uh thank you everybody and welcome to the second regular monthly meeting of the mayor and Council being held Monday Mond night April 22nd 2024 at 6:30 p.m. Missy could you please read the role Mar n I'm here council president mcowan present Council beg Roberson here Council mman here Council Del con here councilwoman Quron councilman kley here thank you uh if you're willing and able could you please uh stand for the salute to the flag I pledge allegiance to of the United States of America and to the repu for it stands one nation under God indivisible with libery and justice for all Missy in compliance with the open public meetings Law chapter 231 public laws of 1975 notice of this meeting was transmitted to the record and Herald news and filed with the bur clerk on December 26 2023 and is posted posted on the bulletin board outside of burrow Hall thank you uh we have uh three presentations this evening uh councilman kley for this one uh so this evening we're honoring a very important member of the Rutherford Community Chief Roode if you wouldn't mind standing so we can acknowledge you thank you sir is my honor to read this proclamation to honor your 50 years of service to the Rutherford fire department where is Mr William R Roode otherwise known as bill is a lifelong resident of the Bureau of Rutherford and whereas Bill journeyed the Rutherford school system from kindergarten through High School graduating in 1973 and continued his education at Monclair University graduating in 1977 and whereas on January 15 1974 bill was appointed a Rutherford firefighter and has held numerous positions including Lieutenant Captain president secretary and treasurer of truck company 1 and was elected chief of the Rutherford Fire Department in 1988 and again in 2003 and whereas Bill held the position of southb and Zone one coordinator from 1989 through 2023 was president of the Rutherford fire department fund Drive committee as well as member and Secretary of the RFD relief Association member of the RFD exempts Association and life member of the South Bergen Fire Chiefs Association and the New Jersey state fireman's Association and has now reached the Milestone of 50 years dedicated to the Rutherford fire department whereas bill has been and continues to be a father figure to many and is known for his commitment for serving the community and for Lending a hand to others in need giving guidance and experience to every situation he encounters and whereas Bill's proudest role is being the patriarch of his loving family he and his wife Eliz are the proud parents of daughters Melissa and Danielle and Son Jonathan and grandparents to Gian Belle and Melanie where is Bill's lifetime of devotion has proven him to be a pillar of our community and now therefore be it resolved on behalf of the Bureau of Rutherford I mayor Frank nunziato wish to express our sincere appreciation to this extraordinary man who has done so much for his fellow citizens throughout his life thank you Bill [Applause] Phil you could come up to the to side of your face right [Applause] if the r would like to come up and take a picture I guess you're moving that way right [Applause] our next presentation would be Carney bank for 50 years of dedication and loved the bur of [Music] Rutherford thank you very much mayor whereas excuse me sorry whereas Carney Bank was founded on April 16th 1884 as Carney building and Loan Association a created to help local neighbors and businesses succeed and whereas Carney Bank grew and opened a branch in Rutherford in 1974 and whereas Carney bank has been a valued establishment of the Rutherford community and whereas Carney bank has supported the Rutherford Community Food Pantry blood drives and other Rutherford organizations in events financially and whereas Carney bank is now celebrating the 50 50th year in the burrow of Rutherford and now therefore it be resolved on behalf of the burrow Rutherford I mayor Franklin Cato wish to express our sincere appreciation to Carney Bank in recognition of this Monumental anniversary and look forward to another 50 years supporting each other thank you guys thank you all very [Applause] much well you guys will please come up I think Bill probably opened up his first account there conat congratulations congratulations more to go council president thank you mayor uh this evening I am honored to present this proclamation to the Rutherford Elks l 547 whereas the benevolent and protective order of elks has designated May 1- 7th 2024 as youth week to honor America's Junior citizens for their accomplishments and to give fitting recognition of their service to Community State and nation and whereas Rutherford Elks Lodge 547 will sponsor and observance during that week in tribute to the junior citizens of this community and whereas no event could be more deserving of our support and participation than one dedicated to these young people who represent the nation's greatest resource and who in the years ahead will assume the responsibility for the advancement of our free society and whereas our youth need the guidance