[Music] [Music] at this time I will call this meeting to order Clerk of the board please call the role commissioner bod uh commissioner Baker sorry present and now commissioner bodc here commissioner delis for present commissioner grados here commissioner Kowalski here commissioner Mirabella president commissioner Williams here Vice chairwoman Leon here and chairwoman P Mar mudad here at the record reflect you have nine Commissioners present for this evening's regular meeting thank you Clerk of the board please lead us in the prayer and salute to the flag humbly we ask God The Giver of BL and lover of Charity to give the entire family of Nations true agreement with his will and to Grant the light of his Spirit on all who work for justice and peace amen pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all Clerk of the board please read the statement of compliance with the open public meetings act the chair wishes to announce that pursuant to the requirements of New Jersey statute annotated title 10 10 chapter 4 section 10 of the open public meetings act adequate notice of this meeting with the board of County commissioners of the county of Union has been given by mailing the annual meeting schedule for the year 2024 along with periodic changes necessitated by circumstance to the newspapers circulating within the county of Union who are designated to receive such notice and by posting the annual meeting schedule for the year 2024 in the administration building and further by filing the annual meeting schedule for the year 2024 with the office of the county clerk may I have a motion to approve the communications no moved Madam chair second a motion was made by commissioner Mirabella and was seconded by commissioner quasi Clerk of the board can you please call the role commissioner Baker I commissioner bodc I commissioner dallis for I commissioner granados OB seeing on April 24th I to April 10th Comm commissioner this is for the communications I I commissioner Kowalski yes commissioner Mirabella I commissioner Williams I Vice chairwoman Leon abstained from April 10 no sorry these are the Comm uh the communications oh I'm sorry okay and the phone call okay sorry I believe that was an I uh I I and chairwoman P Mar mudad I uh let the record reflect you have nine votes in the affirmative on all the communications thank you may I have a motion to approve the a ail minutes so move mam chair second a motion was made by commissioner Mirabella and was seconded by commissioner delis for Clerk of the board can you please call the role commissioner Baker I with the exception of April 24th agenda setting session and April 24th uh regular meeting uh commissioner bodc I commissioner dallis for I commissioner grados try this again I April 10th abstained from April 24th regular and agenda setting meeting uh commissioner kosi yes commission Mirella I commissioner Williams I Vice chairman Leon abstained from the April 10th agenda setting and regular meeting I to April 24th meetings thank you and chairwoman P Mar mudad I to all uh let the record reflect you have eight votes in the affirmative with one abstention for the April 10th minute and seven votes in the affirmative with two extensions for the April 24th minutes thank you the meeting is now open to the public for the purpose of commenting on resolutions being offered for adoption Andor on any governmental issue that a member of the public feels may be of concern kindly state your name and town of residence for the record and if speaking on a resolution on the agenda please note the resolution number to which you are referring and adhere to the 5 minute time limit good evening ladies and gentlemen of the commissioner board and various golden nuggets this is Bruce Patterson Garwood New Jersey uh F first for the public comment uh this is regarding the Union County Manager edan's Clark Reservoir dream amusement park since it's located on the Waters of the reservoir I guess it would be more fitting to call it oatman's wet dream amusement park and by now you've seen the uh concept you know which I I hold up just for the public and such uh for your understanding we will do a comparison of oatman's wet dream amusement park which is 14 acres to the existing Count's Ponder Roa Park which size is nearly 50% larger at 28 ERS uh visualization and perception really uh counting comparing the Ponderosa Park to oatman's wet dream Amusement part uh sadly we have found the Commissioners really do not have that conceptualization uh being that they're only appointed by the county Democrat political boss State Senate President scutari has minions and puppets but for the public uh the larger Ponderosa park for comparison contains two parking areas with 92 spots one football field one soccer field one playground spray area one picnic area one Comfort building one walking loop with passive green areas uh note this park which was Dutch seel's Farm was a great joint effort of design between the residents living next to it and the county uh all appears to passively fit in nicely the smaller open and wet dream amusement park Mr Patterson I'm going to remind you about your the Quorum and your language please adhere to our code you will be escorted out are you do you understand nope nice try nearly 40% less