I call to order the meeting of the mayor and Council of burough of Riveredge for the regular meeting uh Riveredge library and remote by Zoom uh May 13 2024 I ask that we have a moment of Silent prayer for all those um places of worship that have become uh places of um possible um weapons threats uh as was recently in the news today ask for stand for a moment I ask you to turn and face the flag FR salute IED Al 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 okay uh 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 the burrow website and filing notice of the same with municipal clerk Madame clerk roll call please here prior notice counc canella here Council Larry here Council here glass here here okay um so we have approval of the minutes we have uh four uh minutes to approve I ask for a motion in second from any member of council after I read them into the record and then when we um uh when we ask for a vote uh if you can vote for all of them please say yay uh if you cannot then uh say yay for the ones you can and abstain for the ones you cannot okay approval of the minutes of mayor and Council uh special meeting of March 28th 2024 approval of the minutes of the mayor and Council close session of April 8th 2024 approval of minutes of the mayor and Council regular meeting April 22nd 2024 approval of minutes of the mayor and councel special meeting and closed session of May 2nd 2024 can I have a motion and second second it's been moved and seconded all in favor please say I I I are there any extensions yeah staining yes let's do it in order we'll start from left to right uh I'm abstaining from April 8th okay I'm abstaining for May 2nd okay I'm abstaining for April 22nd okay May 2nd very good okay um so we have a wonderful wonderful event we have the administration of the oath of office for officer renado Sanchez for police Sergeant so can we call uh the chief and all the officers and the entire police department and any friends who' like to come forward and we ask for you to stand um officer Sanz if you could stand over here and everybody else if you could stand against the wall that'd be great absolutely if we could uh come forward and the rest of your family should come up too yeah come on up come on up over here and you can get our police officers to move a little bit more over so that you'll actually be seen uh as part of the video record um so you go so you want to stand on this side no no no we want to be able to see you on the camera not me I'm I don't matter you do so I'm gonna ask you to stand there good all right and anybody wants to move to take a picture that's okay too the camera here you can come and stand over here you will not be in the way all right well um so officer Sanchez how long have you been um the police department 10 years 12 years 12 years 12 years that's right in fact I think it was I was just elected when you were chosen so um congratulations on this and we're very very proud of you we're very very proud of our entire police department we have an outstanding Police Department um community policing has uh it it's um it's it's perfect um height of achievement in the River Edge Police Department we're very very grateful so I'm going to read the uh words first and you're going to repeat them back to me okay so if you raise your right hand very good let me make sure I am not in the way very good I I state your name Rada Sanchez do solemnly swear do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution that I will support the con Constitution of the United States of the United States and the Constitution and the constitution of the state of New Jersey of the state of New Jersey and that I and that I will bear true Faith bear true faith and Allegiance and allegiance to the same to the same and to the government and to the government established in the United States established in the United States and in the state and in the state under the authority of the people under the authority of the people I state your name I rata Sanchez do solemnly swear do solemnly swear that I will Faithfully that I will faithfully impartially impartially and justly and justly perform all the duties as a sergeant all the duties as a sergeant of the River Edge Police Department of the River Edge Police Department to the best of my ability to the best of my ability so help me God so help me God congratulations thank you e Chief do you have a few words sure Chief why don't you stand over here so the people can catch right um I'd say I'm very proud of of Sergeant Sanchez uh to work through this process we've a pretty um impressive process I think here in River Edge for promotions a lot of people weren't aware but these officers seven of them competed for sergeant they go through a study period where they study for several months they go out to they study courses uh they are they are interviewed in front of a Chief's panel where they're asked rigorous questions their personal files are looked that very closely and all of that goes through eventually makes it up to the mayor and counsel where their last interview is in front of the mayor and councel and a decision is made um as a police sheep I think what I'm most proud of is that you out of the seven candidates candidates that went up all of them were viable candidates you know which is which is neat to be able to say somebody has to somebody has to come out first right um and R did a great job with that obviously but uh we have we have a great group of officers and um you know it's just it's just always great when somebody gets moted and moves up and then more people move up and we hire young officers and we continue to move along with that so again I'm very proud of you you know our first female officer 12 years ago our first female sergeant here in the river thanks for everybody all the guys showing up thank you right and Liz at the end is our second female stand if anybody like to come up and take pictures uh rata and chief if you can go all Stand Together watch the wires and here I'm gonna put this on all right here we go um family members come on into the picture yeah absolutely [Music] myad didn't come back out fall off we don't p as we want oh we just stick them in because it takes this long yeah no no I get itat congratulations congratulations very exciting bye always a good yes right yeah may maybe you put some like hardboard figures there to like pretend there's people out you knowy faces only happy faces I'm GNA bring one oh you know what we can do the um we can do what the Star Wars oh star wars' all be happy that right the aloy's about to come out new Star Wars Ray is not GNA renew Disney so I got watch everything everything and I'm like enough time I heard I heard Star Wars think we have some leftover like heads on sticks for my son just like tack them up there all right um we have a presentation um from Patty and David and they're going to be doing it online okay so um we have a presentation Environmental Protection commission and green team annual report Patty and David if you could uh turn on your cameras great good to see you both um oh we have a present very nice PowerPoint so um Patty and David it's up to you uh you may begin and welcome go ahe Patty you can get started okay um David and I would just like to thank the mayor and Council for giving us the opportunity to um let to basically present what we did in 2023 as both the Environmental Protection commission and the Green Team combined and then I'll let David go through the slides all right thanks for