thank you everybody and welcome to the agenda meeting second regular monthly meeting of the mayor council Monday June 24th 2024 being held at 6:30 at the police station uh roll call Mayor n ad here council president mcowan councilwoman beg Roberson here councilman Gman here councilman Del con here councilman quatron councilman kley here thank you in the absence of the council president being here uh Council beg roon will act as council president I'd ask for everybody to uh stand for the salute to the flag if willing and able pledge alance to the flag of United States of America nation liy and justice for all thank you missy could you please read the provisions comp 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 on the bulletin board outside of burrow Hall thank you missy uh we have a couple presentations council president yeah so if you notice we're all wearing orange today and that's in honor of National Gun Violence awareness month and I'm grateful to manun who has continued to sign this Proclamation um every year um so whereas National Gun Violence awareness day is to honor and remember all victims and survivors of gun violence and to declare that we as a country must do more to end this public crisis and whereas Americans are 26 times more likely to die by gun homicide than people in other high inome countries and whereas gun violence prevention is more important than ever as we see an increase in firearm homicides and non-fatal shootings across the country increased calls to domestic violence hotlines and an increase in City gun violence whereas in January 2024 we marked a great achievement for Public Safety in New Jersey as we report the lowest numbers of shootings in nearly 15 years whereas in 2023 there were 924 people shot down um shot down 13% from 2022 of that 924 191 were killed which is 8% down from 2022 whereas we celebrate this reduction we must hold in our thoughts the victims of of gun violence and their loved ones and we must commit recommit ourselves to the fight to fully eliminate gun violence from our state and whereas in January 2013 Haida Pendleton was tragically shot and killed at the age of 15 whereas a group of her dear's friends asked her roommates to commemorate her by wearing orange on her birthday the first Friday of June and whereas they chose this color because Hunters were orange to announce themselves to other Hunters when out in the woods and orange is a color that symbolizes the value of human life whereas by wearing orange on June 7th 2024 Americans will raise awareness about gun violence and honor the lives of gun violence victims and survivors whereas we renew our commitment to reduce gun violence and pledge all we do and we can to keep Firearms out of the AR hands of people who should not have access to them and to encourage responsible gun ownership to help keep our families and communities safe and now therefore Frank nun mayor of the Bor of Rutherford does airb compla proclaim um Friday June 7th 2024 to be National Gun Violence awareness day thank you thank you council president our next uh item on presentations is the Civil Rights Commission Jud contest winners uh councilwoman Del Co will read your names um what we'll do is we'll try to hold everything to the end so we get a picture but when your name is read if you want to have them stand up yeah all right take it for thank you mayor so as um mayor nanato stated the Civil Rights Commission hosted a June juneth poster contest um as most of you hopefully know juneth is celebrated as a Federal holiday on June 19th um and the poster contest uh participants were asked to share their understanding of the importance of this day in history and how it is celebrated it was open to Rutherford youth grades K through 12 and three winners were chosen per age group um you can see the artwork that was chosen for the contest in Clara's tunnel it's currently displayed um in the glass cases in the tunnel so I would just like to thank you all for your participation and congratulate you on um your winning and also to thank um chairwoman Jenny perin who is um the chair of the commission for being here as well as Lori Rosario Griffin and former chair Beverly Khan who um is also here as well so as the mayor said I'll read your name if you could please stand and then we'll all gather together um for a picture in the front with the governing body I'll start with our K through three wi winners winning first place Benjamin Westervelt and our second place winner and I apologize in advance if I I mess up your name um Shrea sidu you here no okay um for grades four through eight first place Sophia Yang second place Sophia Tran and third place Abby [Applause] burn for grades 9 through 12 you could stay standing for grades 99 through 12 first place Pak per perit first place Ava Stadler second place Sophia lancha second place barl jijit yeah third place Le Leila coraco third place Ava Bergman runner up Kaa nuchi we had a lot of 9 through 12 that makes me happy runner up Cassidy [Applause] ovari honorable mention Aaliyah Gonzalez honorable mention Kate Dylan and honorable mention Samantha munera thank you so much if you want to come in front of the deas we'll take a picture if I can ask uh Lori and Jenny to join us for a photo as well and I can give these as when we come up yeah can you read a statement for me first please of course top just the top oh okay last week Rutherford lost one of its most revered residents Mr Bill Alay who was a tremendous resource and shared so much information with the mayor with me with mayor it says with me um but also with me all of us um and many residents about the history of race relations in Rutherford I actually think Jenny perin spent about five hours