inspiration and encouragement which we alone can give in order to help develop those that qualities of character essential for future leadership and go forth to serve America and whereas to achieve this worthy objective we should demonstrate our partnership with youth our understanding of their hopes and aspirations and a sincere willingness to help prepare them in every way for the responsibilities and opportunities of citizenship now therefore mayor Frank nunziato of the burough of Rutherford hereby proclaims the first week in May as youth week and urge all Departments of government Civic fraternal and Patriot itic groups and our citizens generally to participate wholeheartedly in its observance congratulations [Applause] [Music] actually the way the chairs open up it's like I mean literally I was sitting so close to right when we got here that I'm sure that's he felt like now we're going to recognize um Autism Awareness Month counc president thank you mayor um this uh for those who know this is a near and dear um recognition I want to thank the members of the access for all Rutherford uh committee and their commitment to this um this evening I will be reading a proclamation regarding autism acceptance month whereas the month of April is recognized as autism acceptance month dedicated to encouraging the acceptance understanding and awareness of individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder known as ASD and whereas one in 36 individuals are diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder nationally with a higher incidence rate of 1 in 35 in the state of New Jersey and whereas autism impacts people regardless of race ethnicity and socioeconomic backgrounds whereas currently there is no known cure for autism spectrum disorder and whereas while autism is commonly associated with the challenge of communication social skills and behavior and individuals within the autism spectrum disorder Community present varying qualities strengths and challenges and whereas it is imperative to create and Foster a community that both recognizes and supports individuals with autism and embrace es neurodiversity and promotes inclusivity through access for all and whereas building communities that support acceptance of individuals with neurodiversity promotes awareness of ASD and is essential in promoting early diagnosis intervention and access to resources and support whereas continuing retherford's mission of access for all further supports an inclusive and supportive environment that promotes understanding empathy and acceptance within our schools workplaces homes and throughout our burrow and whereas creating an inclusive and supporting Community focused on cultivating positive relationships understanding and empathy for the inclusion of all neurodiverse individuals promotes greater Civic engagement and adds to the texture and the fabric of Rutherford and now therefore be it resolved on behalf of the buau of res of Rutherford mayor Frank nunziato hereby proclaims that April 2024 be designated as National autism acceptance months thank you [Applause] mayor thank you everybody um we're going to move on to routine business so anybody that feels like this is going to be boring or just came for bye Toby um feel free to [Music] leave Toby if only you collected those meters so fast we'll move on now to the uh review to the changes to the proposed agenda Missy on page two we'll be adding an appointment under mayor's appointments Marcus Vincent Track and Field assistant effective April 1 2024 and that's all I have thank you anybody else from the council if any changes seeing none I'd ask for councel consent motion motion motion by council president may have a second second second by councilman Guzman any questions or comments by the council seeing none I ask for consent council president mcowan yes Council B Roberson yes councilman Gman yes councilman Del Co yes councilman CLE yes thank you all uh we'll open it now for the hearing of citizens please step forward to the microphone keep your comments at 5 minutes or less please state your name and address uh should you choose not to want to State your address please write it in the book anybody from meas maso 180 Mountain Way Rutherford um normally I'm here to complain but tonight I just want to thank councilman Del col for the support I think I think it's on we've it's on already for the support she's shown uh in the effort to do something about the jet noise and the planes that are constantly flying over our heads at Teterboro she's she's been really supportive and we've had some good meetings I'm going to leave it to her but I just want to say publicly that I want to thank her that's all thank you mamasa anybody else from the public wishing to speak name address you know uh Ryan green 12 Carlton please um yeah I just wanted to um speak again to the car wash issue um I've uh just the the sound is still kind of where it was before it's around like 60 DB Prett consistently and so uh I just want to um yeah just um bring that again and uh say like maybe we could um there's