having us at the meeting I think um last year about this time Patty and I were both traveling and doing this meeting on a phone and cars so um we're a little more uh at home this time um got a chance to put together some slides so hopefully we're going to make it a little more interactive uh so you can see all the great things that our volunteers do so uh just starting with the Environmental Protection commission uh so our mission statement is uh that we provide leadership in bringing environmental best practices to Riveredge and its surrounding communities by coordinating events communicating with the public and staying current with Global Environmental practices our commission strives to improve recycling participation increase support for commission events and be a leader in our County and state for environmental awareness and support um and the rest of the slides you'll see kind of go through the things that we're doing to support that mission statement so um here are members of the EPC so Patty and myself are co-chairs um and then we have the other folks uh that are listed there and then chodana is our Council liaison who has been fantastic in supporting us and what we're doing uh so to start with our uh storm water education and art contest so just a little background on that um so this event really combines student activism Community Education and public art uh there's a lot of collaboration that we um have with this event so not just the EPC but we work with uh Jason at DPW the police uh obviously they were just in the room our Watershed ambass ambassadors our volunteers um the riverdell high school art department and then of course our elementary schools um so this is part of our fifth grade curriculum at both schools and we have the Watershed Ambassador that comes and teaches uh that class about the Watershed and um just good practice and trying to keep our waterways clean um and then at the end of that they all do an art project um and while they're doing that curriculum the students are taught about Watershed taught about watersheds pollution Wildlife um and then participate in that contest so each school then selects five to six finalists um and once those are given to the EPC and the Green Team uh we then help select a winner per school and this year's as you can see on the slides on the left uh was uh the artwork was put down at Roosevelt School on Continental which is near the teacher parking lot so if you haven't seen it um please head over there and check it out we've probably seen the other ones around town as well as we continue the program um for another year uh the next thing that we did was in May of 2023 we did a river cleanup um and even though it was a really rainy day uh we had a lot of volunteers 50 um estimated at that event and we collected um an unfortunate amount of 2,000 lbs of just re regular trash coming out of the uh the rivers that included this Hasbro Cozy Coupe that you can see here uh plastic bottles basketballs tennis balls styrofoam tarps traffic cones wood uh but to note there weren't nearly as many plastic bags around um and we'll get to that in a little bit um which has worked really well uh we do this event with the Bergen County Clean Community uh we received a $200 Grant from them to complete this um and we usually do two of these events every year but unfortunately the September River sweep was canceled because of inclement weather um and the difference between a river cleanup and a river sweep is that for the river cleanup we just go in at the Riverdale or the River Edge uh boat launch and clean what we can and then the surrounding embankments and the river sweep is we start up at in idell and then put the canoes in the in the river at that point and then come down um to our uh uh boat launch and and River Edge and and complete the sweep that way um so hopefully this year we'll get both of them in um weather weather permitting of course another thing that we attended uh Patty attended the screening of American River um is really good uh documentary about the uh pic River uh it included a a Q&A with our captain Bill shien the the hackin saac rivere keeper and it's based on the book an American River from Paradise to super super fund a float on New Jersey's paic um it's an award-winning documentary highly recommend you check it out if you haven't um and it kind of goes through um the guide across the river as as those folks kind of kayak uh from the headwaters down to Newark Bay uh the next event is we hosted a paddling day over the summer where we wanted to try to get community residents out on the river itself uh Laura hook straight Patty uh our River Keeper representative whose name is Tyler um hosted our first ever paddle day uh we launched eight canoes from the River Edge B ramp uh we offered two time slots 10: a.m. and noon um the 10 a.m. trip went North on to the orell Town Line and then the noon trip went South to the Von stuent house um it was really a great event we're happy to host it for the first time we hope to do it again this year um and it's really amazing how beautiful the river really is and why it's important that we try to keep it clean um I'm I'm just gonna pop in quick um I have to say this was a a very enjoyable event it's for us sometimes hard to go on the river and not focus on the trash so it's nice to pick your heads up um if you've never been on the hackin sack I would recommend it going north um it's very densely vegetated and narrow going south it opens up it's looks like two different Rivers uh it really it was a great day um and we hope to do it again and I'd like to thank lazette at the Town um there's a lot of different insurance forms that had to go back and forth between she and Tyler at the hackensac River Keeper um and between the two of them they made this event happen so that was great so I'd like to thank them both yes many hands definitely help uh with getting all of our events moving and thanks Lizette for that uh so just to uh wrap up some other um notable able events uh for sustainable Jersey we received again bronze status uh I think we received a few months ago a certificate from the state um that requires a minimum of 150 points that we have to document the things we've done over several years uh we ended up with 210 um so we got past that minimum um so we're really proud of that um and all the work that we do uh around the community in order to keep that status up um uh we have participated along with a bunch of other townships in the an membership so that's the association of New Jersey environmental commissions um they advocate for strong State and Regional environmental practices uh the next thing I'll speak about which is the plastic bag band and the um other things that went with that law um they helped promote and push out um they also provide resources and programming and other advice for our so best practice and just other advice that um can help us be more successful in what we're trying to do um as far as the New Jersey plastic bag band um I'm sure you're all familiar with it it prevented new uh grocery stores and Retail establishments from providing single-use plastic bags to customers uh foam and other polystyrene food containers cannot be handed out either uh single use plastic straws can only be provided upon request although though there are still restaurants I go to that hand them out regardless but I say no thanks usually um any anyway long story short the results have been really successful an estimated 5.5 billion that's