with Mr Galloway in his home going through his history I'm sure he'd be pleased to see that Rutherford's children have the opportunity to discuss this topic in a meaningful way through activities like the Civil Rights commission's poster contest the commission has always found creative ways to promote diversity and equality I the mayor look forward to seeing its newest members some of whom are being appointed tonight carry on with that with the same passion and enthusiasm of all those who came before them thank you mayor thank you can can we all step down in front of the the D once you get your all right so equally dispersed who my council president good [Applause] you oh you didn't know assumed you saw it so you assume oh thank you you didn't know we were all going to do it that's why he's the administrator yes he wow that's ouchie ouchie okay your white shirt's not clean you wear orange okay yeah s yeah orange just a new white it's all right it's over good to go M was on all right everybody got the opportunity to run away okay um now we're going to move to the changes of the proposed agenda Missy yes under consent agenda we'll be adding two authorizations one for the placement of a memorial plaque of the Thomas twist Jr to be installed at Fireman's Park and the other for road closures for the fireworks events and the baby parade event both under resolutions on consent we'll be doing renewal of the annual liquor licenses for Wired for wine Sonoma beastro Pisano restaurant and Renaissance Hotel and that's all I have of the time thank you I really thought Bo would have changes mayor just want to make fun of her first I thought V would have been fun of yes council president yes so I have um two requests um one is to remove the discussion regarding the Civil Rights bylaws and the second is to request the appointment of two Commissioners to the Civil Rights Commission and um councilwoman can you read their names please for the mayor to write down sure uh the two uh residents that we would like to have appointed to the Civil Rights Commission are uh Christina Munos and Andrea cedra thank you councilman thank you and that's it for the changes are they down can I piece paper says if you don't mind I just don't have their names we're now going to start the hearing of citizens I'll say this once please step with the microphone keep your comments a five minutes or less if you choose not to want to name your address you could sign the book but I will need it otherwise thank you anybody from the public wishing to actually actually you know what a motion for the changes to the proposed agenda motion I have a motion by councilwoman Del com have a second second by councilman Guzman any questions or comments by the council see n May roll call councilman beg Robertson yes councilman Gman yes Council Del con yes councilman cley yes thank you we're going to move on now to the hearing of public citizens it's Bonnie corkrin 390 montos Avenue um couple of items uh I think it's great that the farmers Market's moving to Lincoln Park what I'm sad and disappointed about is that you maybe two years ago I was told the HPC would not be disbanded well apparently the website is no longer so there is no website for the historical pres verion committee that website had the walking tours of the town and the Lincoln Park which would be phenomenal to have with the farmers market there but can't get to it because you guys took the website down so those links are gone my husband as a unofficial member worked on maps that link is gone pretty much everything on that website is gone architectural features of historical homes is gone um the survey that the residents paid for back in 2006 of the historic districts is gone I'm sure I'm missing other things but all that information that people have worked on from when the HBC started so you guys disbanded it and you said we're not disbanding it we're just making it different is gone I'm Flor that you guys slapped Us in the face like that that's that the apparently I'm not a landlord thank god um but apparently landlords and property owners that have multif family houses got letters on Friday afternoon and apparently they have to have insurance papers this ordinance that demands it was put in effect last August it took you guys from August to now to write a letter to verify or tell the residents you've got to do these insurance forms and you give them 3 weeks deadline that's insane my insurance company for my homeowners usually gives me a monthly way to get me my paperwork and get it back to them 3 weeks is insane and then you guys are going to start finding them that's what the letter says because I saw a copy of it which brings me to my next thing you guys passed a lead ordinance a lead paint ordinance which kind of humorous talked to my son up in Massachusetts he's like Boston's had it for years mom I said yeah I get it it's dangerous lead paint should get tested did any of you read the ordinance before you rubber stamped it with a yes Council Del Crone you weren't here you don't have to answer the date that at has to be surveyed and tested and the landlords have to have all the certification in is June 2 uh July 22nd of this year and that letter hasn't even gone out yet oh and that's up to $1,000 fine if you don't do it by July 22nd I'm sorry if you guys are going to make rules give the landlords and the property owners a heads up this $100 fee Murphy's Law from 2022 says a reasonable Fay for administrative costs do you understand that a lot of the tenants a lot of the landlords are elderly people they might not have the extra 100 administrative cost $100 per file that's a little crazy that's not reasonable I would love to know what every other town