like something that could be done to kind of uh get them to like change the noise in some way um that would be um useful so that's all all as you know will address after everybody speaks and the buau administrator will speak to that anybody else from the public wishing to speak seeing none I'm going to close it to the public now and open it up for any Council comments I'd like to start with the bir administrator to address your particular issue regarding the uh Car Wash thank thank you mayor um what I am aware of is that they are supposed to put a fence up I do know that they've encountered some some problems uh installing the post they coming across rocks underground so I'll need to kind of follow up tomorrow with our property maintenance staff to see my zoning official see what's happening but um is the noise related to the car wash itself or is it's the landscaping equipment again air fan okay all day okay okay all right thank you I I'll follow up though as we discussed and I committed to we will follow up and stay on top of this I promise uh anybody else from the council wishing to speak Council thank you mayor um since Miss damaso teed it up now I guess I I'll give a little update on what we've been working on I was going to save it for my committee report first of all it feels a little foolish that you thanked me when you've been working on this tirelessly um and I'll explain what I mean mean by that for anyone who doesn't know but my Council colleagues certainly know that um Miss taso has been working on noise issues related to the location of terer Burrow's flight path over uh Rutherford for far longer than I've been in office so um I'm happy to help um just a little update about where we are because we have made some progress um Miss D Tomaso joined me to meet with um some stakeholders with the Port Authority including the chief of staff for the executive director just to get a better understanding of how the airport functions for anyone who doesn't know the Port Authority runs the airport but of course the FAA the Federal Aviation Authority um really runs how things happen with regards to flights and flight paths and and things of that nature so we got some solid information about some changes that we can propose that may be um less stringent for the port authority to implement with some new legislation the other exciting thing that happened is um just by chance uh we heard from the Girl Scout the senior Girl Scout Troop 96898 which are uh High School freshmen and they have chosen their Gold Award um to be dedicated to this project um again really just by chance uh Lois and I met with them I guess it was on Friday afternoon at Burrow Hall um they have a whole host of ideas they plan to hand deliver letters uh to other elected officials at the county and state level um and we're going to be working very closely with them um their first effort is they're going to be attending the tanak meeting on Wednesday the 24th I will be attending as well um try to retrofit myself into that and the rather Civil Rights Commission meeting but I think with the gift of Zoom I'll be able to do it so um we have um really made some progress and now I think I have a far deeper understanding of what's possible um if anyone would like to join us in the effort I think something that we've learned from those support Authority certainly is that there is power in numbers and voices and um filing complaints on the FAA website um with regards to teerb noise pollution is fine and they are looked at but I think actual voices and letters and meetings um are really the only way to move the needle so that I think that's going to be our next wave Misty tasa is going to be seeing a lot of me because her her knowledge still far surpasses mine so I'm going to need her uh at my side at all of these meetings so um that's where we are I know some other residents were interested in understanding so I just thought I would explain anybody else from the council um mayor I just want to recognize someone that is not here today and that's um Adam zura who has been coming to Council meetings for so many years um you know we agreed with him sometimes we didn't always agree with him he was so intelligent he had so much background knowledge and there are times when there's there are no one there's no one sitting in the audience this is actually a big crowd today but he was always there so I just want to wish him rest in peace and um you know it's sad not to see him here thank you councilman anybody else council president uh mayor I just want to Echo my colleague sentiment it's about Mr Zora um uh Mr Zora literally had been attending Council meetings um Faithfully since I began this journey um in 2015 uh yeah it feels almost yeah a long time um he he showed up it didn't matter what the weather was um often doing research on issues that we may or may not have been aware of um to your point Council woman there were occasions of which we did not agree um and we often had some spirited words um but I it it is hard um not to acknowledge his lack of presence uh sadly