call to order open public meeting act according to the open public meeting act this meeting on May 8 2004 was sent to our town and ere and published on January 21st 2024 posted on the Boling board in the municipal building in on Ro Park website and Facebook page it has remained contingently posted as a required notice under the statute and is being recorded and videotape in addition the copy of notice and has been available to the public and is on file and office of M School clerk R call Deputy Mayor Pichi here committee woman Arta here committee woman judge cello here committee man Miller here mayor bti here everybody please rise conations flag of the United States of America the for it stands Nation indivisible and Justice moment of silence please yes I have two letters uh the first letter I received was from Mr Warren and everybody has a copy of it it says um after reviewing the ver ordinance from the administrator I would like to ask that the committee in conjunction with TR shade tree volunteers work on creating a similar ordinance for roal Park we are excited to work with you and then the other one I got is from Team Rell Park their Rell Park Township committee I hope this message find you well team Rell park is dedicated to to Green spaces in our town and formally request permission to plant Greenery flowers and other appropriate plant life in the three cement Planters located in the part of town affectionally referred as the Maze and by the corner of the municipal building adding some much needed beautification to those Planters would benefit the residents of Russell Park team Russell Park is open to collaborating with the DPW to choose the type of Clon thank you for your consideration in this matter we await a formal response War regards Michael Warren chairperson team R Park Mr M anybody want to have any discussion on that I some of my input um one as far as the tree ordinance goes I I you know I think the River Edge ordinance is a great starting point I do think that this committee should be you know um on that in those discussions and look towards making the shade tree committee have some some teeth via that ordinance what's on for tonight is D requirements so not not to mix the two for now we can always go back and add that language to this ordinance that we must pass tonight um but I I do think good starting point I agree with Mr Warren and I've spoken to Dave Brown and referenced that as well some things we'd want accustom for roell Park but it is a good starting point uh as far as the um planting I've had many plan you know volunteer groups come forward whether it be Boy Scouts the Girl Scouts maintain the butterfly garden right outside the sallyport of the police department uh we've had going back to phy Strow and her team of people um on Earth Day go around and plant again I do have a hold harmless form it's for both adults and for juveniles um and and speaking with Dave he has no problem with you know working with because again we have Mike James and and Taylor or Tyler rather on our DPW both of whom have uh college degrees in in planting and and Landscaping degrees so it's uh again we're not opposed to it but as long as we do it the proper way and keep everybody safe sounds good yes and for those Planters in what's called The Maze um I believe the last group that had planted in them was the Girl Scouts you might have to check that but those uh well I thought the Girl Scouts did it um just before covid and I believe those Planters were placed there at their request again this has to be checked out but um they are difficult to move they're very heavy I know the DPW had placed them there so we might want to check with the DPW on um how they were placed there why they were placed there I think one of them is crooked it might need to be straightened out before planting begins so I suggest that we consult with them before we move forward consult with who I'm sorry DPW DPW to make organiz okay um so I looked over both of these the team Rell Park is requesting to plant some plants there um I don't know if that's is is that what you're saying about the Girl Scouts Boy Scouts or do you mind them planting stuff no I just I'm just saying the history of it I believe the Girl Scouts were the last ones I don't know if they had plans to um replenish I just don't know that that maybe we should check with them if they want to may be a group group effort right it could possibly be something like that but it could you know it would it would spruce up stuff and I think even the group effort maybe team Rochelle Park reaches out to the Boy Scouts girl FS whoever it was before it might be a group effort I think it would be a nice thing to do um as far as the ordinance I'm sorry the uh bur vered ordinance that we were uh given by administrator Pinto I went through a lot of it I'm sorry did you say you discussed this with Dave already uh Jean you discussed this with reg ordinance not a great detail but enough that he wants to be involved you know have involvement in it okay because um I did Red Line a couple of things that I went through and uh I did add a couple of different Provisions to it if you know if if in my opinion and I think we should move forward with it I don't know if anybody else agrees with me I could always give my red line of it to council and see what you know he thinks about it but um as administrator Pinto said it would give a start at least to Mike about making let's start to see what we can do there are some things here that I'm like absolutely it's like way too much other things languages it's mostly just language that would have to be fixed and that I'm looking at um you know and under the the tree protection permit requirement this is a committee I don't know how much you want to get into permits and stuff like that so um it's something that I think we should do sooner than later again in my opinion uh administrator what do you think about that do you think that we should look at maybe even next meeting what do you want to do on it how do you want to do it yeah the sooner the better meetings should be scheduled that involves the shade tree committee the DPW myself um and the representative or two from this committee absolutely and get together and then you can get Mark something to codify and you know or write up in an ordinance yep so would you like this that I yeah if everybody wants to everybody's got a copy of the ordinance right if everybody would like to email me their input obviously call me if they have questions but email me their input so I can see what everyone has and how they feel feel I can use that to put together a rough draft of the ordinance send it around to everybody yeah or him our hand right is good uh and that's right but but then I can like I said put something together draft together to circulate for everybody to take a look at okay thank you Mr may can I just ask a question yes you can uh in reference to the planting um they're waiting for a response so do you want me to get a letter to together and send it to you and more yes yeah we just need a number of volunteers we can get them those hold harmless forms and again Dave Brown asked for involvement because you know he's going to want to know what's going to survive the best and I AG with TR you should open it up to all groups and see like the Girl Scouts did it the Boys Scouts did it so open it up and make it a group thing you agree it's been so yes whoever watch cab EV public right now yeah a date all do it I think anything to beautify anything town is a good thing right so who want do we could get Michaela to put something on our social media how's that we put something any anybody will to donate their time energy and again I met with the Girl Scouts and hadous conversations about the butterfly garden so I know they're doing that again so we're excited about that but yeah we can reach out great good good make a motion for approval of the agenda I'll make a motion second anybody I'll second Deputy Mayor aichi yes committee woman ARA yes committee woman judge C yes committee man Miller yes and mayor bti yes discussion brce stand in today we so we do and James you want to come on up I'm going to ask for a brief uh a brief cover of your resume once you take a seat but James comes to us from Boswell he's our new rep um he comes with vast vast vast Highway and Road experience and Municipal experience um Bruce was kind of more delegated back in the electrical engineering department at Boswell so I'm very excited to have James please do tell us a little bit about yourself and then go through your report engering just spell you L MC g i n n i s B for 16 years been representing W as the B engineer planning Bo board engineer for the past six years um previously on the par St so that's my history at Boswell give you kind of a brief overview jobs involved with town here um so roell Avenue Avenue intersection Improvement project uh those plans are currently being revised for undergoing Tony installation the plans are 40% week the townwide uh ms4 School quar GIS mapping project the maps are pending under njd piew the sanitary sewer pump station placement we submitted to DCA and received no comments the pwa permit will be submitted by the end of this week we have reviewed the pipe inspection videos and found places where the pipe is compromised which will require Point repairs the pipe will also be deined we are working right now preparing a cost estimate uh for that for that work Howard have training serving Pro uh this week we're be starting some additional test pits um to uh address some conflicts with some sewer laterals and San and gas and water laterals that we found uh so the con be working towards that this week on those tests the digital tax maps we are addressing comments from the state review and the resubmission to the state is headed by mid May the cdbg project 2023 Dorothy ger and Pleasant Avenue construction is progressing and it's estimated at over 50% completion at this time the Burgen County open space ramp for C off field uh design work is progressing is estimated at 75% complete we met with the township only this week to review the plans and we're continuing coordination final parties