around us is doing and what they're charging because I bet it's not $100 I did want one more thing what time am I at really fin um no that's quatron councilwoman quon's not here so I'll have to email her but you guys need to start looking at the paperwork you stamping because you are not you're like giving unreasonable deadlines for these Property Owners oh do we have a lead Certified Technician because if we don't even have one for the ordinance the landlords can't hire one property owners can't hire one without your approval so do we even have a lead certified test J that's it thank you any body else from the public wishing to speak name is Ed GAA 139 Eastern way here in Rutherford uh with all due respect I need to correct what Bonnie had misstated although the HPC the historic preservation committee's website is no longer is has has expired all the information that was on there uh has been preserved by the historic preservation society and as far as the walking tours go that was an independent uh company that supplied that service which the council last year uh agreed that it should be continued and I hope they continue it again but uh all the information on the HPC is now resides on the HPS the Rutherford historic preservation society and we continue to do so so I just want to clarify that um again I hope the um renewal of the walking tours of both Park Avenue and Lincoln Park are due at the end of July and I hope the council sees fit as they did last year to uh renew that uh those walking tours that's all thank you thank you anybody else from the public wishing to speak good evening mayor and Council Beverly con 48 Washington Avenue I'm a uh owner of a multifam unit and I just would like the fee to register the Certificate of Insurance to be reviewed and possibly reduced for owner occupied properties as well as perhaps for 2025 lowering the $100 fee I'd like to just be on record to State my wishes thank you thank you Bev anybody else from the public wishing to speak seeing none now I'm going to close the the public and now open up for any Council comment um council president okay so the burrow administrator is going to speak to the lead matter okay so with regards to the lead uh Miss corkran is right there is a deadline of July uh 22nd I think she said um but there's been a lot of confusion questions Statewide on that we we are expecting uh an extension on that deadline uh we ourselves had had questions on it in terms of actually finding a certified Le inspector and actually we just went through the procurement process and uh we uh we had respondents and we are going to be awarding a contract for that that service uh probably at the next meeting um and then we will give an extension uh to all residents to get that certification completed uh obviously J July 22nd is not going to be the deadline um but we'll uh you know we are working towards it a lot of municipalities a lot of our colleagues uh quite honestly haven't gotten as far as we have some towns have a lot of towns have not done it yet so uh you know and the state's aware of that they're aware of some of the challenges that we're all facing trying to make this compliant um but uh you know we will we're going to do our best to to make it happen at a reasonable time and a fairness to uh to the residents of the town uh but next meeting you should see a contract to award that contract thank you anybody else from the council seeing none thank you mayor uh Mr gaja I uh in regards to the walking tours um as you know I am uh very very fond of the tours I was very involved with many of you on the historic preservation committee um I see no reason why we would want to walk away from those tours they're great tours that have a lot of information on them they're a great nice day out just a stroll Rutherford so I will definitely be looking into that to make sure that we can continue walking tours thank you councelor thank you sir I also want just want to thank Mr GAA for clarifying on where the information went um with the web background and work that I do uh as we all know nothing on the internet has ever gone uh there is an organization called wayb back- api.org that stores an archive of every single domain on the internet you when I have a client who forgot to renew a domain registration and it expires and the website goes down we pull from way back to be able to restore everything so um thank you Mr G for clarifying all of that um and uh Miss Khan thank you very much for the step um the statement on the fees and do that these are things that we learn about as we hear from the community so it's always important you know we trust our professionals to bring forth the best possible solutions it always looks great on paper until we he here and I've said this the last several meetings unless there are bodies in these seats speaking up nine times out of 10 we're not really going to know that much more about it so most of us put ourselves out there and have those conversations at the parties and things like that but it helps when you all come forward and contribute to the community and betterment of it so thank you thank you councilman anybody else um I just I I just wanted to Echo what um councilman kley just said about nothing disappearing from the internet I was I was surprised to hear that that was all gone I just wanted to also just credit um Mr GA because I I don't know that our community appreciates his commitment to Historic preservation and and my favorite thing is knowing that he walks around town a twice a day Ed twice a day and makes note of all of our historic sites and gets a lot of Joy from um understanding the history of our town in a way that many of us don't take the time to do so um I Echo