go to order the meeting of the mayor and council at burough River Edge um March 25th 2024 regular meeting at the uh Riveredge library and also on Zoom ask for a moment of Silent reflection when we stand uh for all those trouble spots in the world and uh the issues that our country is most concerned about ready salute I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all one second please I'm sorry I was open to the wrong page okay statement of compliance with the open public meeting act this meeting complies with the open public meeting act by notification on January 11th 2024 of this location date and time to the town news and the record and by posting of the same on the municipal bulletin board and burrow website and following notices the same on the municipal with the municipal clerk Madame clerk roll call please here here here here here here here thank you um so the first item on our agenda after roll call is uh approval of the minutes excuse me so could I have a motion in second in a moment uh for five different minutes now what we can do is move it and second it and then uh we would vote yay or nay and after voting nay or nay you can say but I abstain for if you need to abstain because of your absence which was you know um something that that happens okay so uh there will be five of them I'll read and then if I have the council president move it and if uh uh councilwoman cofman can second the approval of the minutes of the mayor and Council regular meeting of February 15 2024 the approval of the minutes of the mayor and Council regular meeting February 26 2024 approval of the minutes of the mayor and Council special meeting and close session February 29 2024 approval of the minutes of the mayor and Council regular meeting and Clos session of March 11th 2024 approval of the minutes of the mayor and Council special meeting and Clos session of March 13 2024 so moved second it has been moved and seconded remember uh if any if you're going to say yes to any of them please say I and then take a moment to say but I abstain from all in favor please say I I are there any abstentions yes uh mayor I have to uh do 5D approval of the minutes uh March 11 2024 and approval of the minutes uh e um approval of the minutes March 13 2024 very good so noted any others hearing none it is moved okay uh let's open uh if we could councilwoman canella and followed by councilwoman marar could we have a motion in second to open the public on any item on the agenda only the move second all in favor please say I hi okay we're open if anybody would like to ask a question or make a comment both uh on video and please please come up or please raise your hand very good Margaret Burns 236 Wales Avenue Riveredge I believe I was here before we regarding the Cannabis issue uh I understand that you're going to be reading the ordinance tonight yeah regarding that so it is uh moving forward well we'll see in the process so there'll be a vote today they actually be another time we're going to open to the public because the second reading of an ordinance by state law statute requires that we open to the public just on that so you can ask more questions then if you wish to but uh and normally I would have you ask your question and then move on but this is pertinent so I'll answer it now um so it's open for discussion uh it's open for discussion and then it's open for a vote it will either rise or fall tonight unless the council tables it so there are three things going to happen it will be moved and seconded for a would be open to the public then it'll be closed to the public then it will be moved in second for approval at that time we will be open for debate the council wishes to debate it then the council will vote on it vote it up or down or the council can also uh before they move it move to table it so these are the three things by by law and Roberts rules that could occur tonight okay and uh this is my discussion here is strictly on agenda items all yes we'll open later for anything else you want to talk about okay but as far as this goes was the public notified that tonight was going to be this yeah absolutely by law in the paper and everything yeah okay um okay thank you you're welcome anyone if anyone has a question online just raise your hand and I'll allow you to speak or something on the agenda notified of the zoning yes that's more than yes doesn't look like anyone all right could I have a motion from H councilman Benson and second from councilman glass to close to the public so move second all in favor please say I okay appointment and Personnel changes could I have a motion from any member of council once I finish reading them in prove the increase in longevity for Jason molo DPW superintendent from $1,920 to $2,400 effective March 25th 2024 approve the salary of Shan W Mastro perio SLE eo2 in this department of police to 1,400 per pay period uh effective March 25th 2024 approve the salary of Salvatore J how would I say CH con Chone Chone SLE eo2 in the department of police to from $1,400 per pay period effective to 1,400 pay period uh effective March 25th 2024 so moved second so we move in second uh it is open for debate is there debate hearing none all in favor please say I I any opposed any exstension so for the public benefit uh sleo I believe is um special law enforcement officer yeah Special law enforcement officer class two which is the class that we use uh in in schools no no class three is class three is schools CL two is it's a special auxiliary officer that has many of the same Powers as a regular police officer except they don't carry a fire heart ah good so for the Public's benefit all right uh monthly reports um Library Board of Trustees May 5th is on file and if you'd like a copy of it please see the cler first reading ordinance so when uh in a moment could I have Council M Glass move this and councilwoman can sell a second motion and we're going to move both of these together uh Le is there objection to moving both together hearing none uh motion that the following ordinance be introduced and passed on the first reading and setting April 8th 2024 at 7M or soon thereafter as the matter can be heard as the date and time and both the rivered library as the place and zoom as the virtual platform for the hearings on said ordinances