billion with a B yes single plastic use bags have been eliminated from the system in New Jersey um from this law um there was a 37% decrease in single- use Plastics plastic straws were reduced from 17 million down to 2 million per month um I still shudder at the the thought that there's still 2 million straws going out per month but um it's it's way down which is great and that was really the point of the um of the law and I think it's been pretty successful from what we've seen and getting back to the the river cleanup we definitely saw a great reduction in the number of plastic bags around in the river and around the river bank so um it's definitely been quite successful uh as far as our goals for 2024 we want to continue to reach out to community and the county to enhance our environmental options and Communications we try to get learn best practice from other communities and engage other towns in what we're trying to do um so we've had a really good connection with idell on some other events and we hope to continue that and um other uh surrounding communities uh we definitely want to be more active at these meetings the mayor and Council meetings to provide updates and highlighting our events um we'd like to augment our work with other teams um including the DPW shry uh the beautification and historical committees the school district and others just to make sure that we're getting the word out uh we found it pretty um event specific on who we need to really contact so for um and I'll get to this in a little bit later but say like our Second Chance toys events we really want to hit the uh schools hard um but for things like um the river cleanups it's more high school and and the middle school students so we want to hit those and then just wherever we can get support from the the the residents of River Edge we try to um pull them in as well uh we want to more actively attempt to get uh grant opportunities and augment those options so it's not something we've really had time or um just knowledge of what's going on on on that front so we really want to dig into that a little more to see if there's uh Financial or or other resource support that we can get uh we do further want to connect with the elementary middle and high schools and provide volunteer opportunities for our community youth um that includes uh The Scouting program boys and girl scouts um and then others in the surrounding communities where we can help um and then be more active in hosting lectures films live presentations and other events we'll get to some other of these I did mention uh the American River but there were other things that we did um that we'll get to on the Green Team piece as well right so that wraps up the EPC side and then the green team so the green team members uh Marie Marie Papo is our chair uh Laura hook Strait is our representative from the EPC and then you can see the other folks um we did we had a really good support to get the rest of these roles filled um early in 2023 and we were happy to see that there was interest in the community to fill these roles which was great um we're hoping to get some more folks interested so if anyone out there is listening and you're interested in um environmental issues feel free to contact us um couple things that we've done so one of our more popular events styrofoam and paper shredding we do twice a year April 15th and October 14th in 2023 uh we do our collection at the DPW from 9:00 a.m. to 1 uh we have volunteers help direct traffic and um help uh take the styrofoam and the and the paper shredding out of cars uh so that we keep everyone safe and still accomplish what we're trying to accomplish with the event um as you can see the pictures kind of on the the bottom left in the upper right it was kind of a nice day day in April and then the upper upper left and the bottom right is kind of a rainy day in October but that's the way it goes so um but these events are really popular with the town we often hear especially about the styrofoam how much more can we do with the styrofoam recycling um and we hope to get to more of that which we have already early in 2024 um the second thing I mentioned this previously but second tance toy drive we did this April 22nd in 2023 um that's held in the Cherry Cherry Hill school parking lot uh that last year we gathered over 700 plastic toys um those were donated to Ukraine the um folks over there with the difficult times that they're going through and we're actually one of the few communities who run this type of event so we will see oftentimes folks from different towns come and um donate their toys to our event so I think it's really an important one that we do for Bergen County um and in particular for our community uh the next one prom boox return so uh we started this uh I think this is the second year is that right Patty or is this the first that we did um yeah we kind of did a little bit of a small push maybe a couple years ago but yeah so on this one uh we work with the riverdell forest uh florist to um collect back the the uh the plastic containers from corsages and bers um we want to really make sure that those things get back to the the florist they're happy to reuse them so it's really a win-win where the business gets the uh piece of plastic back and it doesn't get thrown right into the the trash and it gets reused again and again uh we incentivized folks by providing a $25 Duncan gift certificate um and we did 16 boxes returned for 2023 which was our first big effort um and we hope to repeat that for 2024 but not just with senior prom but with the junior prom as well and just to be clear we don't give everybody a $25 gift card one one winner yeah everybody puts their name in and then we pick a winner so yeah yes that's right CL the Endeavor uh so the next one's the garden contest so this was our thir annual contest uh folks from around the community send in their pictures with a brief description we really want to encourage home gardens for the community benefits which include reducing the carbon footprint and encouraging pollinators um the winners receive a small gift certificate from Ace Hardware I think it was $10 for five winners that we handed out this year um but again we have so many beautiful gardens around town and we want to really encourage folks to um send their pictures in and augment their Gardens to achieve those benefits I laid out before um some other events we did really popular was uh Tony braco came from braco farms uh he owns a small farm up in New York state um he talked about um using uh small farm uh meth small farming methods to do our home gardening in our communities uh we have 30 people show up which is a pretty large number for one of these types of events and it was really interesting how he went through um how small things can can make a really big difference in how you grow your um new home gardens and in fact my I myself have used some of those techniques and the best year I've ever had in growing Roma lettuce on my porch so um if you really want to get some knowledge about how to grow some good fruits vegetables or or flowers um Tony's was a really great presentation um Patty also did a recycling 101 presentation at the library um we talked about sustainability and recycling uh we also had Clare o'conor uh from the riverdell Middle School resed some of their students efforts um and then last but not least we try to advertise other environmental opportunities um you can see in the picture on the upper right when we see these