currently Harvey Avenue 2024 Grand project we are performing a final views on that project and we anticipate njd submission at the end of this week that'll be the final submission for that project the store water Control Ordinance that's curently fin the township attorney as we understand the 2024 B County open space rant for Mass Field we are currently awaiting brand notification currently awaiting Grant award on occation from B County on that the 2024 2025 CBG Lincoln Drive and Chestnut Avenue project again awaiting Grant board notification from cdbg on that project the S3 perent updates the town authoriz our proposal our office will be in Conant DBW to review what changes and revisions have to happen to the S break so we'll be in contact with on that uh lastly the 2025 and a a project the applications are due July 1st we are currently forting DBW on sou Road for that and and working to get it all back prepared uh to meet the the application deadline that's all I have for update question have to answer Jim you mentioned the SE system excuse me I had as part of my report that's the main line south of the pump station going to the south end of town correct the one we see correct yeah so actually I was shown those of you in my office that were able to see and I have the the disc um there's some major collapses cracks and issues in that line um and again Boswell been provided the video they're going to prepare a report and we we'll learn what estimates or what estimate it is to repair or Reign I think some of that has to come out and versus relining based on the there's about 40% collapse in one of the sections of pipe so which leads to a ton of infiltration and Dave Brown's in said he goes we just get killed when it rains because it seems to be our our Pump Station can't keep up with the amount of groundwater and it's a good source as you watch the video you could just see water pouring in and I think it was a sunny day that day so but thank you James I don't know how do you say your last name mcginness mcginness do you mind if I call you James okay uh Howard Avenue jump back to Howard Avenue there there's a delay uh on the um repairs and drainage and resurfacing of Howard Avenue is it you aware of it well have TR test to say that to me again so when you're constructing a new stor sewer in a new road there's multiple utilities gas water all of which are very high in this are uh when I say high me close to the gr okay so we're identifying these conf this way our proposed redesign will work andx so was this supposed to be done initially well there's test pits done initially and there's further test pits as as you you go through the project you identify more areas PO with and it's kind of a basis where so Jim utilities do not keep maps of their service lines only they're right that's correct and they don't also provide you with the depth in the ccum if you ask the authorities that they'll tell you take a test so that's word they'll tell you to dig a test a test it's called a test when you essentially you dig a hole above where you believe is deter where can find the uh the elevation of it so that's that's the whole key is then and then you redesign your storm system based on that this happens basically almost on every single project in terms of when you're constructing new storm sewer infrastructure down we so is that supposed to be being done now as testing for basa SS or is that it's typically done during the construction yes it's done during the construction correct right but there's no construction right now well they're going to be mobilizing to take the test FS this week okay that's what I need to know they're do so it's this week that they're going to do the the look for the pits okay got it test pits right I mean and you certainly think the test pits prior during the design but typically it's it's done during construction so you get an initial one and then you dig and see what happens basically because you're not sure of all your lines and then you redo it yeah you'd have to dig a lot of pits You' always have to hire another contractor put a separate contract tests in order to do it dur you know so quite a pass that's why so you don't do that ahead of time okay so that's not done ahead of time that's not looked at before typically it's not we we we gather the information on where the US where where the lines are we use that information to design the system but then of course as you're constructing it you find out oh the gas ve is actually 5 ft away not 3T away and you have to kind of adjust just the he as as it goes I mean the water table is high sure yep you know it's high especially in that area right so I mean these are things that may have been looked at or should have been my opinion looked at before um but again you're going through the process so we will see something going on this week coming up yeah all right great thank you thank you next up raising a flag and signage at M building uh previous meetings the flag issue was raised we already discussed this de and Dean I looked at making up some designs for the upcoming event and this is open for discussion yeah I'll start off yes thank you so much um so I am going to make a motion for resolution excuse me to raise the pride flag during the month of June on the shorter flag po that stands behind us but before we take a vote I just have some things I want to share out first so at the March 13th uh work session meeting terce and I voted for the autis awareness flag to be raised on the township flag pole as a representation of government speech I ask for it to be added to the agenda therefore directly came from members of this committee I made a motion Teresa second it but it was voted down by Jen vinan Gil because this is a government flag pole the committee has the right to decide what goes on it because it's a form of government speech something the township attorney did not mention at all during the March 13th meeting I went into the the discussion on March 13th actually pretty excited thinking no way would anyone deny the Autism Awareness flag especially since there is a precedence for commemorative flag raising last year with the raising of the pride flag in June of 2023 and the Hispanic Heritage Month flag in September of 2023 Additionally the prim flag was also raised in 2019 and in 2020 three times in the last 5 years when Jen Vin and Gail said no to the Autism Awareness flag their response was they don't want any Flags besides the ones currently on the municipal flying polls however last year at the May 9th 2023 work session the same meeting where the pride flag was voted on to be raised Mr piche said I'm not opposed to Flags it's for the community up here we supposed to be for community and I'm for every resident we should show unity in town and I'm for flags and Jen I was proud of those remarks you made last year I still am today but a lack of cons consistency is a lack of sincerity Vinnie you also said I'm not against flags and voted for the raising the pride flag yet at the March 13th work session you said you spoke to Residents when you went door to door last year who weren't happy about it and you'd like to never do it again I do Wonder though when you first ran for office did you run to do what was right or did you think every decision would be met with 100% popularity I ran with represent Town feedback I got was what I gave in the last excuse me sorry no problem not personal decision this was a feedback I got from okay because leadership means not doing just it's about doing what's right and not what's 100% popular in commemorative Flags celebrate our diversity and strength and I hope we're up here to make a difference and not simply to dodge what we interpret as tough decisions apparently I I'm not dodging it that my St last year Community spoke out to me and I represent this town I can't represent the county I represent this town and the feedback I got from the town was the entire townl the majority of the feedback I received personally I can't speaking for was what I said three flags that's why we gave back the money right but now right I'm going to I'm going to get into that no problem cuz I know that people have put trust into you but to watch you guys backpedal not at the first sign pushback you are okay it's extremely disappointed and progress requires more than just fair weather leadership I'm not and during public comments at the May 11th work session 2022 Gail you said you had the pride flag up your first year of office in 2020 and proceed to say you've had it and you've not had it by the way Mar I noticed that the recorded Township committee meetings on the YouTube channel have all been deleted prior to March 23rd 20123 I'm curious why that would be the case thankfully I do have some personal archives nonetheless all of you have voted to raise the pride flag and the mayor and the deputy mayor also voted for the Hispanic heritage flag uh last year which was great but now you say you won't do that anymore no to all commer Flags but flip-flopping on this issue sends a message message of Erasure and exclusion imagine what that feels like for members of our community that a flag was raised to commemorate a community that they specifically belong to a precedence was set yet now that will no longer continue frankly it's sudden withdrawal of acknowledgement and commitment to our resence from the majority on this governing body so Mr Miller I said that the flag went up in 2020 but I did not vote for it that you misspoke that is not the case how did it go up it was voted by it was not voted on actually one member of the township committee asked the administrator of the time to put it up and it should have gone up for vote okay I apologize actually it went up at the request of one it should have been a decision by all five gotcha but it was not it was not our decision it was one person's decision thanks for that clarification I just I was confused it because no but I did yes I no I didn't say I put it up I said it has been up in my time here but then you said I've had it and I've not had it so I was just confused because I didn't know if you meant no I got it's it's been up during my time here but I did not get to vote