at 14 acres which was Wildlife Preserve and is now an amusement park and is also crammed in between two residential areas this contains five parking areas at 140 spots two weather shelters one small County Administration Building a small motorized train system with half mile of trackage trackage one departure Depot one bridge two distant platforms two Wetland Creek crossovers one entrance building with Comfort station and concession stand one Clock Tower with perimeter sitting area one Carousel Building with flower garden and sitting area one large swm Basin Lake I have no idea what swm swim who knows one play area with converted ice rink and change house and fire pit one boat house one floating boat dock no mention of kayaks by the way one boat ramp one Fishing Pier One exercise area one non-loop walking trail through p passive green areas one loop trail I this is 10 lb in a 5B bag as they say for sure uh don't get me wrong a boat dock and ramp fishing pier along with walking trails exercise area and playground is a great passive use of the area which abuts two separate residential areas on both sides and would be similar to echol Lake Park I suggest you dump this concept quickly please thank you to the rezos reso 410 is increasing USA Architects contract of $200,000 by $100,000 just for paper shuffling for a sprinkler project in Annex Building uh this change order increases the contract by 47% which exceeds the county bylaws threshold which is 20% and should go out to another bid since sprinkler paper shuffling services are nothing exotic reso 437 is increasing Kingston Coventry legal firms $100,000 contract by 50% or $50,000 for General Council Services the public would like to know specific reason for this exorbitant increase since we have our own General Council services in house reso 444 is congratulating Eagle Scout honores Boy Scout Troop 101 the eagle scout award is indeed a great honor but there really should be something now in writing that says if one goes on in later life with the power to perfect legalize corruption like State Senate president scutari has done then it should be rescinded um I you can look at maybe Pete Rose the baseball Legend you know as a good example so thank you whatever can you hear me okay my name is Diana Gonzalez and I'm a resident of Clark New Jersey I'm here to talk about the reservoir project project or the proposed project um I think some of us had been hearing about this for a while but just in recent days learned more about it and I think a lot of people are still pretty confused um but started reacting and asked for some coordination so I offered to create a group and start collecting some feedback so I'm just going to go through kind of sequentially you know the comments that were shared with me and then share some of my own thoughts um okay so the the these are you know individual uh comments right all these are all Standalone is what I'm trying to say terrible awfully crowded would be nice if it was a more passive area with a more natural feel than an overabundance of activities these plans are not set in stone are than dredging hopefully this property should be left as open space not deforested the Clark Reservoir is a natural Preserve not a theme park keep it natural for future Generations 18 parking spaces in front of a quiet street for no reason three proposed boat ramps including on Wendel which is a quiet residential street people move in and out and magnificent mature trees are being taken down more Apartments more commercialization more development and destruction of what made Clark Special that's in the context of a series of changes right not just the reservoir the reservoir I think is also folks are reacting to it um after a series of changes that have been happening to the town over over the years why does every piece of land have to be developed what about the impact on all the animals what happened to everyone caring about climate change in the environment this will destroy the serenity of our neighborhood community involvement is key to any successful discussion and a favorable outcome the flower garden at Esposito Park is not even maintained and they want to do this not so great when it's in your neighborhood it's going to suck for houses around the reservoir what's going to happen to my piece the train is out of place where does the wildlife move to this is not good and a magnet for what the team the town doesn't want the reservoir should remain natural as a wildlife preserve where do the fox deer oh no I'm sorry why do we have Fox deer bear walking around the streets because of continuous quote progress we have to stop encroaching and building every inch of land another paved Paradise I worry about what's going who's going to police the areas so close to people's homes more dead wildlife in the streets we are a suburb we don't want to look like a city stop building they are ruining the town horrible why do we have to develop every bit of open space cutting down trees and displacing Wildlife disrupts the ecosystem I've got one more page thank you for your patience how do we keep people from walking through littering and possibly breaking into the homes on Jessie drive we have enough traffic and congestion as it is leave the open space Al open what's