things we take snap pictures and throw them on our our Facebook page Instagram um there was one for Holiday Lights uh there was one hazardous waste collection for Bergen County that collects things like um toxic chemicals and old paint cans and used tires uh so we try to get the word out on that as well around town uh as far as short-term goals for the the Green Team uh we definitely want to continue our events so the paper shredding styrofoam collection second chance toys prom box reuse and the garden contest and then the longer term goals like I said before just trying to attract more volunteers um the more volunteers we have the more stuff we can really get done uh we want to use uh the town to um promote town events to promote this kind of stuff so let's uh as we start the Farmers Market on Thursdays we want to try to get out there uh we have a county styrofoam densifier that just started up in recent months so we want to take advantage of that and we have um earlier this year you'll hear that next year's report um and just like I said before we want to review grant opportunities um and then expand the lecture and film series um so we're a small team uh we do a lot with a few volunteers but again like I said before the more volunteers we can get the more stuff we can get done uh we appreciate the support from the mayor and Council we we know you're at a lot of our events as you saw on the pictures and we appreciate that support um and if there's any questions Patty and I are happy to answer them are there any questions well I just want to congratulate both of you for the outstanding work that uh you and the Committees are doing uh the Green Team and the environmental commission um Town benefits from it greatly and we're very very grateful thank you thank you very much appreciated thanks for your time oh an excellent very thorough report wonderful um you should is that g to go on the um is that g to go on the website uh we can put it up there yep absolutely yeah send it to uh CLK Dodd and uh we'll uh we'll put it up on the website uh which would be really great awesome that's great thank you take care all right good night you bye bye all right so uh now we open up to the public could I have a motion in second to open up to the public at any item on the agenda only so second all in favor please say I I is there anyone here who would like to ask a question about an item on the agenda no anyone at home please raise your hand we'll give you uh you know few moments to see if that's what you'd like to do I don't think there is it all right then could I have a motion and second to close to the public on any item on the agenda second all in favor please say I I okay uh could I have a motion from councilwoman Kaufman in a second from Council canella to approve the termination of one ad uh labor of the Department of Public Works effective May 10 2024 second all in favor please say I I okay uh there are monthly reports on uh file for any member of the public would like to get that from the clerk's office land use board from March part of prevention from March uh tax collector from April and historic commission from April uh we're up to uh agenda item 11 uh so this is the municipal bu budget public hearing and adoption um so um Miss appella um how should I pursue pursue um not pursue how should I proceed should I uh immediately move the resolution 24-48 or should we go uh first to Chris how would you like for us to proceed um if you want a summary of the budget Chris could provide that as the CFO otherwise you move forward to the resolution to read it by title only and then the public hearing good that's what I thought um so Mr Bag Leia I got it right this time Chris uh if you could give us a brief summary of the budget uh the amendment and the adoption process thanks mayor so uh we introduced our budget about four weeks ago uh we were under budget review this year uh which happens uh every coup couple of years and we did get approval to adopt the budget as introduced um we also um we also advertised um the public hearing date based on the introduced budget so step one is that we have to hold that public hearing on the budget that was introduced then step two is going to be to uh introduce the amendment now the amendment is simply moving funds from a salary and wage adjustment account over to the libraries uh section of the budget um that is an amendment that is small enough not to require an additional public hearing on that Amendment so step two would simply be to uh adopt or introduce the amendment and adopt the resolution authorizing the amendment and then finally we would adopt the budget as amended okay so let me just talk talk a little bit about the amendment the um uh Chris correct me if I say anything incorrect or if you'd like to elaborate so one of the one of the thoughts uh when the budget was being created was given our current inflation rate and everything else that we would do a 3% um salary increase for all non-contractual but um but the the Personnel committee and the and the budget committee both felt that that should be a decision of the council later on so the budget was there was 3% built into the budget but only 2% granted to the employees starting in January so the Personnel committee met and uh if the council approves it what would happen is that extra 1% which would bring it up to three would begin May 1 so it would actually be backdated um and so that's uh and if we were going and what whatever we do for the non-contractual we always do for the library so the library's budget was uh increased 2% by salaries and 8% by health benefits and all of the non-c contractuals were int uh were in uh were 2% in January and eight uh 2% in salary and 8% in um health benefits the personel committee has approved the extra 3% starting May 1st the council approves it that would uh go for all employees but because the library is by Statute um a separate entity quasi entity uh we would need to move uh that money from the salary and wages line which has always been there to the uh libraries budget line uh for the amount of 1% starting on May 1 is that an accurate explanation of what we're doing and why we're doing it yeah is okay great um and um and this of course is open for debate from the council and for comment and for inquiry okay so could I have a motion uh wait uh um I should have uh I'm gonna go back to council uh woman Kaufman because she is a finance chair who else is on the finance committee andir andir and David okay so could I have a motion from councilwoman cin and a second from uh councilman uh glass to move resolution 24-48 read uh resolution to be uh to read the budget by title only some second okay we are uh it has been moved and second it is open for debate inquiry or comment is there any of that hearing none uh this would be a roll call because it's a finance and it requires a 2third vote correct Madam clerk councilwoman C yes councilwoman gel yes Council M Larry yes councilman Benson yes councilman glass yes okay now we are going to have a motion second could I have in a moment could I have a motion and second from councilman molari and a second from uh councilman Benson Public hearing on the 2024 Municipal budget could I have a motion second to open to the public so this is by acclamation all in favor please say I I okay is any member of the public either remotely or present wishing to ask a question make a comment or offer um um ask question to make a comment no and remotely I don't see any hands going to give it a few