ordinance 24-7 an ordinance to amend chapter 206 of the revised General ordinance of the B River Edge entitled Fe entitled fees ordinance 24-8 ordinance amending and supplementing the revised General ordinance of the burough River Edge chapter 400 vehicles and traffic second uh Miss Appel uh appella sorry would you please for the Public's benefit explain what we're attempting to achieve in ordinance 2407 and 248 sure 247 um increases the fees for outside Duty for the police traffic details and establishes a fee ordinance um following the similar structure many municipalities have and 2408 updates the areas where left turns are prohibited very good okay uh it is open for debate any is there debate commentary inquiry hearing none um um all this I can do all in favor for this all in favor please say I any opposed any extensions all right very good um second reading and hearing on ordinances we're gonna move I can think we can move this as a group two right uh you're allowed to move it as a group because they none of these require a special vote okay very good is there any objection to moving them as a group okay so we're going to open for all three to the public we're going to then close to all three for the public and then we're going to move to adopt all three okay um so could I have councilwoman Kaufman uh moved to open to the public and councilwoman malari to the ordinances have to be read by title yeah I'm gonna read them I'm just simply telling them uh to uh second that okay so we're moving to open to the public ordinance 24-4 an ordinance to amend part two general legis legislation chapter 416 zoning of the revised General ordinance of the burrow of River Edge to establish the Cannabis overlay Zone coz ordinance 24-5 an ordinance to a uh amending part two general legislation chapter 268 licensing of the revised General ordinance of the burrow River Edge ordinance 24-6 an ordinance creating part one administrative legislation chapter 92 taxation of cannabis establishments of the rised General ordinance of the buau of River Edge move second all in favor of opening to the public for the four or the three ordinance I've just read out loud please say I I any opposed any exstension okay so now we are open to the public for any additional questions or in inire your statements from the public regarding uh ordinance 244 2405 and 2406 so please raise your hand if you're online and have a question or comment so this is cannabis you want to come back up you're absolutely welcome to okay Mr Mayor before the public gives any comments I just want to make a notation and I'll ask the B clerk to confirm this that copies of the zoning Orin which is ordinance um uh 24-4 uh were in fact provided uh to the property owners within the zone and within those within 200 ft uh within each of the municip parities including River Edge um haac and paramet that's River Edge hack parameters within 200 ft of the Zone boundaries U and that was done pursuant to St statute uh in addition this matter had been referred to the planning board of the burrow River Edge which in fact um reviewed the ordinance and adopted a resolution finding that it is not inconsistent with the master plan that's very good gotta say your name again Mar Burns 236 Wales Avenue uh regarding the taxation of the Cannabis uh when I read the ordinance uh they can not pay for two years I don't believe that's true is that or they can withhold for two years and then you would have to go after them for tax oh I think what you're talking about if they failed to pay yeah and then there's a process to challenge it but having said that without a challenge being made it's payable like taxes and taxes are payable quarterly right addition to that we can shut them down correct well the municipality has the rights the same rights it would have relative to any nonpayment of taxes now there's also a licensing provision the licensing provision gives the municipality additional authority to relocal license now regarding this so just to be clear in other words we're we're we're Bound by the same taxation laws that everyone is Bound for whether it be property taxes resident property tax is a commercial so it's consistent but we have an additional authority of revoking their license okay go ahead all right now regarding the the zoning and all that are we exclusively receiving tax dollars from this establishment once the business is going or is it going to be a share with because of it location is anybody coming up and saying hey wait a minute that 200 what 200 feet was mine or what you know I'm just asking no these are good questions but I did not follow protocol and I should have in regards to this this is a formal hearing so you get two minutes and um our burough attorney will respond to all the questions okay you're by yourself so I'm kind of giving you a lot of leeway but I I want to be consistent because the next M meeting we have if I'm not consistent then that becomes problematic so what other questions would you have and then we'll answer them other than that nothing except that I I did you did you guesstimate how much revenue you will be receiving from said establishment okay all right so thank you the first of all there's two elements to this one is real property taxes which are in fact are payable on the property just like any other real property taxes um the second as ECT is the 2% um essentially it's a transfer tax like a sales tax but it's a that is payable to the municipality and that's based upon the sales okay so the sales obviously can only be estimated at this time they you know but it's based upon what's actually sold uh and the way the ordinance work is that there is an estimate of taxes paid during the process and then then there's a correction if you will um at the end of the year that actually adjusts it either up or down depending on what the actual sales are based upon the submissions that go directly to the state in answer to does anyone else sharing that the state collects a separate fee and that's not part of this but the municipality retains a 2% and just because another municipality or anyone else is within 200 ft of the zone does not in any way affect that 2% so there could be no claim made by hacken Sack or pamis on the 2% that is correct and in addition to that that 2% only comes to