Mr Zora passed on April 6th um and I just want to send my condolences to his family um and um and his noticeable absence we we had been conc concerned not seeing him here for a while um and so uh it just seems fitting to recognize him today thank you thank you councilwoman anybody else from the council wishing to speak uh see no none none uh Miss Tomaso um I'm I'm grateful that the councilwoman has um been um trying to um keep the needle moving along um I'm hoping that she has some better luck with the FAA and uh the Port Authority that I had so um we'll I'm sure she'll keep you posted thank you all right we're going to move on now to the consent agenda council president thank you mayor all items authorized to be consent by the council will be enacted by one motion these items are routine in nature motion I have a motion by the council president may have a second second second by Council councilwoman Del con Oh I thought she be right sorry fine sorry any questions or comments by the council seeing n may have a roll call council president mcowan yes Council beg Roberson yes coun MC Guzman yes coun Del con yes counc M cley yes council president thank you mayor just for clarity um Missy yes the minutes were a part of the consent agenda correct correct thank you um next we move to the public hearing on the 2024 Municipal budget we open it up right right open up to public sure sure so at this time uh mayor um I'd like to open the floor to the residents of Rutherford for anyone who may want to comment on the budget uh anybody would like to speak to the budget please step forward the microphone keep your comments five minutes or less and please if you choose not to please uh put your address in the book anybody from the public wishing to speak see none I'm going to close it to the public open up for any Council comments see none council president thank you mayor oh yes we're good thank you mayor um before we begin um well first I'm going to move the resolutions and then I'll make a statement regarding the ordinances that'll be forthcoming uh under my remarks resolution number 105 authorizing the self-examination of the fiscal year 2024 Municipal budget motion I have a motion by council president may have a second second second by councilman Guzman any questions or comments by the council sen number roll call council president mwan yes Council beg Roberson yes coun Gman yes coun Del con yes coun kley yes thank you next is resolution number 106 authorizing the adoption of the fiscal year 2024 Municipal budget motion you did I did 105 first yes sir me I have a motion can I have a second second second by councilman Guzman any questions or comments by Council see n have roll call council president McAn yes counc B Robertson yes councilman Gman yes Council Del con yes coun kley yes thank you uh Bob's just throwing me off because usually he's maybe I should sit between you two today so sorry it's not a big deal um any new business discussion none okay the council members aison reports council president thank you mayor uh regarding what you're hearing this evening uh supporting the budget and finance tonight we have two ordinances up for adoption addressing the Burrow's 2024 Capital Improvement budget the first ordinance is for 230,000 and is funded directly from the Burrow's 2024 operating budget under the line item Capital Improvement fund funded projects by this ordinance include replacement overhead doors at the unav amav and Mortimer firehouses upgrades to our fuel Depot at DPW roof replacement for the DPW building and other minor improvements at other burrow buildings the second is a bond ordinance authorizing improvements in the amount of 1,800,000 funded projects by this ordinance include various Street and Road improvements including but not limited to Insley Clark Beach and silven improvements at our Parks including but not limited to Memorial Field LED lighting conversion tennis and field projects acquisition of vehicles for DPW building Police and Fire Department acquisition of computer related equipment security equipment fire equipment and other related equipment again I want to thank um our burough administrator our CFO our department heads everyone who has helped us put together an incredibly responsible and responsive budget um and we will be uh moving those shortly at uh toward the end of the meeting under ordinances um under the rest of my liaison assignments I'd like to to remind community members that 55 Kip is doing designer bag Bingo on April 28th so please come out and support them um I'd like to acknowledge uh Liz Forte Terry spatel and Laura Scotty three members of the access for all Rutherford committee Liz Forte is the chairwoman um this Saturday this past Saturday they hosted an annual special parents uh breakfast an opportunity for members in our community and other surrounding communities that want to um uh have an opportunity to meet others that are facing uh challenges and and to build a sense of community and they do it without fail every year um at their own pocket and um they had another successful