more seconds don't see anyone okay could I have the same two Council persons move to close to the public so second all in favor please say I okay so now we need to move the amendment now the amendment simply does for the library what we've what we're doing for all the um non-contractual uh and non-contractual would be not the DPW not the police department because they have a contract that uh that they that would work off of and it would be simply the process needed to amend their budget because they they get a whole a whole budget from us and they administer it as they see fit um could I have uh perhaps councilman um um glass move it and perhaps uh Council canel a second to uh amend the 2024 Municipal budget so move second it has been moved and seconded it is now open for debate comment or inquiry hearing none roll call yes yes Council Larry yes councilman Benson yes councilman glass yes okay now we're up to the adoption of the 2024 Municipal budget by resolution 24-15 could I have a motion from the budget chair and and councilwoman caufman and second one from councilwoman canella second is is now open for debate discussion inquiry comment seeing none roll call yes Council yes counc Larry yes Council yes glass yes okay now uh that's concluded uh Mr bagary Chris thank you for coming and being here today my pleasure thanks a lot all right thank you all right we have item number 12 first reading ordinance uh could I have a motion from Council marari in a second from uh um councilman Ben uh Benson I guess uh the motion that uh that the following ordinance be introduced and passed on the first reading and setting May 30th 2024 at 7M or ass soon thereafter as a matter can be heard as the date and time and both rivered library is the place in Zo as the virtual platform for the hearing on said ordinance ordinance 24-13 an ordinance to authorize a special emergency appropriation njsa 4A colon 4-53 so move second it's been moved and seconded uh before we go into debate discussion and inquiry if Miss appella would please explain what we're trying to achieve with this ordinance um the burrow has been ordered to um reassess all properties um residential commercial and um actually the order came a few years ago but it was held due to covid and in order to do that um we need to have a funding mechanism in place and um this order came after we introduced um the budget so this is an emergency appropriation to appropriate the full sum of $570,000 but as an emergency we pay it off over five years starting in next year's operating budget so for the next five years 114,000 will pay off this reassessment and um in the first year the entire town is reassessed and then um for the next five years 20% of the Town gets reassessed the second time that's mandated by the state okay uh so it's been mov and seconded so it's now open to comment inquiry debate is any member of council ask wish to ask a question or make a comment who are we retaining for this uh Lizette who are we retaining for this we're retaining um appraisal systems the first step is to introduce this ordinance and then once it's adopted at the next meeting we will have um the resolution of a ward and in addition to the resolution of award there is a shared services agreement we're doing this as a joint venture with the bur of Duma who was also ordered to do this reassessment and um it's actually by doing it as a shared services we're saving about 50 $60,000 thank you so um what I might add to that Lizette uh please uh make sure I don't get this incorrect one of the reasons one of the reasons that we we've um decided to share Services was our tax assessor Jim anino uh was is also working for Dumont correct was that that is correct and he proposed us that we do it as joint service so that we could save this money also the emergency uh the the mechanism we're using which is an emergency uh special emergency authorization has been rev reviewed by a CFO um Mr bagula Chris who's done does a great job for us and we asked him to look at several different ways of funding this this is the uh this is the best way for us in it's impact on the budget uh as and it's its overall mechanism liette would you agree with those statements yes and Chris reviewed it with our bur auditor as well yes so um so so this is we're saving $50 $60,000 is is a good chunk of money for the operating budget so we're we're very grateful for for Jim and Zino's uh suggestion and work and Chris and our auditor for for making this possible can I yeah absolutely I just ask how how long is this supposed to take so it's rolling over five years five years 20% it's six years the first year is all% and then five years and the 20% is taking each Street and doing 20% of the street so it's not dividing the town into but it's taking each portion so if if you know you're done next year and you see your neighbor hasn't don't worry they'll be done either the following year okay is this is it all binding and when would the assessments go into effect their recommendations so they're going to provide recommendations or their assessment is that binding on the on the borrow what they recommend the assessment is binding and um Property Owners always have the opportunity to file a tax appeal but um these figures will will be reflecting of the current rate the current um the market and calculations governed by the state but when would they be effective so the full um the reassessment program that begins this year oober 1st will be effective for the 2025 tax year and then each portion is effective the following year so we'll be made whole in 2030 but we will start seeing these changes um in 20125 thank you are we all good I think so all right um seeing that uh we are done with discuss discuss and debate I call the question councilwoman yes councilwoman cell yes councilwoman Mal yes councilman Benson yes councilman glass yes okay item 13 second reading and hearing on ordinances the following ordinance published here within was first read by title only on April 22nd 2024 and posted on the bulletin board outside the clerk's office ordinance 24-12 of bond ordinance to authorize the making of various public improvements and the acquisition of new additions and replacement equipment and machinery and new information technology equipment and new communication and Signal systems equipment and new Automotive Vehicles including original apparatus and equipment in by and for the burrow of River Edge in the county of Bergen state of New Jersey to appropriate the sum of 3, 9,981 to pay the cost thereof to appropriate the various grants to make a down payment to authorize the issuance of bonds to finance the appropriation and to provide for the issuance of bond anticipation notes in anticipation for for the issuance of such bonds could I have a motion from uh councilman Benson a second from councilman glass so move second we are now open uh all in favor to open to the public hi we're now open to the public is any member of the public either remotely or in present would like to ask a question about Bond ordinance seeing none could I have a motion uh from councilman glass in a second from councilwoman canell to close to the public so moved second all in favor please say I I could I have a motion from Council Mali in a second from councilman glass uh to uh adopt uh as a second reading uh ordinance 24-12 so move second we are now open for debate is there debate hearing none Madame clerk yes yes Council Larry yes Council Benson yes Council yes okay we have now um item number 14 