municipality not to the Board of Education River Edge or the Board of Education of riverdell uh that is correct it's it's it's similar in that aspect uh to payments and L of taxes which are not part of the General Revenue real estate ta okay Mr Mayor yes may I add please there's Al an annual licensing thing yes anyone uh who is remote because it looks like we've exhausted those who are present in person if you do have a question just raise your hand pertaining to this I don't think there are any this is uh one of those things where we're just going to give it a extra 30 seconds or so okay could I have any member of council uh move in second to close to the public on ordinances 24-4 24-5 24-6 so move second it's been moved in seconded this not debatable all in favor please say I I okay could I have a motion in second from any member of council to adopt 24-4 24-5 24-6 as previously read so moved second we are now open for debate comment or inquiry is there debate comment or inquiry hearing none I call the question Madam clerk yes president yes counc C yes coun yes Council yes counc GL yes okay could I have a motion say from um councilman Benson and from uh council president uh monsan Cohen uh to move resolution 24-11 through 24- hold on uh 11 n so 11 11 through 119 right um is there a a question of inquiry or a debate comments no it's a part of the revised agenda um all in favor please say I I I okay um I guess you were asking the name of the uh volunteer yes I just want to know if I have to disclose that or not slur is was the name of the volunteer put in any of the documents yes yeah right yeah so no okay okay great uh could I have uh Finance chair uh councilwoman cman please move 24-120 and uh yes so that should be your so on that so we're going to stop uh uh is there is there any abstention or Nays for the resolutions previously passed okay this actually should be a red I mean a recusal right so it's more than a extension it's actually not so I would suggest that the vote be on all except the 119 we already voted what do you want to do well I don't think the votes second was it it was by uh by unoun did we all say yes I did Yeah by un then I would suggest we do a motion for reconsideration or all of those okay and then consider resolutions up to 118 right right which would allow everyone to vote and then do 19 separately and then we can have so why don't you state it and we'll get the council president to move it okay uh a motion to uh consider the vote on resolution 24-11 through 24-120 89 sorry right so so moved it's been moved can I have a second second all in favor okay now the reason we were able to do that is because we all voted on the affirmative side and or you can't have a motion to reconsider now so this basically you can't vote you can't can't vote it's only the the it's only the the council people voting in favor of the action taken that can vote on a motion to reconsider yeah yeah yeah so uh could I now have h a motion uh for resolution 24-11 through 24-18 could I have a motion a second second is there debate hearing none all in favor please say I could I have a motion to it's a little bit formal and I understand that is right but technically during a recusal one should absent themselves from the de okay right oh okay yes so if you could step to the uh Public's position okay so uh the reason councilwoman canella is stepping to the public position because uh off the de is because we're now going to move a resolution to approve the appointment of a volunteer firefighter who she happens to be related to so that was a joke just in case it was picked up by the mic could I have a motion in second to move resolution 24-19 so moved second okay it is open for debate inquiry or comment hearing none please uh all in favor please say I I now we come back up councilwoman cofman yes bur of River Edge resolution 24-120 payment of bills at a regular meeting of the mayor and Council of the burrow of River Edge County of Bergen state of New Jersey held on March 25th 2024 be resolved that the mayor and Council of the burough of River Edge approve the following expenditures current fund $232,100 1 General Capital fund $124,600 19 payroll $188,600 157 developers escrow $275 Recreation trust $846 N9 so moved member of the budget Comm thank you uh this is not debatable all in favor please say I I any opposed any exstension okay we have new business we have revas request for a 75th Anniversary Banner display now Madam clerk if you can address this and I believe we have essential essentially the text yes and I believe that was sent earlier today yes okay go ahead um the River Edge uh volunteer ambulance service is looking for permission to place three banners um throughout town one at the intersection of KAC Road and Main Street um one at the Y as you're going up River Edge Road to go on Kinder KAC and on their property at 210 Continental Avenue um they're looking to place it towards the end of April they don't have an exact date because they have to actually have the banners made um and they want to take it down October 1st um and there's a problem with this slight conflict we do have other banners that will be um placed there was a resolution that was included to show um the banners and the dates um so I don't know if we can work out where they can take it down while we have the other banners up or um if you want to authorize them having it at their property for the entire time and only a shorter time frame at the other location so what I'm recommending to the council if the council is so inclined to Grant this and it's you all have an email of it it's it's a you know 1949 to 2004 celebrating 75 years of banner and underneath their their logo or or their Cod of arms or however you want to call it and then a Neath proud to serve the River Edge community so they're they're going to make these banners and they want them in three locations as they said so uh Main Street in KAC um uh River Edge Road which is coming up from uh the train station and and New Milford and uh at their site which is is near Mor par so what if the council is inclined to do this what I recommend is that we we approve it for the entire length of time as long as there is no other request to place a banner in any one of those locations uh at a future date so in other