on right now is also how to stop the left turn into Erie Plaza so they're looking at new signage for that if that can help but getting back to South Central and the crosswalks the one on the determination for no crosswalk on South Central and Orchard was made by the Counting engineering department which has final say because South Central is a County Road and I wish everybody a very happy healthy and safe Thanksgiving that's it thank you thank you Madame mayor Mr Ros did you have anything else I'll just make a couple quick comments I would um congratulate uh councilman gut wer and councilwoman and cusk um on there and I look forward to working with you again for another three years also I would congratulate all of those who ran for office win or lose and are willing to dedicate their time to serve their community and thank you to Meredith for all of her hard work and efforts before during and after election day um and trying to work through the new procedures and improve them as we move forward along with Deputy clerk Sher Richards and Kelly Sylvester and that's it thank you and thank you thank you Mr W counselor any comments yes I'd just like to join in congratulating councilwoman cusk and councilwoman gut on re election thank you thank you and Burl clerk Miss bendan do you have anything um I just wanted to announce that our next meeting will again be on a Monday um it's Monday November 27th and it will start at 7 pm. due to the Thanksgiving holiday thank you thank you very much um we don't have any introduction ordinances this evening is there any unfinished business is there any new business not seeing any do I have a motion to adjourn motion to adjourn second second all in favor I I I good night everyone have a good evening