event it seemed only fitting to recognize that um with the fact that this evening the mayor and Council um proclaimed claimed April as autism acceptance month um earlier this month I I shared um the fact that the word choice is not accidental um you know sadly we have used words like um inclusion and awareness um all too frequently when it comes to neurodiverse populations individuals with developmental disabilities individuals with disabilities in a hole um I'm very proud that we are moving towards language like acceptance um there is a demand in that I am proud that 10 years ago access for all raford began with its mayor and councel uh sitting at the deis um we were one of the first in Bergen County to move that initiative um of of the 70 municipalities I believe 55 or almost 60 of them have access for all um committees ours was done by ordinance so that uh it could never be put on a shelf not for the people who live here today and certainly not for those who we haven't met yet but will become a part of Rutherford in the future um I am I am honored that I uh mayor you and I were the two that moved this initiative 10 years ago I am honored that we we don't just give a proclamation and forget about it we are committed to this and most importantly I just want to give a thank you to this community that continues to find ways to embrace and meaningfully include individuals with neurodiversity um as a challenge and uh finally I know you're happy to hear the word finally um I really want to encourage us not to get comfortable in our Laurels of the good work we've done I want to challenge our incredible business district our Chamber of Commerce I want to challenge our residents to think wholeheartedly about how when we celebrate um activities in this town when we think about uh starting new businesses when we're looking for hiring um to look to these individuals who live right here who are part part of the beauty and fabric of this burrow and help them find their way towards meaningful gainful employment and housing uh inclusion and opportunities thank you mayor thank you council president and you've done incredible work with this uh Council B Rover I have nothing tonight mayor thank you councilman Guzman thank you mayor uh On My Le on assignments I have nothing okay look me like that Council Del thank you mayor um on behalf of the Green Team I just want to remind the community that the town cleanup will be held on May 4th from 900 a.m. till whenever you're finished uh we usually meet outside of burrow Hall uh DPW generalist generously provides gloves and bags um we're really hoping to get a rather large group this year um it was moved it's typically on the same day as tree Fest but because tree Fest um ran up against spring break we decided to or the green team rather decided to push it a little further so that we could get the hope of um getting more young people involved so um I hope to see you outside of burall um on May 4th at 9:00 a.m. um the only other thing I'd like to acknowledge is um our meet last meeting you may recall started early because um most of us up here were able to attend the Women's Club um 35th anniversary celebration um and I think it's just worth mentioning especially on behalf of the Civil Rights Commission um that this group of women for 135 years has done really remarkable work for this community um I learned so much about all of the things they did and councilman Guzman um reminded me that you know they're really responsible for our wonderful library that just won uh its award this year so if you have an opportunity to visit the history the rich rich history of the Women's Club of that building which served as horse stables I believe we learned um at one point I really encourage you to do so um Laura OK Conor who is their current president has done a really beautiful job um of ushering it forward as have all the past presidents so I just wanted to thank them for hosting us and for educating me um on the many things I didn't know no that's it thank you thank you councilwoman councilman kley nothing this evening sir thank you thank you all right move on to my reports and appointments um my reports nothing I don't really don't have anything tonight um I also would like to reiterate um councilman Del re con the uh the Green Team and the uh Arbor Day are just knocking it out of the park so um that was a great no pun intended yeah that was a great pun it was a it was a great event this weekend uh DPW did a great job so I want to thank you for that um right now I have some appointments Nicholas Valente uh James James Thomas Rino seasonal labors provisional appointments at at $15.13 an hour effective May 6 2024 I'd ask for Council consent motion motion by council president May s second second by Council Wan is it I like Rob councilman beg Robertson uh any questions or comments by the councel seeing no M roll call Council president mcowan yes councilwoman B Robertson after all these years I'm correcting you guys thank you um yes coun M Gman yes coun de con yes coun M kley yes yeah I'm never gonna be able