words that would leave the two locations it's really just going to be the one location which is uh River and Kinder kamak and Maine and if when we want to put up the um uh farmers market or if that comes forward which I believe it will then we would simply take down their Banner because we have to put up another so we're and we're also giving flexibility then to uh superintendent molo if you can keep both banners up he might wish to do that so instead of parsing this we're just going to just condition that as long as there are no other requests approved by the mayor and counsel it will remain up for that period of time if there is another request in the May and councel should approve it then um then it would come down in to create space for the the newer Banner can I just make a comment sure so normally the farmers market sign is up during Farmers Market season and the only time there's are two stacked usually is for I think July 4th celebrations and there is a way to stack two well again we're leaving this up to Mr Meo if he can figure out some way to stack them then why should we take it down okay so we we're so what I would recommend is that there's a motion in second to Grant uh conditionally grant for the entire period for all three locations unless of course there is a need uh for another banner and that the council would approve and then it would come down during that that time and then go back up if this is acceptable to the council could I make a suggestion that the the motion is more clear that they both banners can coexist actually Mr M understands that they actually there is space yes absolutely so uh I think the only time would be the July 4th week but we don't want to get into those details we want to leave that to Mr Malo so we're basically if he can fit two or three banners then great if he can't uh then the whatever Banner is is approved after this would be granted priority is everybody good with that most mous council person ask a question of course sure are there only places in the burrow that are suitable to banners yeah essentially okay thank you you're welcome uh okay so is there debate is there inquiry is there comment could I have a motion a second second all in favor please say I I there we go it's good nice and efficient okay let me go back to my agenda I think that's all for uh new business is there any other uh new business is there any old business do we have any construction updates um well tonight we approved to go out to bid for the Community Development block grant project um this is one of the first construction projects that's going out early because the federal government that funds this program change the deadline of completion from the end of the year to June 30th and um the only other item I have is last summer we heard that through the effort of our state legislators that they secured up to they secured $900,000 for the burrow for its um B Hall improvements including the exterior walkway being renovated as well as for um Brookside and Memorial parks to be upgraded to me Jif compliance and after stop would you explain jff the joint Insurance Fund there was an issue with uh some playground equipment and the walkways that has to be rectified and after many emails back and forth the grant agreement has been signed both by the mayor on behalf of the burough and the state so the and we I requested um 75% of the funding so that way we could move these projects further along so again thank you to Senator Lana thank you assemblyman tul thank you assemblywoman Swain they were able to uh to help us to achieve this this is $900,000 essentially very close to a million that does not come out of property taxes that come that will help meet our needs both our insurance and obligations as well as our other needs for repairs to the burrow that the taxpayers of River Edge would not normally benefit from but they do now and there's no match it's a straight $900,000 to the town so so thank you to them and thank you to you and all those who worked to uh get us this grant it really is a boon for the people of River Edge anything else old business new business all right um let's now open to the public for any comments could I have a motion at second we'll move second all in favor please say I I any member virtually please raise your hand any member of the in-person audience come on up you gotta say your name again sorry that's fine not a problem L Burns 236 Wales Avenue riverge thanks Mar uh I I see all the work that went into this ordinance and all of the work that went into putting this cannabis dispensary into play I would love to see this mayor and councel or other mayor and councils that never really did this in the past Rec try to recruit people to come into this community and open up their businesses here so that we wouldn't have so many empty stores can I can I no oh sorry I just want to make a comment when I have a chance empty stores and this is the problem that most people cannot comprehend about a thing like this this is going full throttle and on the other side of the coin there are vacant stores here for years years I was one of the Premier people that contacted the Board of Health County State I called everybody when those pigs left that Asian market the way they did and it was a disgrace it was July it was about five or six years ago it was just absolutely disgusting there were more Vermin roaming around in there alive than I could ever imagine seeing in a community like this and how we were accepting of it is beyond me but we are pushing for this which I feel that somebody's pushing for it because it's it's going to go through and yet we we as homeowners we see a town with empty stores and there's no nobody's thinking we have a we have a hospital Down the Road hackin Meridian there must be some young group of doctors that just are looking to open up something nearby instead of in Maywood or hackinson sa why are why is not the town a promoting themselves as open for business okay this this is a real issue with many people years two minutes thank you you're welcome um we're going to answer all that but you got to go return to the thing any person virtually no we're going to give them 30 seconds or 20 seconds okay can I have a motion and second to close to the public so move second all in favor please