councilman Guzman's um I guess premature uh confidence that we will renew those walking tours but I thought it would be remiss and not acknowledging um your efforts Mr G so thank you thank you anybody else see none we're going to move on consent agenda council president yes um before I move on to consent agenda I wanted to read a statement from councilwoman um mawan so she said although permission of the mayor and council is not required we want to acknowledge the Civil Rights commission's commitment to reorganizing and therefore acknowledge that they will be voting to restructure the required membership section with the guidance of the burrow attorney we wish the commission great success with this endeavor okay so resolutions okay we have resolution 141 oh oh consense agenda oh gosh I'm a rookie at this okay consent agenda all items authorized to be consent by the council will be enacted in 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 there go any questions or comments by the council see none man call Council M Robertson yes Council mman yes with exception of the minutes of June 10th 2024 I abstain oh mayor the same for me I abstained from those minutes as well okay councilman Del con Yes except I to abstain from the minutes from June 10th 2024 thank you but they're all different so we're going to be a little complicated here the meeting minutes no the the minutes okay because I wasn't at the meeting yet all right so councilman kley yes on everything okay so I have some resolutions I have resolution 141 authorizing the execution of a shared services agreement with the county of bargain for intersection improvements and signalization at Jackson Avenue and West Erie Avenue motion have a motion by the council president have a second second second by councilman Guzman questions or comments for the council see no mayor roll call councilwoman B Roberson yes councilman Gman yes Council dely con yes councilman kopley yes okay I have res resolution 145 authorizing the burrow to enter into an agreement with MC mcar and Associates ink for appraisal reports and testimony motion I have a motion by the council president I have a second second you guys are too polite to each other really Council second councilman deor call any questions or comments for the council see n um can we hold one second yes I'd like to go back to 141 yes the fact that we actually getting the traffic light on Jackson Avenue that's amazing um we've worked on this since I was on the council in 2013 and councilman Guzman has championed it for me since he replaced me and hates my guts forever making him do this so I would just like to thank the B administrator um Council Police Department um for really actually making this come to fruition even though it's taken us how many years six seven so y now we'll move on again okay all right so I have to do a roll call for resolution 145 roll call please Council B Roberson councilman Guzman yes counc Del con yes councilman kley yes thank you resolution I have a motion by the council president may have a second second second by councilman Del con any questions or comment for the council see a roll call Council B Roberson yes counc Gman yes coun Del con yes counc kley yes all right we're going to move on new business councilman thank you sir um so in light of two absentees in this evening's uh meeting I've opted not to represent my my grander vision uh for adopting class five licenses here in uh the Bureau of Rutherford what I would like to do though is kind of open the discussion to the present uh committee members who have voted on this presentation previously um effectively what I'm looking to do this summer is what I should have done last summer which is present the if the the effective business proposal behind what it means to adopt a class five retail organization within your municipality and effectively it boils down to tax revenue we had a massive issue with our finances this year bunch of different Revenue departments were down M um uh Municipal Court revenues were down building department revenues were down our our burough professionals were incredible and scrambling to cap our tax raise at 1.8% but it was a scary few months while the finance committee was working through all of our numbers there was talk about who we could sell a liquor license to there was there was you good that's okay it wasn't sorry thanks um so I I don't want to put everyone through that me that presentation again uh without the full 100% attendance um so we're going to move that full presentation into July but if there are any questions this evening from those currently in attendance who have previously voted yes for the referendum and again all we're looking to do here is take advantage of the democratic process that which we thought was going to be effective last year and what happened was with a brand new ballot design a brand new voting mechanism over 700 people missed that referendum question and it the referendum was only defeated by about 500 right so you can run all the numbers and skew Everything You Want U but the council president even stated when we had these discussions post referendum she said it took alcohol several years to go through that question being asked and answered time and time again and when alcohol finally passed it was a presidential election year voter turnout was almost 70% right we are we were looking at only a 31 32% voter turnout last November so my claim and what my ask is this summer and I again am going to put in the work this time is let's see through the Democratic process let's give everyone who comes out on these select years a chance to have their voice heard if it ends up being defeated again that is the end of my argument and the