resolutions 24-1 151 through 20 4-1 169 so any member of council wish to ask a question about any of these resolutions before we move them as a block or would any member of council wish to hold out for a separate vote any of the resolutions hearing none we will move them as a block could I have a motion from councilwoman coffin and a second from um I don't know councilwoman M lari so Mo second okay um it is open for debate is there debate hearing none uh all in favor please say I I would our uh Finance chair councilwoman Koffman please move 24-17 yes payment of bills at a regular meeting of the mayor and Council of the burough of River County of buron state of New Jersey held on May 13 20124 be it resolved that the mayor and Council of the buau of river approve the following expenditures current fund 8,142 182 General Capital fund $552 1888994 Grant fund $449.99 annual control $12 trust other 9,156 payroll $9,975 Cent developers escrow $890 Recreation Trust 17,2 5656 so move second all right uh all in favor please say I I okay so we have several uh new business items the first riverdell youth football sign request Miss app um I believe someone from the youth football league is there to make a presentation cool cool come on up you're welcome you need to state your name and address unless you are or anyone in your family is a member of law enforcement or the Judiciary System uh no my name is Michael K I reside at 159 tenia so go ahead Mike uh I'm here on behalf of gidel Junior Football Association I serve as its president uh we're currently underway with our 2024 season registration Drive we're kindly requesting to hang a sign it's approximately uh 4x4 in Memorial Park uh we'd like to hang it on the North Field the little Le kids we're hoping to recruit some new players and remind people to sign up who haven't already Mike where where exactly would the sign go and how would it hang uh so it would be a fix to the fence with zip ties and it would hang uh my thought was on the Memorial Field North Field fence facing the parking lot uh right on the third Baseline if you could visualize it facing facing the field and and uh what would be the exact language or close to it uh rivell Junior Football Association 2024 registration Drive sign up today uh we offer flag football which is uh kindergarten through second grade we're also offering it for the first time uh third grade through eth grade uh and also our tackle program is third grade through eighth grade as well and we have our our URL and website on the banner as well where people can sign up and just because just beat the council these question it's fully insured and and covered correct I knew you were so but it's good to say it okay does any member of council have a question or a comment may I just have a quick question sure I is this the same similar to the sign that you have up in front of the middle school on is that yours on Mid it is our sign uh it's a different version okay same size same generic stuff same size about uh a little smaller so uh is there debate is there any member of council who would like to make a motion to approve the request I'll make a motion to approve the can I have a second second all in favor please say I thank you so much welc thanks good luck with you guys appreciate it thank you so much see you around town have a great night you too so our next item is new land use board proposed code amendments um I'm going to speak to this uh and uh councilman glass uh can chime in we are both on uh the luse board and I've been on for five years because I'm mayor David just came on um and he was on yes that's right again and one of the things that the um has come before the lanyard board over and over again is uh homes being built without any backyards amenity no patio no deck and so what's happening is Builders are coming in and they're maximizing their profits by uh using all of the footprint for driveway and for the home and uh and walkways and then of course uh they sell these homes and then the residents come and say well I'd like to put a deck or a patio these are reasonable requests the problem is now we're exceeding the 35% and it becomes a very lengthy and costly process for the residents and it becomes a very difficult process for the lanyard board because our Our obligation is to approve exceptions to the code to the ordinance based on a positive and negative criteria how does this benefit the town not the resident how does it benefit the town and uh how what would be what would be the negative criteria that we need to consider that we're trying to overcome um and uh and and so it's come up over and over and over again and as I said for me I've only been aware of it for five years because previous to that I was not the council representative to the luse board so these these are very difficult things because it's very hard to say what's the benefit to the town um because it's happening in the backyard and so why should we be granting under laws we shouldn't unless there is some benefit now there is an overall benefit to the um to the value of the person's home but here's the downside we have a flooding problem we've had a flooding problem since the climate has changed and regardless of why you think the climate has changed the climate has clearly changed and we have more and more flooding issues as this Council knows because we've spent over $2 million in the Vorhees Avenue project which was really the paper Street between Vorhees and um um Manning and between Vorhees and Kensington right so we created uh a retention an underground retention Pond of about a million gallons because the town was flooding some people were flooding on a completely bright and sunny summer day where a storm comes in drops one one and a half inches and their cars are flooded out and their basement are flooded out but this isn't just Vorhees Avenue we've had flooding in the park and we have flooding in the south side part of town so every time we Grant an exception when not we the IR fors grants an exception of over 35% what you're doing is creating a situation which will exasperate flooding and in some parts of the Town um that can lead to backyards being flooded up to six inches yes and I've seen the pictures it's horrible so we need to come up with a more common sense solution in fact uh soon after I became mayor we went into Co and the and the lanard bo was going to look at this and many other issues of updating our ordinances now this part in my opinion of the ordinances is not in my opinion something that the council should be weighing in on because the councils is not experts in this the land use board is because they spend anywhere from four to six hours twice a month working on this their meetings sometimes go to 10 11 o'clock especially when we have a d variance which is a variance where the council where I and councilman glass cannot sit because it's a change of use so for five years or so but more more um more succinctly for uh I would say David would you say about the last seven months maybe more yeah the last seven months the lanus board has just been focusing on this issue of um improved lot coverage which means how much of the land is no longer going to absorb water when it rains and uh it's gone for attorney review David would you say four times that Marina has gone through this is the fourth iteration yeah yeah so uh so it's gone through legal counsel a four times our planner has gone through it more than four times um our code inspector has gone through this and so