okay thanks you're welcome but I didn't notice that when I asked for I'm sorry one second so you didn't vote on it last year no I voted on it I did not vote on it he specifically said 2020 I'm making a correction to a statement about 2020 okay so but in 2023 you did vote Yes and you voted no right thank you I noticed that when I asked for flag raising to be on tonight's agenda it was grouped with SL sign board municipal building and I just want to give my opinion on that because this happened during Autism Awareness Month the flag was denied but there were supportive images put up on the screen outside I think putting up these images that represent and honor our community's diversity on the screen outside he is a great gesture but if someone on this day is here thinks that's a fantastic substitute to the pride flag raising I could not disagree more especially since it was raised just last year to me it's superficial acccept without genuine support or acknowledgement it's exclusion masked as inclusion neighboring communities raise the pride flag and have a community celebratory event over it yet the most the majority on this governing body will do is put a graphic on the screen outside I I'm just like if you're going to put up supportive images for pride month just raise the pride flag because we have raised it and when we did and when other towns in Burton County put the prime flag up they're saying to the people that live there they're not going to stand for hate intolerance or Injustice it's about showing we're a welcoming Community it's already been raised this governing body decides what flags and causes can be acknowledge on the flag pole outside and the mayor and the deputy mayor have raised the pride flag before last year was done with bipartisan supports and as Mr PJ said last year it's a move that shows unity and it's for Community if you're too nervous to decide which causes toates pass a flag ordinance with clear guidelines like Spartan in New Jersey did they recently passed a flag ordinance and the first flag they raised was one to commemorate the police which I think would be great and I've brought copies for everybody um so at this time I just want to make a motion for resolution to raise the pride flag on the flag pole behind us for the month of June I motion second Deputy Mayor p no as I said I have no issue with anyone freedom of speech anything like that myself and the mayor were open to doing it and the feedback that we got and what happened for us and everyone up here we don't want to go through that again which is why we said no because of what happened I have no problem putting it anywhere else if you want to put a a flag inside the building but what it caused last year in this town what we are we want to stop the division in the town and what it caused was further division in town I don't want to see further division in this town I want people to be brought together and unfortunately the flag made further division which really hurts to see that I don't think it was the flag I think it was an elected who was sitting up here and I think progress is not going to happen unless we move forward and we set that precedent by raising the flag and I think we should continue to do so I had personally conversations with businesses in this town who were very upset that that flag was raised why is that what were they upset about that the flag was raised that they only want to see the three flags on the flag pole so so so you're telling me that businesses not taxpayers but business live in the town don't name businesses it's not fair business no I'm not because you just businesses so be there just you're saying basically residents and businesses right is that you okay I a new audience please is a discussion for the board thank you okay so I don't we don't want I'll speak for myself I don't want to see any further division in this town I want to see Bridges being mended in the town and unfortunately if the flags are going to cause further Division I don't want to see that and I don't and that's what's happening and that's the feedback we've been getting when we walked me personally talking to people who said something to me because I voted yes for it it's just not something that we want to see I have no issue with flags I have no issue with any of this I have an issue with the division that's going on and the further division of this side and this side and no one's going down the middle and that's what's happening so you don't have a problem with it being on the sideboard no I don't have like I said you could put a flag in the building pamis has them in the building I don't have a problem so I'm not opposed to that it's it's when the people you see the the negativity that's coming out more so than what we already have it's terrible we're a small town it shouldn't be this way yes I understand so if if it's a flag that's going to cause this then no I don't want to see that if if it makes someone happy to put the flag inside and there's no what happened last year I have no I'm not opposed to that they're not opposed to it being on the sign board I'm okay with that all right just from point War clarification mayor there's a current motion and it's been seconded so next is a roll call if you want to Halt that and continue discussion you can but we need a clear record when there's a first a second and then a roll call so if we're going to continue the roll call there's a first and second that should happen if not then you could halt that and further discuss I do believe committee Miller made a motion which is been seconded so really needs to follow a roll call I'm sorry do you I'm I'm happy to Halt for discussion so point of order so point of order then maybe we should have it halted for right now and have a discussion since I think that you still want to yeah it's up to committee Mill he call motion no I'm I'm happy to Halt it so you're going to withdraw your motion okay I temporarily withdraw my further record committee Miller has withdrawn his motion committee uh woman judge carella has withdrawn her second and now there is no motion on the table in the event that you would like to continue discussion so go ahead no I like I said I have no objection to it they want to put it in the building and it doesn't cause what happened last year with the town I'm okay with that feedback I got was about the flag p on not about the why never came up so because people did give money for that flag pole for that which was if if this is what what happened we gave the money back to try and settle the waters with what was going on try and do the right thing right the money was given back when exactly last year you when but do you guys know why I roughly yeah I mean after that I'll say roughly August we all signed the vouchers for it so it took a little bit to get the money back but it that the money was not used there was discussion about it and everyone in jany that obviously it should be given back so that was also August 31st was also when you um made the motion to raise the the Hispanic Heritage Month flag though wasn't it there were only two submitted to be raised until last year but you did raise the Hispanic correct there only two people submitted and that was after the negative feedback that you received right no uh no no that flag was brought into the town right but you received negative feedback about the pride flag it was after that it was after the Hispanic heritage one flag went up that you received negative feedback about the pride flag after the pride flag right but then after that Hispanic flag had already been brought into the town accepted in the town so we said that would be the last flag that was going to be flown after that um Council was that a form of gutl speech because it was already known that that flag pole was not a public form flag pole so I'm glad you wrote that up I'm not going to address that because I provided extensive legal research and Analysis to this Township committee that remained to being closed session because there were questions about the ownership of that flag pole that resulted from how it was brought into the town why it was brought into the town a lot of which was done when no members of this committee I think served at the time and in addition to that coupled with the fact that they had received funds from residents that were never used so part of the issue is that the actual ownership was always in question which lends a different difficult uh a further difficult question to be answered and I provided that research the township uh committee more than one on more than one C so the question he asked was if I may clarify does it how is that governmental speech how is what governmental speech with the with the difference of the flag pole because if you have an outright ownership of the flag poll then it would be government speech if it's a community flag poll then it wouldn't be right I'm just curious at August 30th was it considered a government flag poll or was that still a community flag poll I think I think there are still questions about with regard to how this flag pole came to be and what the actual identification was and I think that's been consistent when my research through out I'm not getting an answer here but that is the answer the answer is you're asking me if at a certain time was it government speech and I am telling you that and I am telling you that the ownership of the flag pole flows from whether or not it's government sheet speech and the ownership of that flag pole has been in question why was that flag pole purchased with government funds not government funds was it purchased to be a community Poll for anyone to raise whatever flag they want or only flags that the township committee wanted to raise because that has been a consistent question throughout that has been something that has been difficult for this Township committee to answer because they were not involved in the matter where the flag polls ultimately purchased where my why right my my question is because part of the response is well we raised it because it was a community Flag Pole right that I don't think that that's necessarily true that's not what you're saying that no I think