end of my story I will not press it further but I'm what I'm asking for here is to give me one more chance to do it the right way where I failed the citizens last year so I'll open it up to the floor for any questions um I will save you all from the full presentation until uh council president has returned and councilwoman quatron is back now what I what I was talking to about was if there was a timeline you wanted to start the ball rolling that's why we're discussing apologize for no it's okay I could just I I could hear you and I can't think when I hear something else it's just the way my mind works um there was a timeline I was unaware that we would be missing a third of our Council this evening when I had put out the newsletter to ask for my Council colleague support again that was my question right exactly right so that was the original intent so forgive me it was not intended to be misleading the mayor to his credit when we had discussed this openly there is this um prevailing but untrue rumor or or stereotype that we try and do things in the summer when no one's around that's not true the business is the business the business is continually rolling right we wanted but the mayor's grand plan was let's do this in the last weekend when school has just let out before everybody moves on into their Summers but unfortunately a third of our Council has moved on into their Summers this evening and so it was just kind of a bad timing but we had the right intentions all along um so if anyone here has a question happy to answer it now but again I'll do a bigger presentation in July and we'll have a more formal discussion if you're willing and able anybody have any qu comments yeah councilman I I don't want to say that you failed so you heard you say that several times and you did not fail it was just a low turnout year and I do want to say um I am on the fence about doing it again a second year so I look forward to hearing your presentation because um you do have some convincing arguments about the idea that more people would be out to vote this year so I just want to hear more about what you have to say in your presentation and I appreciate you doing it anybody else from the council um councilman cookley and I have spoken a lot about this concept and this issue and um when this first came around last year I did a lot of research myself because I was not um as educated as I would have liked to be about um what it means to bring uh cannabis licensing to a community where it would be what that would mean I guess all I want to add to what councilman cookley said presently not on the substance of the issue but um it does matter when you have a low ver low voter turnout year it does matter when you're trying to get a reaction from your community about an issue that I do think is very important to a lot of people um so I while I do have trepidation like can we get a a meaningful change in the very next year um the fact is it is a presidential election year more people are going to turn out to vote just in general um voter apathy is a real thing so when you bring things forth on a year where there's not something really catching the eye of of the public at large that's going to be the result um what I encourage the community to do is really uh rely on on councilman kley and others who are far more educated in this than anything you can find on Facebook um and really think about what the actual uh facts are and then make your decision accordingly so um I Echo councilman B ruberson and the notion that councilman cookley somehow failed I do think that we will benefit from increased education so that folks feel more committed to the issue one way or another whether it's to support it or not they at least feel like they have the information to make a decision so I too look forward to getting that uh information and and having everyone receive the education they deserve about an issue that I know is important to one of my beloved colleagues thank you anybody else seeing none um as we discussed transparency you brought it up tonight before we Le for vacation I just don't want you to feel sandbagged all summer long when people saying that I was denti sure so uh I lived it for many years so it doesn't matter what the subject matter is people want transparency um we're going to move on to Liaison reports um council president um I have nothing to share for the council president on behalf of oh yes as far as Council McGowan I have nothing to report for her and for me I just want to remind everyone that the baby parade is this weekend so um you know if you don't have a baby to bring come see the cute babies it's always a fun event and I always would like to remind people that our mayor was in that parade when he was a baby and um not recently and um you know great pictures so was my brother a that's lovely oh that's great so baby parade this weekend and it's always a fun event and that's it for me thank you and we're going to move on to to councilman Guzman thank you very much mayor um under police um I was not here last uh meeting I was uh with my daughter uh celebrating some of her achievements for High School awards dinner and um I know uh some of the concerns that came up during that meeting were uh statistics about uh whe burglaries in town um uh traffic violations whatnot so I have some information I'd like to share with you all um so that um maybe I can help answer some of the questions that you may have had uh during that meeting that I missed um to date um in uh with t when it comes to tickets throughout the burre um to date the the police have issued 6,315 tickets since January 1st to May through May 31st of those uh tickets 5,424 were parking violations uh moving