pictured will be in the backyards of lefor Lane and Wendell place a parking lot and a boat ramp I just don't understand why we can't leave the woods and the river in its natural state doing this in people's backyards is so stupid we have Oakridge Park and the skate park on Madison hill we don't need this we were told a walking path and dredging would be done not a carnival and a full Park in our literal backyard add a ferris wheel to this tacky project ouch Jessy drives about to have a lot of neighbors more parking for thieves robbing homes this will neg negatively impact my quality of life this is a proposed amusement park so these are individuals direct quotes right and this is just in the last I would say 36 hours um I work a full-time job and I have kids so I have stuff in my inbox that I've yet to process I don't want to come here to be disrespectful I want to come here to share the feedback from the community speaking for myself I grew up in Union County most of my life in lynon um going to Elizabeth and Newark where my family time yeah thank you your time's up I'm sorry I'm sorry about that thank you can I talk about anything or just here and then later on talk about anything that's not on you can talk about anything we just need your name in town for the record uh Nancy tasus from Clark New Jersey and I'm not here to talk about the reservoir although I am totally on board with every single comment that was made by Diana but I'm here to talk about the Ashbrook golf course I've been been playing golf at Ashbrook for over 30 years in the past three years it has become a disaster there are holes that have pits of dirt and Marsh and G and overgrown shrubs that you can't really call a fairway you lose your balls in the Fairway because they go into these little ponds that must be so deep they just swallow up the balls the little creek the little pond that's over there is lime green is as green as that light that I'm looking at I don't know what's going on with the with the Ashbrook conditions I do observe that there The Creeks that are at Ashbrook don't move they are totally stationary I don't play in the rain I'm retired I don't have to play in the rain I don't have to play on weekends but I can only imagine what happens when it rains there and maybe that's part of the reason why the cores is a big mud hole I'm not saying every hole is like that maybe five six but enough to be annoying I still play there it doesn't stop me but I'm hoping by coming here today and making you aware if you're not a golfer at Ashbrook that I don't know what the problem is at that golf course but there is a problem at that golf course and in the past three years before that it was fine there maybe be one hole that would be mushy and we'd all complain oh it's mushy the hole was mushy but now it's not mush it's holes it's the Creeks that are there all right I'm not the greatest golfer so a lot of my balls go in the creek well you used to be able to find your ball when it went in the creek now if it goes in the creek there's stuff this High growing out of the creek all of the Creeks so I'm here to ask that the county go over there take a look I know that it's outsourced to keer I'm not complaining about keer is a company the people that work for them are great employees but I'm asking you to go and take a look at the conditions of that golf course because it is not good and it's a shame that it's being neglected to me it's being neglected because it hasn't gotten any better in three years and it was good for over 27 years I was playing a little bit more than 30 so um thank you and hopefully maybe this time next year when I go to play golf I'll be feeling like my coming here and addressing the Commissioners made a difference and if it looks the same or God forbid it looks worse then I'll know that it was just a total waste of my time and I'm hoping it's not going to be a total waste of my time because I don't have to be here tonight talking about the golf course it shouldn't look like it it does thank you good even oops good evening I'm jilia colins 72 Georgia Street Clark um this area where the proposed Disneyland Clark is going to be is horrendous I'm going to read something from the open space Recreation historic preservation trust fund and let you know what you know what you're planning to do and what does this all this carousels ice ring train swimming Basin a bridge one side to the other side and concession stands have to do with open space this area is Zone o in Clark as a conference I'm sorry Conservation District that means to me open land the mission of the open space trust fund is to assist the execution policies made by the Union County Board of Commissioners to conserve open space provide recreational opportunities and preserve historic sites when the trust fund was created by referendum in November of 2000 the voters of Union County indicated their strong commitment to all three aspects of the initiative acquisition of open space expansion of recreational opportunities and preservation of historic properties in Union County this office Works Dil diligently to assist the commissioner board in providing Direction in each area as a result the residents of this County continue to see ever expanding benefits in all areas what does a