that no I'm asking the the committee did you raise the pride flag in Hispanic I didn't even know it was a commity flag guys didn't told until somebody said that it was a so you you you assumed it was a government flag Po and that it was a form of government speech when you voted to raise both the flags the pride flag and the spanic her flag when I voted the feeling I got from people that came to meetings where they wanted flags up once they were up I got feedback from the township and that's going be my decision clear this year right and just to clarify just you know I'm not backing out of you or anybody else I don't back down people saying I'm backing down oh you saying I'm backing down I think withdraw commitment and acknowled I'm not back on you anybody wait wait my St is that represents Township in this seat and that's my opinion no I hear you by you trying to twist my arm to raise it this year is not I'm not trying to twist your arm saying in general all your thoughts that you're assuming I'm backing down from the res no I think you're misinterpreting my words oh then I apologize no no worries the feeling I got from hear after the flag my major point is that there was a precedent set with raising this flag and not doing so again I believe is a withdrawal of acknowledgement and commitment specifically to our lgbtq residents that's what I'm really getting at here and and the reason why I'm also asking about the time period of the raising of these flags because there was mentioning that um you know you got negative feedback regarding the pride flag but then you later voted for the Hispanic Heritage Month flag so I'm wondering did the feedback come after you put up the second flag or was it both why did you put up the second flag just by getting the negative feedback from the first flag well I think the Spanish play was submitted right after the gave somebody can't put it into the office so actually were came reart right okay and last year my stance was I'm fine now there's Alternatives and now okay with the Alternatives it's the only thing that was what away was the town like signage is perfectly fine prob gay life and all that just not I'm not here for my personal please I'm here for U council is there any difference between governmental flag b and a governmental sign uh governmental flag well I would say yes there is a difference well because if you have a flag let's say this way if you have a flag poll the raising of a flag is something that can be let me see how to face it a governmental flag pole that is owned by a governmental agency or a municipality could be viewed as Government speech a sign or a sign in town could be viewed as something that is getting information out to the residents of the town There's Nothing symbolic about a sign or an electronic sign there is something symbolic about a flag and a flag pole it's the best way I can answer it so if you put the pr flag on the signage the sign board out there correct is that symbolic yeah but not in the way that a government speech symbolic would indicate it is an informational board that is given to put out information to the residents it's not a flag poll that's reserved for Flags so there is a difference interesting and there's case law about that you have case law yeah Boston case was the flag correct they do not have case law for signs but there is case law with regard to flags and the symbolism with regard to flags and raising Flags in general correct but not so the the the body here the governmental body um takes a vote on the the smaller flag B which is out there I don't even know what to call it anymore because I guess it's a governmental blackle I think they're all government of blacks correct yeah right yeah I I I would assume on this St is the five of us vote on the flago do we do we vote on the sign board no because the sign board is for informational purposes Dean sent out sorry I don't know I'm sure everybody got the email Dean sent out IDE I I'm just trying to clarify for everybody that I want to also clarify by myself yes and this is for me for myself basically and it's my opinion I'm speaking here is that if you have um a governmental flag pole and a governmental sign board and I get what um M PJ is saying about even putting it inside hey I'm fine with that too but I I'm I'm trying to you can vote on the flag ball but you're not voting on The signboard and if things are on the sideboard that are not of a Township business I'm just going to give a general broad statement of that yes and they're symbolic and and we don't vote on that that you know is is the administrator I mean if we want to take it off the administrator's hand and say we vote what's on the sign board besides of of governmental um symbolism yeah you know governmental I'm sorry governmental ongoings in town then we could do that so from a legal standpoint I don't believe the sign V is symbolic or symbolism in any way shape or form that's correct I mean if asking me my legal opinion I can only give it to you I understand and my legal opinion is that there is a difference between a flag there's a symbolism associated with the flag there is case law with regard to governmental flag poles that is not the same for governmental sign and side because governmental municipalities do not regularly take votes on you certainly could but municipalities don't regularly take votes with regard to everything and what up on the other side board however I believe this municipality has taken votes on proclamations recognizing pride month proclam recognizing autism before those things were placed on that board so I do know that in the past this body has in fact taken votes and passed resolutions with regard to recognizing those months I believe we just did one for Autism Awareness Month uh I believe in the past we've done proclamations for a pride month as well so that I would say would stand towards the informational okay fair enough so do we do a proclamation on bism this year but in the past I I don't think I made the motion for the the flag and the response was no but that maybe we could do a proclamation and I I never saw one I don't remember saying no I maybe not this year I mean in the past I know we have but I guess I'm trying to answer your question with regards to the sign board again the sign board is for informational purposes you certainly could start to take votes on everything you want to place on the sideboard there is a difference between the sign board digital sign board and the government the flag there is a difference in my legal oh I appreciate that [Music] okay all right can I just add one more thing what about past practice there is no past practice we're to something like this in this context legally there's no past practice you pass resolutions as you want what you cannot do is uh circumvent your ordinances because those are laws if you want to do something in conflict with an ordinance you need to change the ordinance however resolution ordinance or resolutions I'm ask about past practice of raising the flag there's no past practice associ it did raise before yeah it was voted on last year and they ra they voted no years before that appri so I think there have been more NOS than yeses so if you want to talk about past practice there have been more NOS than yeses so you can't past practice doesn't work that way I understand every year there's a new Township body new Township committee and that town me that topt body is free to pass a resolution as they see fit understandable okay okay yeah I'm going to make my motion again I'm going to make a motion for a resolution to raise the pride flag for the month of June on the shorter flag poll that stands behind us I'll [Music] second Deputy Mayor aichi no committee woman Ora no committee woman judge C yes committee Miller yes and N B no number three administrator report excuse me thank you mayor of the committee um have a pretty good list to go over the Rell Avenue Carter shared service agreement and that again this is not the because we heard a little bit about Rell and railroad this is the Rell Avenue Carter that's tied to the 17 widening project um the county has sent that over I've subsequently sent it to Mr depa he's made some changes and revisions based on the discussions that have taken place between representatives of this committee myself and the county I'm going to send it back to the county for their review I can't tell you they're typically very tough and accepting uh changes but um we again the changes we made were to protect the Township against making payments that we feel we shouldn't have to in reference to any property Acquisitions appraisals um and things along that line so I once I send that and I hear back from the county then we can um decide how we're going to vote on that resolution either to support or against the project again that's a $10 million grant that the county holds given to them by the state to do this work there is a lot of good things attached to that but uh as we've all and heard me say numerous times it shouldn't be on the taxpayers backs for residents of rochell Park so again that's what the language that Mr depa changed um hopefully they'll agree with we talked about the sewer system that it's a major problem South and and we started doing this because I asked Dave what portion of our sewer system hasn't be re been reigned and that's one of them so well being proactive we discovered some major issues but again we'll await the report from Boswell and an estimate of cost repair Etc I met last week with bis digital waiting for a quote upgrading upgrading the sound system in its room it'll put 10 microphones up on its St us two new microphones on those tables a wireless microphone as well as more speakers in the room and bring us into Ada compliancy uh because it'll also have uh headphones for hearing impaired uh folks as well waiting on those quotes uh part of that was I brought them over to the senior center because I know they've had some issues with their sound system though Tommy I'm a better microphone repair man than you are I did get it to work um but in line with that we also you know realize there's some needs in that room as well so again I await those