violations were 776 barel ordinances were 85 and uh 3,989 of those uh tickets were issued by our traffic Bureau um the I been contacted by a couple residents when um unfortunately there was some home invasions um and what those home invasions were they they were serious of course um it was um uh going back to uh theft of Auto what they were looking for were key fobs so they were breaking into some of the homes and they were looking for key fubs unfortunately right now the way our state um statutes are written our police the hands are really tied when it comes to a car theft and unfortunately um this is the way the laws are written in the state of New Jersey and I will say that our chief John Russo is a huge advocate of getting this wall changed he has been to Trenton several times already advocating and speaking before um our legislators legislators and really pushing and it looks like he is making some Headway here and finally hopefully we'll get some change where our police can actually get their apprehend someone and not have to let them go immediately just because of the way the law reads so I applaud our chief and and our entire police department for having to go through and taking the step and and and move and putting the best their best foot forward and to benefit all of not only Rutherford but all residents of the state of New Jersey um a couple more uh instances in regards to burglaries in the burrow there were eight burglaries to date one was at the little Le Clubhouse two were daytime apartment burglaries not associated with Autos the remaining five were associated with two separate dates where individuals went home to home and enter homes looking for auto fobs they were successful in stealing Autos from two residences these individuals come to town and stolen stolen autos and our in and our police investigations have shown they've mainly coming from nework um there's been in regards to uh Motor Vehicles again there's been 15 uh thefts of vehicle parts again that goes back to cataly converters and for the most part I mean that is definitely not only uh uh exclusive to Rutherford that is throughout the state of New Jersey the car the uh catalac converters thefts um the police department does publish a monthly activity report under the police so if anybody has any further questions or would like to see what has happened in the past month all that information is there for the public to view so um I appreciate uh Bonnie you brought this forth last week and I do appreciate that because you uh you helped bring out some of the concerns of the other residents so thank you very much for bringing that out um there was a young man that came uh two meetings ago um and I was able to speak with him and have a long conversation with him um in regards to uh trying to keep him comeon saying you know what you do live and still live in one of the safest barrels in the state of New Jersey so um so thank you very much again for bringing that forth um on another note uh not under my liaison assignments uh as we all know we had uh rather quick storm that passed through the burrow um and a 10-minute storm did a lot of damage a lot of trees came down I'd like to thank our DPW Department all our emergency services our fire department our uh EMTs uh our mayor for always being on top of an emergency situation and my colleagues um once again we are our departments proved to us that we do have one of the best R towns in the state of New Jersey and I also like to do a call out to our bural administrator because he's always on top of all these things whether he's here in the office or not he's on top of them so thank you very much that's all I have uh before we move on council president anything else you want to add yes um I forgot to share about something very big happening on Saturday and that's the Fourth of July fireworks so please come see the fireworks that's it and I mentioned the baby parade but I'll mention it again we're having a baby parade on Saturday you heard me okay I'll be there okay all right now move on Council D thank you mayor um there's something else exciting happening on Saturday and that is the styrofoam and Shred Drive run by the green team so you can go save the planet see some cute babies and then see fireworks I mean it's a it's a chalk full day so um please if you have any styrofoam or shredding um For Better or For Worse the paper that we shred um cannot be recycled I I I if if I rued the world I think I would try to figure that out but it has to be recycled in a different way than paper that's not shred but we're encouraged to shred paper to preserve our identities it's just this very vicious cycle um but our Green Team comes out to DPW and um partners with them to uh take all that stuff off your hands and make sure it is recycled properly so that is taking place on Saturday morning over at DPW on the other side of Route 17 um I also wanted to thank DPW and our other Emergency Services uh for their help during yesterday's storm um it's really pretty astonishing the amount of trees that came down in such a short time I ask you to exhibit some patience for our Department of Public Works as they try to help everyone get cleaned up following that storm um I can assure you that their plates are normally quite full on just the day-to-day that we ask of them so when we add um these extra projects of such magnitude um it does take a lot of uh Power uh man and woman power from the DPW so just uh show some patients if you have any questions um you're welcome to reach out to me of course you could always reach out to um our uh department head uh Chris Syler or to of course Bob keski um the final thing I wanted to mention is just um there's been a lot of talk with