say I I okay uh so uh a couple of things do you want to start councilwoman kman or should I I attempted to do something in this regard a few years ago and spoke to our legal councel and they said it was not an option for mayor and counsel to get involved in this way for legal reasons so let me let me go further private property is private property so would we love to have a Starbucks or something else in these empty properties we would I live right up from what should have been Dante and it's not Dante and it makes me nuts as a person private citizen but the law has constraints and building permits are pretty much open ended since the Christi Administration and he did it for a good reason he did it because of it's my understanding had to do with uh the America mall or with whatever the mall is called now down in C caucus they had all these building permits they were having Finance problems so building permits are essentially open-ended so the municipality has no authority to force people to finish the permit stays open as best my understanding in addition to that the only way we can bring in uh a um a business is if they own the property and we are willing to grant them a pilot now a pilot stands for payment in lie of taxes which is not good for the people of River Edge because it basically means that this piece of property that might have been paying 80 100 $200,000 in taxes is now going to pay little or nothing at all and that's how we lure them in now when I first got on two uh councilwoman Murphy's credit she called up all sorts of people at the time uh I came on I came on with um mayor uh M Sandy mcello and uh Kathleen Murphy and and she called up a whole bunch of places and they all said the same thing you're not the property owner if I remember correctly and um and you know we we don't have a desire now Kathleen probably can give us more information on that if you'd like to contact her I know that she's still available to speak to people about things like that and if we could we would but the problem is it's private property our jurisdiction does not extend to uh in such a way that we can lure people in the only thing that we can grant them in general is a pilot which is not good for the people of River Edge and um so and they would have to and that would only be if they were the property owners so there is limited Authority and a power that we have in this regard now when when a when a a company comes in to a property that's already owned they go before the lanard board and the lanyard board then has to review their case and if they need variances and the variances are good for the people of River Edge and follow positive and negative criteria uh requirements then they can come to River Edge there was before the luse board a request for uh for something like that just just recently happened but there was an issue of parking requiring some very large amount of parking that that piece of property could not provide now I don't want to go into all that you can look at it for yourself I put it on the on it's it's on the burrow rivered YouTube page and I also transfer it onto the mayor Virg Edge Facebook page and you can watch that whole process uh but but it's it is unfair and uh untrue to say that we're we we wouldn't want that if it's just that we don't have the authority or the ability to create that now as for the um the piece of property that you recurred we also were very concerned about that property we have a code enforcer who was working very diligently there we have a building uh inspector which was working very diligently there um so I guess what I'm trying to say is we can we can do more than one thing at a time and we have uh to the best of my knowledge been working very hard in all areas that you mentioned but we have constraints and we have limitation by State Statute and by New Jersey state constitution outside of that if there's anything we can do we want to do when we have been willing to do um is there anything that you uh could add to that l did I miss anything you covered it I'd like to add go ahead on the bright side recently we have human being opening yeah we have dock to rock y as soon as whatever it was not Subway the other place out next to the dollar store a coffee shop moved in there so and we also have dun donut yes we got right we got the new D donut so you know some it's not all I get what you're saying but there's some we we're seeing some new businesses come into town and I think that's a great thing normally I would say no but you're the only one here so without objection can we open to the public one more time so mov second somebody explained to me why they put round paper on their windows and then they put a sign up coming soon and they tell you what's coming and nothing's coming and you're not there's no there's no jurisdiction don't have any authority over that to tell them take it down leave the paper up just leave it it's an empty store you know so the condition of the store while it's while it's not open we do have some authority over and Mr um D roza who is our code enforcer regularly checks on that but we have very limited Authority there but I agree it's very frustrating exasperating it's silly see coming soon likeu the Dante that on that other piece of King used to be they renovated it and it's just like sitting ready to be open but nothing's coming and that's like this police I don't understand the police really don't well what's the people where people are illegally parking on the property well then that generates tickets do uh looking at that yes yes you know what would you ask Mr Jose to look at the police tape that's been up and determine whether that should be taken down at Dante yeah well the Dante is that never was all right can I have a motion in second to close the public so Mo second all in favor please say I I thank you Margaret good night council comments comment I have mayor is that uh just let everybody know that the River Edge run is Saturday April 27th when was that Saturday April 27th Saturday April 27th and um registration is open yes anything else all right good job everyone tonight as always thank you for your hard work and efforts for have a motion second to adjourn the meeting so move second all in favor please say I I thank you good night everybody thank you