quotes but I I say that um I want everybody to know we're working on it um new Township phone wide system is needed basically our phones I one here on today is are no longer being serviced by the provider or the manufacturer as well as their rates would increase once we're out of contract which is up in August uh probably a third 33% increase so I've reached out to our telephone uh company extel they've provided me two new quotes for two different providers one's broad voice and a is the other um I'm reviewing the options also going to reach out to another vendor um namely a Verizon vendor to get uh their options and uh The Upfront costs are minimal for the these two uh I don't want to say numbers we're going to be talking with Verizon but um nothing that we is Earth shattering because most of the equipment comes for free it's just getting everything tied in and paying somebody to get the system up and running so uh working on that as well salary ordinance you'll hear me talking about that probably next meeting I will have hopefully have updated it with the new employees any titles as well as a monetary increase for those who have been here more than a year summer hours I know we did it uh last year and I know the response from residents was very positive so I'm hoping beginning May 27th which is a week of Memorial Day through Labor Day which is September 2nd Town Hall will operate as follows Monday Tuesday and Thursdays from 8:00 a.m. to 400 pm. Wednesdays from 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. and Fridays from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and again the Wednesday nights seem to be uh very helpful for residents who can't get here during the work day uh to have all their departments open till 7:00 p.m. was well received as well as it keeps the staff happy that the summer hours are you know conducive to their summer hours their summertime uh activities we talked about Employee Appreciation Day for the township being awarded the Gardella safety award that's been scheduled for well kind of letting it out of the bag here but it'll be for June 20th beginning at noon for our employees and volunteers who made winning that W award possible uh we will have lunch and ice cream available for those employees and members of this committee obviously are more than welcome we'll get out an invite and a save the date talking about some of these things that we need improvements um the sound system I believe is going to be one of these and talking you'll hear me talking about Capital Improvement and the need to bond for certain projects I'll be working with our CFO in the coming days and weeks on several items um one that's been kicked down the road for far too long and however has the biggest price tag is the he $700,000 need to repair the roof on this building obviously we're not going anywhere we're no longer looking to move our oper a so um play Bucket Brigade every time it rains and if you walk in you see all the stained ceiling tiles the current roof has been out of warranty for over two years now um so that's one major cost that we'll have to address there roof and work that needs to be done at hton Hall any the roof alone is 52,000 there probably about $30,000 worth of interior work that needs to be done lightning detector upgrades that our field uh the roof at Matthews field the senior center floors have become problematic there lifting their trip hazards I've known we I've been told about it every year uh that's comes with a hefty price tag several technology upgrades throughout Town Hall the DPW Fire Department police department and OEM buildings and grounds even more um we have sinking floors in the firehouse as well as a sinking front door and concrete bed uh that all requires repair flood mitigation products to keep those two um headquarters out of Harm's Way ing floods uh sewer and storm water issues we talked about we've always put about $100,000 in a sewer line through Capital to allow Dave to continue to do that and that's above and aside from what we learn about this South End of the sewer system as well as we need to uh fund the Cascade system that we got a grant for but again it's reimbursable Grant and the DPW needs a Salter dump body for the truck that's been on order since last year so again you I'll get quotes numbers to you and work with the CFO but I want you to be aware that that is being done um and I know you know bonding is sometimes not viewed as good but we do have a great Bond rating a great Moody's rating here in the town and um but again we'll just wanted to throw it out there that you'll be hearing me talk about that thank you that's it thank you before we go to public question anybody I'm sorry ask question yeah okay so under the I'm sorry de yes Capital Improvements do you have a kind of a round dis figure that you're looking at to B guesstimate no okay no other than more than $700,000 because of the roof alone the $700,000 roof is was that does that have to be bid it out so it's the vendor that we got that quote from and again that's a roundabout number because I don't want to give actual numbers but he's under State contract so we we circumvent the need for State bid because it's through State contract as well as County Co-op okay um and you mentioned about the summer hours I missed Friday what was Friday summmer 8: a.m. to 12:00 p.m. 8:00 a.m. 12: p.m. okay the um shared service agreement that you have for um brell Avenue the $10 million we're looking for that shared service R Amry did you hand that out yes no I don't have it oh yes I do I'm sorry I gu yes I'm sorry um so the county will always maintain that funding they will reimburse us is is basically what it comes down to so what I tried what we've negotiated with them was look we don't want to have to lay out any money thus what Mark has put Rewritten back into the Shar Serv so we want to limit the cost to the town and listen at any County Road Project what has to happen is we get a cost estimate from the engineer because county says hey we're only responsible from curve to curve you're responsible for sidewalks easements and the land Acquisitions removal of trees things of that nature so there's always a cost and that's for every municipality that in shared service with buron County and Mr Dutch sat here steadfastly saying well that's how we do it we so went back and steadfastly said well this is different it's a different Arrangement it's a different way that the state sent you and you got money from the state in order to do this project we want things to be a little different they made it a little different Mr depa made it even better a little different okay fair enough um so are we going to at least maybe think about what is that called Central streets what is that called Green Street complete streets complete streets thank you complete streets are we going to I have kicked that up to um Mr feia at County engineering several times we discussed it part of the preliminary plans were the addition of a bike path um again the County's going to say well you need to go get you need to fund that if you want us to do those type of things you're going to have to fund it as roell park because here's what we're giving you we're giving you the basic road so they're going to give us basically the design that they're looking for for the road is that one I'm understanding correct so for the for the 10 million I thought I remember Mr Dutch I was in the audience at the time he said it possibly could go over if needed is that correct they said they would seek and that's in the Shar service agreement so when you take when you get I mean this the first time yeah yeah when you get a chance to look at it you'll see you know they talk about that that there may be an opportunity to get more money but we need to move quickly so what are we waiting for I just told you the county wasn't we we didn't want to have to go and purchase any buildings purchase any land on the taxpayers back in roal park at least that's what I was instructed not to do so their original shared service SC left a little bit to be desired as far as that language so our Council looked at it has it now been sent over to the county I wanted to bring it to you folks first I will send it tomorrow I mean I have no problem does anybody else have any problem with it you know I mean I'll read this tonight because this is first time I'm actually seeing it maybe you all saw it before I didn't see it before so I mean I'll look it over and if there's a question you know I'd be calling in first thing in the morning say hey we have a I have a question about this or maybe we could look at this but I don't think we should wait any further for this I think this has been a while in my opinion again but if we didn't weit we would be purchasing a post office that we didn't want to purchas there'd be other things going on so there's sometimes progress takes time interesting but now we've gotten to the point where we can move forward yeah only if the County agrees to the changes that Mr depa made I can answer some of those questions so the county notoriously doesn't like to budge on their agreements so what Dean had done and what we had discussed in this day has had discussed in the past is how can we at least find out where we get the most bang for a buck and reimbursements so what we found was that the way the agreement was originally drafted it had us being responsible for all of the professional costs and basically all the costs associated with going out and actually getting the property and acquiring easements to handle these improvements and Dean went to the negotiating T and talked to the county and basically said look we find that that's a little bit unfair we want to change it we want to we're going to come back with changes Jean Dean contacted my office I did some research I reviewed it I made those changes it's necessary for us to bring that back before you once we know you're good with the changes it goes to the county if we had sent to the county and then brought it to the committee and the committee wasn't okay well then we would be negotiating backwards so as long as everyone on this St is okay with these changes um we can give everyone