the Civil Rights Commission tonight and I just wanted to take a moment um to highlight it um I started with my own work in the buau by joining the Civil Rights Commission as a commissioner um my day job is as an employment attorney so I deal with a lot of civil rights issues it was something that was familiar to me and felt like it was an easy transition um what I will say is that there's really nothing easy about being on the Civil Rights Commission it's probably the most um more from a more and belief system perspective it is a really um hard place to sit because there are a lot of varying opinions about what civil rights is and is not what it means to be a commission as opposed to a committee um and in the life of the Civil Rights Commission as I have known it there's been a lot of iterations of participation and um I will say this uh the Civil Rights Commission has existed for 60 years in the burough of Rutherford we are one of the only towns in New Jersey to have a Civil Rights Commission which is something something we should be very proud of um if you ever want the single best history of the Civil Rights Commission you will ever receive you will go and talk to Robin riestra who runs the metaland museum because she recounts for you sitting in her parents living room with the original commission with the original Council Liaisons and um starting during the very first civil rights movement in the 60s um that that Civil Rights Commission has seen a very powerful history in the burough uh resulting in the Multicultural Festival which celebrates its 20th anniversary this September um so I suffice it to say um I am grateful to the mayor for pointing out um Bill Galloway's part in joining and partnering with the commission it is the commission really serves as as two things an educator and an advisor that's sort of how I've always viewed it um and remember that these folks are volunteers so I am very grateful that there are community members that are so committed to civil rights that they want to give of their free time to help educate us about it to educate our children who we saw earlier today celebrating juneth and I encourage you that if you have questions about what the Civil Rights Commission does or what it can do or what it should do uh you reach out to me you reach out to uh the chairwoman uh Jenny parin who's here tonight um but remember that um the existence of this body is actually um a huge benefit and privilege that we don't share with many towns and one that I'm particular particularly proud of so um mark your calendars for September 7th which is the 20th annual Civil Rights Commission Multicultural festival and um I just thank the um the Commissioners that are joining us we got a new one assigned uh appointed last meeting two more this meeting um and I think we're about to be on the impetus of something really exciting for the next phase of the commission thank you thank you councilwoman councilman KY thank you sir um couple of notes this evening first and foremost a incredible shout out to our Arts committee and Matt arrian I won't go through the whole list of names right now I'll put it in the newsletter for another rendition of the porch Fest uh special thank you to the Rutherford police department members of our fire department and DPW all of our hosts all of our residents and visitors and especially the incredibly talented musicians for making it just another magical Day within this I unfortunately wasn't able to attend I was down the shore for another soccer tournament um but the videos and pictures pouring out over social media was just absolutely just breathtaking and I know most of my colleagues here shared in the glory of the day um when soccer's over I'll be back in the fold and enjoying it along with you but again kudos to all of you involved just couldn't be part more proud to be part of a team like that um special announcement for the community and anyone sitting here um we have been alerted that the rent board is in need of a Committee Member uh who is an actual renter within the Bureau of Rutherford so if you yourself we we have to have uh landlord we have to have you know Council lias on there's certain parameters and the gentleman who was serving as our rent liaison uh has resigned this year and the buau attorneys have graciously alerted us to the fact that we cannot continue forward without having someone so please anyone you know um have feel free to email me at M cley Rutherford B b b r nj.com or the buau administrator um we'll take your information do a quick little interview um but anyone and everyone is welcome to apply uh we're looking for somebody just perfect to contribute to the betterment of our burrow and that's it for me this evening thank you thank you councilman we're going to move on to sorry I just want to add one more thing if I may um you know a big part of our uh getting back to normal after storm and I just want to do a shout out to psng um those guys are amazing what they have done the way they're lift they're getting wires up off the ground and and making sure they were all safe um they don't get enough credit so I just want to give a little a shout out to psng for all they do for the barel thank you thank you [Music] um also I know that you left out the part where you talked to me earlier about how winhurst also helped us out today um yes we talked earlier yes p is phenomenal lur actually stepped in to help us out today as well so I'd like to thank them as well since the councilman dropped the ball on that one uh next up I have um few appointments uh Thomas stopa provisional appointment Fire subcode official part-time code enforcement in accordance with the rules and regulation state of New Jersey