um so what they're what they've done is they've created an ordinance with David and I being present but it's really their ordinance which deals with that part of the Burrows Administration that is really under their jurisdiction okay they're a board just like the libraries a board just like the Boe the board of education's ab board so um so this is one of several ordinances at least two that is going to come before this body that has been thoroughly vetted and I'm hoping this body could consider moving it to a first reading and and when you move it to a first reading it then has to go back to the lanus board for their approval then it comes back to us for a second reading but essentially this is more their jurisdiction than ours Our obligation here is to approve it or not to approve it but um so David anything you want to say differently than I've said or anything you'd like to council mlas um you'd like to add feel free to thanks mayor um no just I mean I had talked to um Mr Baron uh explain to the council and to the public who Mr Baron is planning War our planning consultant and um he did have some comments mayor yeah um and he was going to create some visuals I thought to help us understand what the mayor just explained I don't know that that's critical path I don't think it is U because he's weighed in for the last seven months all along this it's more of an educational tool I thought yeah yeah agree um and that would come back to us after either it would he could do that either when it comes up as a first reading or when it comes back from uh the Lan Year Board okay um if you work with him to make sure that happened I will so having said this it's really your decision it's not my decision because I only vote when there's a you know a tie but um I I strongly recommend to this Council that we put it on the agenda for first reading at the next meeting H any members of council who don't have questions today and would like to have uh questions answered they could certainly contact our Planner on Tom Barons or they could um uh they could put the questions in writing and I can get uh either Marina sttinley who is the burough attorney for the lanyard board uh to answer um or the president of the lanyard board Chris castlin um but um this is as I said one of many uh updating of our land use laws that that is being brought before and I personally see this as more in an administrative uh function of the council and it's uh because it really is something that has to do with their jurisdiction but you get to vote so do you have questions or concerns so M the gist of it is that they're just going to tell they're going to change the the footprint of how much yeah yeah let me I can allowable allowable bot coverage by permeable surfaces explain with permeable surfaces I'm sorry I should say impermeable imp perme yeah allow you know basically that create runoff that cause flooding that's an impermeable surface that's going to be um set for a total of 35% very rigid uh total 35% including sheds and patios well no yes let me and that of that 35% however um 5% will be reserved right which means your actual structures buildings non not accessory types patios decks other uh impermeable type accessory FS thank you there um those 5% is being set up aside for so in fact your structure your main building your house for example can only occupy a maximum of 30% of a lot you can you can only use the other 5% or accessory type structure buil in like a patio correct patio which is pretty much most of the houses in River Edge um only the new houses that are being built are being built to the 35 with none of the accessories so but that was the law that was that was the so basically when Builders used to build they used to they would include patio or backyard features right but now what they can do build is a bigger house they build big boxes to to because if they don't exceed the ordinance MH they don't have to come before the lanyard for got it because they're working within the law right okay so his historically someone I mean up until this if and when this new orance get P you know technically a builder could construct a home that occupied 35% of the lot now it will only be 30 if this ordinance passes as currently proposed or envisioned I will mention though that there's some give and take here because what's being given also is recognition that some surfaces are semi-permeable like a deck that has openings between the boards okay or there's permeable semi-permeable pavers so we're actually allowing for a discount yes so it'll be counted for example if you were to propose a 200 square foot deck we're only going to charge you 100 square feet thinking that it's 50% permit so there's some um upside I guess for the homeowner wants to build a patio or deck if they use certain types of construction techniques they'll be able to OCC build a bigger deck or build a bigger Pao and therefore make it more reasonable and less likely that somebody will have to spend the thousands of dollars that they need to spend now come before the Lan boort to get a deck build or a Pao okay if that deck or patio exceeded the 35% and this was what was happening we have resident after resident the resident coming forth they'd have to pay the fees to process it they'd have to bring in an expert and have to pay them an hourly rate they would have to sometimes get a new site plan sometimes they need to bring in a lawyer and it was costing them thousands of dollars and even then we weren't approving the whole thing because they were looking for 45 or 50% which you think oh well this is my property but your property is going to flood your neighbor property and it's happening over and over and over again frequently at uh land use board meetings um we did hear some strong objections from Neighbors when VAR was by being requested above the code amount because of the concerns that the mayor just described I think this is a good move I've listened to a lot of land use meetings over the years because of zoom and everything else and no one ever asks to go to 35 they come in and they're like we'd like to go to 41 we'd like to go to 39.8 so yeah I think it's a good move yes sorry was that just ask that I remind you guys that uh Mr Ru had sent an email earlier today with some oh well I was actually just about to you know point that out and I don't think it needs to detain us here because again as the mayor said there is going to be a review period after introduction by the by the planning board um they will R and make there were comments or none but this is not the end all and be all of this discussion nevertheless we did submit uh some questions some of which are just making sure that the language is harmonized with other parts of the ordinance um but there were were one or two questions uh on how the ordinance would work for example just in terms of the percentages uh and whether or not there were certain credits were given if they were under Etc and so forth again that doesn't need to detain us now but I think it's worth taking a look at that's actually been all worked out with the L for's attorney yeah exactly but in looking at the just the raw language those were some of the questions we we had that can be considered but either way they likely that should probably be forwarded to the board attorney to see if she would agree that these are areas of ambigu ambiguity yeah and again like I said that's not to detain us here there going to be uh plenty of opportunities to hear that just again as you pointed