a couple of days in the event they need it we'll can fire right back to the county and hopefully the county will be amendable to our changes at that point we'll be able to move forward so what's today Wednesday so when it's Wednesday so if there's any changes not needed and what we're saying can we send it off Monday does everybody kind of agree to that or would that be fair FR Monday you know it'll give us a day or two to take a look at and uh then you know right okay thank you um I'm sorry one more thing the um sound system that you're looking at which is also um the dig the b i the name of the company is b i b ASM boyy okay Bravo India Sam yet B and it's a compliant and and um so where are you getting the quotes from the is digital is the one person we used to do who bought out the company that used to do all these and that would be all of this microphone in the ceiling everywhere else is that what we're do we have a a join or outlay or something that you designed or they'll give that to us they'll give that to us so they they basically send me a a work proposal that listed everything we talked about which again is 10 microphones up on his Bas two on the table a wireless and an additional bank of speakers in the back of the room as well well it will be also be a digital upgrade this console goes away because that's 1980s technology um it would would be things of that nature as well does it impact the camera at all no so the camera stay and that's the one newest feature that uh they kept okay nice all right thank you report so I just have one thing that I want to add so uh a number of months ago uh we had the woman uh who runs the heart-to-heart uh business entity in town I think it's a business that provides services towards um disabled youth uh artistic youth she had come before the uh committee to ask for permission to place a bike rack on her on uh Municipal property and at the time the township agreed that they would go ahead and do that however I had said that I needed to look into it to find out the most efficient way to do it and the way the township is protected upon all my research what I believe believe in terms of the most efficiency would be to Grant this business owner a license that is conditioned on insurance requirements conditioned on maintenance requirements conditions on identification requirements I put together a draft agreement I'm still putting out final touches I'm going to circulate that draft agreement to the entire Township committee uh within the next day or so so we can review it give me any feedback with questions that they have uh I can make those revisions and then hopefully have this on for next meeting uh to be discussed and potentially passed but in the in any questions people reach out give me about two days I'll circulate the agreement thanks before before public portion anybody has a committee update did they just want to get out real quick before I just want to just say um I hope everybody has a very nice Mother's Day um not just coming up um I don't know if the weather's going to cooperate too much but I wish everybody a Happy Mother's Day thank you this time I'm going to open up the public portion on all items please limit your comments to three minutes uh please uh wait till the questions are finished answering before you give an answer and I like the actual motion open it up I'll make the motion I'll second this time we open up for public portion all you have to vote y all in favor Linda bonface 33 Parkway um how come it's only certain people get three minutes three minutes is usually the guy well Mike Warren spoke for8 minutes and 23 seconds and then he spoke again for 3 minutes and 45 seconds for almost over 12 minutes uh Mrs hton spoke for 4 minutes 42 seconds I spoke on the budget alone for 4 minutes 10 seconds and then I was cut off at 4:35 so I just want to know if three minutes is for everybody or it's for certain minut for me is usually the guideline and ask you People wrap it up some people wrap it up in 30 seconds some like you take a minute some I was asking budget questions so the CFO is not here okay let's go with this let's start this off I would like to make a clear it clear Mr Bob Davidson was the administrator for the first two weeks of 2022 I'm putting this out there so he doesn't get blamed for the misappropriations in this budget from 2022 okay salary and wages Township committee um 20 30,000 was uh budgeted are you looking to give yourselves a raise are you looking to give yourselves a raise are you don't ask any questions before answer I'm asking for the answer you don't want to answer questions shows the incompetence you're wel okay now this is another thing I thought about it most of the time when the fire department gets equipment it gets bonded so can you please tell me exactly what $40,000 in the fire department the increase in the fire department is four exactly you call me tomorrow I'll have that for you I it's I'm not going to call you you wrote the budget up you don't know what it's for I do but I will answer you tomorrow you can call do it in public you could do could do normal business hours I'll have it in front of me okay chief ster while you're there I'm going to ask you a couple questions why is a lieutenant in the school system it has the SRO officer a lieutenant can you tell me is that all your questions before you answer this so we could to all your questions before we answer you'll forget them especially you thank you can you tell me that you can call me tomorrow I'd be happy to discuss that with you I really don't want to talk to you and this is not the form for that discussion oh yeah it is you're too straighter okay here's another thing can you tell me where you meet with developers that come come roaming around Rell Park looking to develop where do you meet them Capital Grill Ruth for Steakhouse nannies what do you mean with them town hall room do you have a sign in book for the town hall who comes to visit I don't maybe you should get that but why I'm talking about the superior officer that's in the school you're calling for a sergeant another sergeant if you don't need that you really didn't need that Lieutenant if you have him in the school this time your 3 minutes is almost up please wrap up your questions you get it I will he's uh let me finish you off with one thing okay I put it on little cards so in case I cut off I can get a card to somebody I'd like to give you a little piece of advice one mistake you should never make in this life is to allow yourself allow yourself to be recruited by someone to hate another person who hasn't wronged you only a fool only a fool inherits other other people's enemies has a sign of loyalty have a good night anybody else from the public Diane vassel Forest Place uh two things one this is something that I brought up a couple years ago um and it just seems to be starting again on chest Street of course in the sand pit when now that Sports is starting to pick up again people are parking on both sides of the street several years ago I made a suggestion that from maybe 4 to 8 or whenever there could be parking only in one side of the street my reason for this is parents that Park not next to the field but on the other side it is wall to--all parents and anybody who drives up and down Chestnut knows you already have a limited vision parents on the house side if I think of it that way tell their kids quick come across the kids run out between two cars and it's an accident waiting to happen and parents are not thinking anything beyond and they do it during Camp they do it like now when kids are playing soccer or whatever on the field and parents are just thinking of I don't want to get out of my car kid run to me and they run out between the cars that are parked on the other side people coming up the hill of chestnut you cannot see it until a kid's out and I I've seen even just walking people slamming on their brakes and I don't want it to be some horrible thing happening for does so it's just a suggestion there are towns that do this they have during certain hours limited parking in certain areas and it's just to prevent an accident from happening um I also as part of the parade Committee in town I was asked to find out which of you if not all of you are going to be Marching In the Memorial Day Parade if I could ask all of you mayor will you be marching I usually plans are usually out of town but I haven't finalized them yet okay because they just need to know we to put you in the lineup um Deputy Mayor you will be okay Gail I am planning to be there yes okay marching in the parade marching yes okay Tommy Teresa yes I will let them know thank you and they'll tell you I guess where you're going to be in the lineup thank you okay um Miss bonface addressed the um the question about raised in salary for the township committee people this bonfice I do not take any stien to be up here I volunteer my time I know nothing about AR raise for any of the township committee people and that's my opinion but I want to make that on record as of now I do not take any stifen that's the first thing um the other things I think the chief C he is going to answer Mr for Hassel um are you saying that at certain time you're talking about Chestnut Street by the by corc field there right you talking about up the hill the sand pit I was going to say the sand pit you know you know you're a town person you say you know sand pit people coming up the hill even when there cars and people coming the other way sometimes you don't see each other you get street so this is to me so this is to me in my opinion it sounds like a safety issue did you address this with the chief at all ago good well I mean is it a good ide asking if it's a good idea or not for safety right anything that is and safety protocol of course is a good idea but again this would be probably something uh I don't I D how does how would something like this work would that be um with a traffic person that would look at that I don't know yeah I made a note I ask Lieutenant kowsky to take a look at it um initially I'd say fortunately we've been very lucky we've had no incidents yeah um and my only concern would be we're just going to push