civil service commission effect of July 8 8th 2024 ask for Council consent motion motion by council president may have a second second second by councilwoman Del re con any questions or comments by the council see none ask for roll call Council beg Robertson yes cman Gman yes coun Del con yes councilman kley yes next up Mars scar Scardino provisional appointment electrical inspector in accordance with the rules and regulations state of New Jersey civil service commission effect of September 3rd 2024 I'd ask for Council consent motion motion by council president may have a second second second by councilman Guzman any questions or comments by the council seeing none I'd ask for a roll call counc beg Robertson yes councilman Guzman yes counc dely con yes councilman kley yes thank you next I have the summer camp seasonal staff is attached in your memo I ask for Council consent motion motion by council president May second second second by Council Del con any questions or comments by the councel seeing mayor Ro call councilwoman B Robertson yes councilman Gman yes councilwoman Del con yes councilman kley yes thank you next I have Christina Munos for the Civil Rights Commission I ask for Council consent motion I have a motion by Council can I have a second second second by councilman Guzman requested by counc seeing none may roll call coun B Robertson yes coun Guzman yes coun Del con yes C cley yes next I have uh Andrea Ser um civil rights commission may I have Council consent motion motion by Council D con May second second second by councilman Guzman questions or comments by the council seeing N I ask for Council consent councilman beg Robertson yes councilman Guzman yes counc Del Co yes councilman kley yes uh so next I have ordinances or I'm sorry hearing of citizens hearing of citizens will open it up to the uh um to two agenda items and agenda items only anybody from the public wishing to speak seeing none I'll close the public and see anybody from the council want to week seeing none I'm going to move on to ordinances ordinance on first read council president is not here I believe that fall under councilman Guzman council president okay okay do so I have an ordinance on first read approving an amendment to the West Erie Union Avenue agnu place and Chestnut Street Redevelopment plan I asked the clerk to read the ordinance by title only an ordinance of the mayor and Council the burough of Rutherford County of Bergen New Jersey approving an amendment to the West Erie Avenue Union Avenue AG place and Chestnut Street Redevelopment plan I make the motion I make a motion to move that the ordinance be passed on first reading and advertised according to law I have a motion by the council president may have a second second second councilman kley uh I'm going to open it up right now I'm going to ask the um Bob to um speak to this before you vote I just want to make it clear there's a bit of a typo on page eight of the amendment it references 20% on the affordable housing It should read 15% which is compliant with our ordinance uh the round up feature is uh is part of the amendment we're asking for so it should say 15% and Page 8 number three not 20% thank you anybody else from the council wishing to speak in this matter seeing none of this for roll call counc beg Robertson yes councilman Gman yes Council Del Co yes councilman kley yes thank you now move on to ordinance on second read Public Works counc thank you mayor um this ordinance on second read is amending chapter 131-132 amend and revise chapter 131 zoning of the burrow code of the burre of Rutherford and in particular 131-133 lighting 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 councilman doe con may I have a second second second by councilman Guzman I'll now open it to the public for this subject in this subject matter only anybody have any questions or comments please step forward to the microphone seeing none may uh close it now and I'll open it to the council Council thank you mayor um just to by way of reminder um I was at the varsity dinner last week so I didn't have an opport uh last meeting so I didn't have an opportunity to speak to this on first read but this is a um um an amendment to our lighting ordinance to set some parameters for residential lighting um I just wanted to speak to a few things about this ordinance um this issue has been raised by the Green Team and a number of residents about the fact that um the brightness of certain lighting by certain homes is very disruptive to everyone's enjoyment of their own or to certain people's enjoyments of their homes um I think that this ordinance is going to capture some of the concerns not all of the concerns conerns um but while also balancing that against concerns raised by residents about safety and wishing to have um our streets be very well lit to help prevent some of um potential crimes that could exist in in the darkness so um I wanted to raise that this is an acknowledgement on my part as a person who has spoken to Residents and gone to their homes and seen the lighting issues that they have um that this doesn't necessarily capture um what everyone is searching for but I do think is a a great first step towards um addressing some of the issues that have been raised about the brightness of the lighting um and I encourage everyone to remember that ordinances can be amended so if we find that this isn't effective in one way or another it's certainly something that we can revisit that's all thank you thank you councilman anybody else member o Council B Roberson yes coun Guzman yes coun Del Coen yes coun kley yes yes thank you I'd ask for a motion to adjourn motion motion by councilwoman Del con all in favor I you all have a great night