out we just wanted to make it known that we had had some you know comments again mostly about harmonizing with the rest of the code okay so could I have a motion in second to um Place uh the miss the proposed code amendments as an ordinance for a first reading at the next meeting second all in favor please say I I okay Farmers Market Cub Scout table so we actually had a couple of requests the Cub Scouts would like to have a table at the first farmers market which is May 23rd and um they can reach out to their state or National Organization to get insurance coverage according to our risk manager and then the other request was from the fire department to have a table there once a month and I assume they fall under the town's insurance I don't know was that yes they yes they do so I'm sure I can make room for both both of them somewhere yeah I'm I'm not 100% sure what the final vendor count is going to be for the market this year but um I think we should be able to fit them in somewhere I think everything that you and your committee is doing is amazing thanks we're really looking forward to it I regret I will not be there I have a mayor's conference on Wednesday Thursday and Friday this week so um it's next next week oh then I'm gonna beat it yeah I thought it this week for some reason it's next 23rd even better so but we I do need Council approval for the Cub Scout table and the fire department table could I have a motion so move could I have a second second um you need to obain no you don't does she need to OB she's making the she's making the request no all in favor please say I any oppose any extensions anything else Michelle that's it all right very very good May 23rd is there any old businesss mayor I may sure um actually I don't know if this is I just wanted to remind everyone that there's a stigma-free uh concert in the park this Saturday that would be comments that' be comments okay I'm going to take you we're almost there got it okay can we have a motion and second to open to the public for any comment or um anything at all s second all in favor please say I I okay we have no well you guys are here you can ask questions if you want say this about Saturday it's suppos to rain I don't know if it's all right so let's hopefully there'll be a rain date or something I don't know I think it's the rain date June 8 I think okay all right uh anyone uh remotely any questions or comments just raise your hand could I have a motion second to close the public second all in favor are there Council comments councilman Benson thank you mayor I just two things the stigma free concert that's this Saturday from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. in the park if hopefully it won't rain too hard and and comment number two I just wanted to share with the council you know I've been very fortunate to be the L own the fire department the mayor has been involved this um about a week ago I went to a training that they were having at the train station to roll out the um the uh the hose and uh open the fire hydrant and and um it's strenuous stuff it's not easy and there was a young man who was all dressed up in the in the fire equipment and he actually passed out he fainted and it wasn't even that hot outside and you know they had to call an ambulance and take him to the hospital I know the mayor and myself called his his family and then just a few days ago there was another young man at another training event who also passed out and I know the thief came out with a hydration training and everything like that but I just wanted to share with the council and with the town um the kind of sacrifices are uner fire department uh people are making you know to think that they're going out and they're doing this kind of strenuous activity to keep us all safe it's just amazing and I I just wanted to raise it to the council the mayor's attention and uh and the and the town so this is this is one of the um not risks but this is just one of the uh if you're a firefighter you're wearing anywhere from what 20 pounds of gear I think it's almost yeah maybe a whole lot more and um and of course it's it's designed to protect you from a fire but of course you have to train in it and uh you can get easily dehydrated so part of the training is to help the the um the firefighters and the firefighter training understanding of the importance of hydration uh because if I'm not mistaken councilman in both cases it was dehydration that caused them to faint and there young guys some of them and this was both young guys yeah who you know think okay I'm I'm I'm young and healthy I don't have to hydrate as much but in some ways they have to hydrate more because the metabolism is working that much harder and um and we we are very grateful for our volunteer firefighters we keep them safe um we make we follow up on all concerns and uh Chief schlossberg's um safety protocols and trainings are are really um well they're they're cutting edge many many fire department are following in River Edge's um example and footsteps uh because we're we're really we're revitalizing our fire department um which didn't need much revitalization because we've had so many good Chiefs but we're revitalizing the whole volunteers we're getting more and more volunteers so um because of the great training we're doing and um and the great support that all the officers are giving to our trainees and it's a tremendous commitment it's about six weeks of training um like twice a week I think right yeah well I know and dar your husband's going right yes he's gonna start it's it's two nights a week for six weeks right six months month oh I said six weeks in six months yes so it's it's not a it's not a not easy no it's not easy it's it's a tremendous commitment and we're very very grateful okay uh any other Council com comments yes sorry just a reminder for the residents that the Environmental Protection commission is organizing again in hackin career cleanup next Saturday May 25th from 9:00 am to 1M and Farmers Market starts May 23rd 3 to seven right next door year excellent excellent and I just like to congratulate our super uh DPW superintendent Jason molo on excellent yes yes um Jason's amazing com such a commitment uh day in and day out weekend and uh weekday uh amazing I'd also like to recognize uh Council Coffman councilwoman canella and uh councilman glass for the phenomenal job they did on the budget committee we've just adopted our budget it would not have been possible if it was not for the dozens of dozens of hours maybe hundreds of hours of time that they they put into it as well as the rest of the council for all that they've done especially our and also our staff an and and lazette and Chris and everyone else who I'm going to mention by first name so I don't murder their last name and uh for doing such a great job we really appreciate it um are there any of the comments qu I have a we're going to go into close session but we're not going to be making any decisions so we're not going to be coming back to open session so uh I'm going to ask for uh a motion to go into close session and to end the Open Session sojing the Open Session but go into a closed session could I have a motion second for resolution 24171 a resolution to go hold on to go into close session um attorney client privileg njsa 10 colon 4-12 B7 or affordable housing regulations second all in favor please say I I can I have a motion to adjourn the public meeting second all in favor okay we are adjourned good night everybody night