parents further away making kids have to walk further away from the park that's that's my that's the that's the initial reaction both sides tops course is there down and then of course under D if the kids on the field they have to walk down the hill as a matter to me that's a lot better than rning the street and have problem we don't want to there's also parking lot now by you know on being there parking and if they parked under usually the parents it's a wi streen so they're not calling the kids at close to the Street Chestnut is when you have cars of both sides if you just driving it's hard to see people going both ways and but I see between cars and you know they're saying the same thing so some kid going to run outar about so I appreciate that I mean I I think this has been forever right that that it's been happening as long as I can remember and being in town over 60 years I could remember both sides uh I do I think I do believe it was brought up in the past but I don't know if anything's so recent I brought it up 3 four years ago but nothing happened and then tonight like I said come here oh I know I try to drive my truck down there and it's not easy sometimes I get Focus tonight running across the street and that's what made me think of it well that's a that's a worrisome to you know kids running in between cars always is a problem but that is also on the driver right you have to go real slow to make sure that I get what saying with that being said I think um Chief you're going to look into this a little further right sure thank you appreciate it thank you thank you sign nobody else to make have a motion to close public motion I'll make a motion second I'll second all in favor ordinances introduction introdu ordinance number 12 4-24 may ask for a motion to introduce by title of the first reading ordinance number 12424 and ordance to amend chapter 31 of the code of the Township roal Park entitled Public Work superintendent of add subsection 31-6 tree removal and replacement by the way of resolution number 02418 and it be published in its full Bergen Record with notice of public hearing to be held on May 22nd 2004 I get a motion can I ask a question before that um this is for the D regulation correct I just want to clarify that publicly this is for mandated correct Council correct thank you I'll make the motion a second a second uh Deputy Mayor Pichi yes committee woman Ora yes committee woman judge Corell yes committee Miller yes and mayor bti yes very EX for motion open public hearing of ordinance number 1199 d24 and ordinance to amend chapter 185 of the Cod of Township or Roo Park and specifically to amend section 185-195 d103 entitled height exceptions I get a motion I make a motion second I'll second Deputy mayori yes committee woman ARA yes yes committee woman judge CLL yes committee Miller yes and mayor deti yes yep any uh I open the yeah it's open now you just vote it to open and so there's any comments y any comments no you can vote to close pass motion to close I'll make a motion I'll second Deputy Mayor Pichi yes committee woman ARA yes committee woman judge Cella yes committee man Miller yes and mayor B may ask for a motion after with the notice that final passes to be published in the par record motion was me a motion a motion to close and pass it was second and there was a roll call want read the yeah you can read that into the rec uh you could you say that that um you could just say that the ordinance has been adopted fin passes then will be published the bur record uh you that been final pass we publ into the burg may I would like to open the Flor to the of the Bergen County open space Recreation FL plane protection forland and historic preservation trust fund submission of Grant application for the 2024 whereas the Township roell Park desires to obtain a matching Grant in the amount of $230,000 for various Matthew field and playground improvements the township is requesting 233,000 from the Bergen County trust F Municipal program for the park development with the township share being the remaining 2 30,000 uh ask if anyone present has any comments or or wishes to be heard concerning the above matter okay a motion I'll make the motion a second Deputy Mayor P yes committee woman ARA yes committee woman judge cllo yes committee man Miller yes and mayor petti yes so it's open in public right y yep way from the public it's coming up so i' like I'd like to speak on it y okay um so um administrator P this was the grant that we talked about that was about na field corre part of it was new ballards new different things that are all going on so it's two we're requesting was a 230,000 for that under this grant correct and was this the was this a grant that had to get support um that would had to be sent over for support that is a something completely different okay I just want to make sure so the township is requesting 230 from Bergen County trust fund Municipal program for Park development yeah it's everybody refers to it is open space Grant that's where I was going all right thank you you're wel is it thank you um uh mayor calls for a motion to adopt resolution number 24120 trust fund application Municipal endorsement resolution Matthew field and playground Improvement okay no motion no motion second a second Deputy mayori yes yes committee woman ARA yes and committee Miller yes and mayor P yes all items listed below are considered to be routine and non-controversial by the township committee and will be approved by one motion there'll be no separate discussion of these items unless a Committee Member or citizen so request in which case the item will be removed from the consent agenda and considered its normal sequence on the agenda as part of the general orders resolution 024 d119 resolution authorizing the mayor C committee to conven and close session and resolution number 02412 resolution authorizing payment estimate two Howard a Improvement section one and two section two okay um mayor if I may I'd like to pull the uh two uh 024 -121 for discussion please okay uh to pass resolution authorizing mayor C committee to conven into the close session 0241 one9 a motion I'll make a motion I'll second Deputy Mayor Pichi yes committee woman ARA yes committee woman judge Carell yes committee M Miller yes and may bti yes and discussions will be open for 0241 121 resolution authorized and payment estimate number two Howard have Improvement section one and section two thank you um administrator Pinto yes when I looked at this at first I actually had a question where it says payment estimate and I actually got a um kind of a a clarification from Miss REI on it but I think the public may want to ask that question so what is the estimate payment for this one and two can you explain that I can't that's the way Bosell writes it up it's so it's there is that their language that they using as an estimate payment instead of a well it's the payment is what the payment what the numerical value is going to be but they refer to as an estimate it's just their language what I it's on their Boswell yeah it's the way they're they're filling an approval letter comes in I would have been a question for James mcginness but um it's been going that way since Boswell they just always put estimate payment correct yeah I I right so I just want the public understanding this is not technically an estimate it is actually nor is it a final payment that that'll say final payment when it's and you will vote on that as well okay I just want to clarify that thank you so much thank you if anyone ex motion to pass resolution number 02412 resolution authorizing payment estimate number two Howard I approvement section one two a motion I make the motion a second I'll second Deputy Mayor pichy yes committee woman ARA yes committee woman judge cllo yes committee man Miller yes and mayor cetti yes and this time we'll Jo the close session matters ATT to negotiations turning PL for the Public's benefit uh we're not going to take any formal action or it's not anticipated that we're taking formal action after close SE no it is oh we are that's right I take it back yeah we will be taking formal action after Clos section thank you joh can I have I'll make a motion can I second I'll second all in favor I and if you come back out here if you're not here next meeting will be 522 24 public meeting we be at we'll be back out yeah motion to come out a close make ask for a motion to come out a close session I make the motion okay I get a second favor I I please not uh judge carll is not here at this time she stepped away is not president at this time did everybody say yes okay yes yes so um for the Public's benefit there was a settlement discussion uh in closed section with revent Council who's present here there is a walk-on resolution to confirm the terms of a settlement agreement for outstanding violations with 120 Pake redevelop LLC for full transparen the mayor is going to read the resolution into the record and permit the public with an opportunity to comment on the resolution before it is move to be passed just read the settl read me to do it you want to rment counil state your name read again sure Douglas doy Redevelopment Council La fir of theod col goodlin it's nice to see you all again this evening uh the municipal attorney Cor identified that over the last 8 weeks we've been trying to negotiate a settlement regarding TCO violations and what is essentially potential illegal parking uh located uh on the first floor of the property you know is 120 uh sa Street um the parties have negotiated a resolution uh we have confirmed and the and and our our business administrator Chief can confirm that um nothing would prevent the issuance of temporary certificates of occupancy because there are no health safety issues there the only issue is whether in fact cars can be parked there and admittedly if we were to go to court um and a court were to focus on health safety issues cars being parked there would potentially not be a basis for the refusal to issue TC nevertheless the redevelopers agreement from our perspective did not contemplate parking of new cars there uh the redevelopers trying to utilize that space until the commercial space gets