to do it I'm gonna try though uh Natalie gagliardo rent board secretary provisional appointment effective January 1st 2024 motion motion by council president may have a second second second by councilman Del R con any questions or comments by the council see nember roll call council president mcowan yes councilman Big Robertson yes councilman Guzman yes counc Del con yes councilman kley yes um part of our added was Marcus Vincent Track and Field assistant effective April 1st 2024 at $12 per hour I'd ask for Council consent motion motion by council president may have a second second councilwoman Robertson any questions or comments by the council seeing none M roll call council president mcowan yes coun beg Robertson yes coun Guzman yes coun dely con yes coun kley yes thank you um as it's our second meeting I will entertain anyone from the uh public that would like to come speak on agenda and agenda items only seeing none I'll close it to the public and open it for the council anybody have anything to say it's not on the agenda sorry I'll forego sorry about that now move on to ordinances ordinance on first read please thank you mayor first ordinance I'd like to introduce is establish a handicap space on Eastern way missy could you please read the ordinance by title only in orders to amend and revise chapter 126 vehicles and traffic of the bur Co to the Bur raford I'd like to motion to move excuse me I make motion to move that the ordinance be passed on first reading and AD and advertised according to law I have a motion by councilman Guzman may have a second second second by Council M Del Ray con any questions or comments by the council see none may have roll call council president McAn yes c b Robertson yes coun mman yes C Del con yes councilman kley yes thank you councilman thank you next ordinance on first read amending chapter 103 solicitor Peddlers canvassers in particular creating a no knock list Missy could you please read the ordinance by title only an ordinance to amend chapter 105 solicitors pedlers and canvassers creating section 105-113 entitled no knock list of the bur code of the bur raford motion to move the ordinance be passed on first reading and advertised according to law I have a motion by councilman Guzman may have a second second second by council president any questions or comments by the council see I'm every roll call council president mcowan yes councilwoman beg Robertson yes counc M Guzman yes coun de con yes counc M kley yes okay we're going to move on now to ordinance on second read Finance Gordon you got to wake up now um president thank you mayor first is the bond ordinance for various Capital Improvements Missy can you please read the ordinance by title only an ordance providing funding for various Capital purposes of the burrow of Rutherford and appropriating $230,000 for such purpose thank you I'd like to make a motion to move that the ordinance be passed on second reading and advertised according to law I have a motion by the council presid may have a second second second by councilwoman Del re con at this time I will now open it up to the public on this particular subject matter and this particular subject matter only anybody wishing to speak please come forward to the microphone seeing none I'll close it to the public and now open up for any counsil comment seeing n May of roll call council president mwan yes Council beg Robertson yes coun mman yes coun M Del con yes coun M cley yes president thank you mayor next I'd like to uh move on ordinance for second reading Capital Improvements funding uh Missy can you please uh read the ordinance by title only actually I'm sorry we're going to read the bond ordinance now because we did the I did I read the capital Improvement first so we're going to do the bond ordinance now okay a bond ordinance authorizing a v various Capital Improvements in and for the B of Rutherford in the county of Bergen New Jersey appropriating 1,800,000 therefore an author ing the issuance of $1,710 th000 in bonds or notes of Finance part of the cost thereof thank you thank you for that clarification I'd like to make a motion to move that the ordinance be passed on on second reading and advertised according to law I have a motion by the council president I have a second second second by councilman kley uh again we're going to open it up to the public on this subject this subject matter only anybody wishing to speak please step up in the microphone seeing none we're going to close it to the public and now open up for the council comment seeing none may have a roll call council president MCW yes councilman B Robertson yes councilman Guzman yes counc Del con yes councilman kley yes mayor before um we close the session I just wanted to acknowledge the residents of Rutherford that celebrate Passover which begins this evening and uh wish them a joyful holiday thank you I'm sure everybody up here feels to say so um now we're going to move for a uh adjournment anybody uh want to motion motion I have a motion by the council president all in favor I have a great night everybody