done to generate Revenue this uh settlement agreement was designed to to uh achieve a settlement agreement compel the developer to undertake certain actions which he we believe he should have taken before he unilaterally without our permission and without our approval simply started parking new cars there for sooning to release and what I'm about to read reflects a uh a settlement whereby the developer is going to have to pay substantial sums as a result of his election to do that without asking for our permission to getting our approval the parties of this matter specifically the township of roel Park and 120 saake redeveloper LLC known as the redeveloper have agrees to resolve the UCC and Municipal violations dispute between them on the following terms and upon the execution of a final settlement agreement which was approved by the governing body on May 8th and subject to a formal sement agreement and memorializing resolution to be adopted after the execution of the sement agreement by the parties payment of $224,500 toward the sewer connection fee which is a total of $449,000 now for full disclosure in the resolution that was adopted approving this plan the redeveloper did not have to pay that much you had to pay less than that but as a result of an amendment to the ordinance it was an additional approximately $80,000 would be du under the new ordinance we have a resolution that says he only would have owed uh 80,000 less we we've agreed or he's agreed and we compelled him to compromise to pay at least half of that difference so he's going to have to pay $224,500 toward the $449 the town will then issue up to 160 tcos uh the balance of the $224,500 will be paid upon the issue of the final cosos for the 160 units which application for such cosos shall be made no later than 90 days after the execution of the settlement agreement a final settlement agreement on these same terms will be provided to the borrow attorney and the chief for execution by the mayor hopefully before the end this week in Le of fine and penalties simultaneously with the issuance of the TC's referenced and two above Rita beler will pay an additional payment of $4,500 to the township for each month of the new car lease rental which began in January 2024 until the last of the new store cars are removed from the first floor of the garage or any other floor in the garage which new car stores may be parked except that otherwise provided here in redeveloper will apply for zoning appeal interpretation with the road shell zoning partner the J seeking a determination as to whether the parking of new cars as a primary use is permitted principal use under the appal zoning walls Redevelopment plan and whether such use is consistent with the redeveloper agreements and settlement agreement with the redeveloper and fair share housing center and amendments to such documentation such application shall be made within 30 days of the execution of the settlement agreement what that means is if we sign the settlement agreement on Friday he counter side he has 30 days to make that application it's my view without prejudice in whatever the only B planning board may do whever he appeals to that it's not embodied the notion of having new cars Mar there is not embodied under the Redevelopment agreement or the settlement agreement but we'll leave that up to the zoning board if the appeal or interpretation is in favor of the developer meaning that the zoning board finds and in fact he can do that upon the expiration of the current lease term which is two years the redeveloper shall seek an applic U May seek an application uh an amendment to the redeveloper if it wants to continue to use the property for that purpose and it it Contin to pay $4,500 a month uh to the township until the very last of new store V new store vehicles are removed keeping in mind that the goal is not to have new car stored there but it's going to be for commercial use once that's finished if the appeal is not in favor of the developer it shall have 60 days to remove all of the new stored Vehicles there at which time it will continue to pay $4,500 per month until each and every one of the vehicles are removed if the new store vehicles are not all removed Within days the redeveloper will pay $9,000 per month until all of the new store vehicles are removed redeveloper shall further reimburse Township for its legal causes from the date the violations were first issued through the negotiation execution of a definitive settlement agreement together with such fees and costs the township will have in terms of enforcing uh the final settlement agreement now what that means is Mark made a point of saying we wanted to take me first in previous meetings we didn't take me first this time but that's because the developers now paying for my time to be here retroactive to when the tcos were first issued and then finally no more than 239 cars may be parked on redeveloper property relating to the lease buying between redeveloper and GK Enterprises LLC that's to make sure that he doesn't think now that he can go and start parking additional cars there we believe that the the ground floor only will hold 239 that's the the place where that was for the commercial leases I've Prov to you a u a resolution tonight that essentially uh approves this settlement agreement and authorizes the mayor to sign a settlement agreement a former settlement agreement containing these terms that's everything make motion y I have a motion to open up resolution 04122 on this matter of the ter agreements open up public open public is that saying I'll make the motion a second all in favor I I [Music] Chris Muller farest place I just had one question how many cars uh GA you probably might know are um are on the second floor we think that that maximum of 239 on the second floor we don't know oh on you mean the upper one yes that's for residents well the first one was for the residents too they they were under the guys we have to R it because of the flood and now there's still plenty of uh room on the second floor for all the cars that so the top floor the top parking is reserved for residents and then the bottom floor was a mix of residents and visitors right but I'm just it sounds very odd this whole you know they were saying oh we have all these extra car you know all these Extra Spaces we want Extra Spaces did they I'm just hypothetical did they know that was going to happen I mean who's the 120 I mean they have they have whale there's 160 units they have how many parking spaces are there a total do you know I don't know I don't know I don't have the resolution here yeah I'm just you know they have more than no they have way way all they KN need is like like two two so they need commercial piece that's yet to be finished which is going to attract some some uh some paring music right yeah but no I just it just sounds really suspicious that you know they were granted that they had to raise the building up so they had all this extra space so now you know you have a commercial thing down there I I'm glad you really went after them it's it's sounds I think they tried to take advantage and well they did and we used it as an opportunity Bas say okay you signed a lease now you're going to be inreasing your lease so what we're going to do is we're going to pize you per month and then we're going to increase the the SE connection that's good yeah yeah no you got what you could but just the fact that they're coming there sticking all cars now it's just like a it's it's a typical you know kicking the teeth for us we tried to generate revenues for the tax we're going to get additional revenu no that's great no that's great I'm I'm you know I'm really happy the whole thing was they had to raise it because of the flooding now you've got 200 how many 239 possible cars down there what's going to happen when it does flood where are those cars flying out you know or you know we I was saying originally you know maybe they want those cars to FL who know you know you know but I'm just saying where are all those cars going today cuz that floods all the time well it will be flooding the bottom part that's the whole purpose raising the whole thing and now they're sticking the car there even though there's signs underneath this remember the these you know this is prone to flooding watch your cars now I don't know how stupid Loi Acura is you know what I'm saying they're the ones putting their cars down there but where are all these cars going and all down to the um the little special exit we have to look at that the little quiet there is there's an evacuation you've got 239 cars going out onto four yeah well I and that was part that was part of our discussion and if I may I'm looking at the memorialization resolution it talks about the parking Supply being provided is 333 spaces whereas only 240 were required so I would I'm going assume those 333 parking U Miss Muller listen this came to us no I'm just no just and we've taken what I think is um commendable action by this committee no you're getting you know a good deal but the whole thing is uh you know well now we know for the next developer right yeah that's always that's our story you know it's always you know now we know but it's but I'm glad you you know you seem to get a fairly decent deal out but I just you know thank you thank you nobody else has coming up a motion to close public motion I'll make the motion all in favor I see if any anybody else have any question from the committee on this topic ask a motion to pass the resolution ask for motion to pass resolution number 02412 two resolution of Township Ro Park authorizing the entry into a settlement between 120% redeveloper LLC pursuant to the term SE for in a settlement term sheet attached here to as exhibit a and authorizing the execution of res settlement agreement embodying the same term set forth in the settlement term sheet I'll make a motion a second I'll second Deputy Mayor Pichi yes committee woman Arta yes committee woman Judge cell abent committee man Miller yes may yes motion pass uh I get a motion to close the meeting I make the motion I'll second all in favor I next meeting will be May 22nd 2024 public meeting at 7 p.m.