Carousel and a concession stands and a bridge from one side of the uh Reservoir to the other close to the parkway the swim Basin a train in people's backyard an ice rink have to do with open space I can see your point in dredging the area over by Featherbed Lane it's you could probably walk across it that's how thick it is with undergrowth and also this area was used in the 2023 2024 bow hunt so I'm sure your Recreation Department deer management will have something to say about losing that area for a deer hunt once you get rid of all the folage trees it's going to create a horrible look to the area thank you seeing no one else I will formally close this portion of the meeting uh I'm going to ask uh County Council Bruce Bergen to uh comment on resolution 437 thank you chair uh the work being done by Kingston Coventry for the county is actually um at the time they were first appointed we had not yet filed a lawsuit and we're hoping to avoid it um and that's why it was uh indicated as general Council services but at this time it's actually litigation uh we are suing the original contractors and other people who worked on the Ashbrook uh clubhouse uh to recover funds for their improper work on the building so it is an ongoing litigation um although the caption in the original resolution said General Council Services thank you chair thank you uh and I'll ask uh director uh Vicky Durban Drake to comment on on the Ashbrook golf course if possible to address the concern um I'd like to just state that this board is well aware of the conditions at the golf course and that they are putting their resources and their time into coming up with a solution it's really two-pronged we have you have hired um an engineering consulting firm to come up with an overall plan to address the golf course drainage issues that is presently um a project that the D has to approve and we are in that stage right now we hope to have some response by fall and that will allow us to move forward we also are right now um getting ready to award a contract that will deal with another portion that we believe is causing um serious concern and um we we're out to bid it's a restoration bid and it should be should be awarded next month it's going to clear an additional 500 feet Downstream stream of the the um area underneath the power lines and you know we expect that to have an impact as well thank you okay at this time I would like to ask for a motion to adopt resolutions 2024 d47 through 2024 d452 so move Madam chair second uh a motion was made by commissioner Mirabella was seconded by commissioner bodak Clerk of the board please call the role commissioner Baker hi commissioner bodc hi commissioner delis forfor hi commissioner granados hi commissioner Kowalski yes commissioner Mirabella I commissioner Williams I Vice chairman Leon I and chairman pal mud I uh chair let the record reflect uh there are nine votes in the affirmative on all resolutions thank you um at this uh time we will offer our commissioner reports and comments I will start with commission bodak we are happy to announce this year's plant Swap and Shop event on June 6 from 5:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. in the Scout camping area of the Wong reservation residents are invited to bring up to three distinct invasive plants and exchange them for up to three native plants all at no cost this initiative aims to promote the removal of invasive species from the local ecosystem while encouraging the planting of n native species which are vital for supporting biodiversity and enhancing natural landscape for exam for examples of invasive plants and for a list of plants offered in the swap please visit our website in addition to the plant swap participants will have the opportunity to shop for native plants at the event courtesy of toadshade native plant nursery toadshade is a plant Nursery in Frenchtown that specializes in Native perennial propagated wild flower plants pre-orders through to stool website at HTTP www.to shade.com are recommended for convenient pickup at the event to ensure a smooth and enjoyable experience for all attendees pre-registration for the event is required with a maximum of of 100 registrants accepted for more information or to register residents can register by visiting www.nj.org plant- swap that concludes my report thank you commissioner delfor thank you madam chair the Union County Board of County Commissioners and the department of Parks and Recreation invites all middle and high schools to participate in the 2024 fairy house art contest this contest is part of chairwoman Kimberly pal mud's 2024 growing together in Union County initiatives this unique contest invites students from grade 6 to 12 throughout Union County to design and create magical fairy houses with a special prize awarded to the winning on Entry participating schools are asked to submit one fairy house which will be evaluated evaluated by a panel of professional judges and displayed in the in one of the Union couny Park for a list of acceptable materials for design please visit our website the progression of the project must be submitted through the following link provided in the application which is ucnj.org feren house- updates participating students must also fill out and sign a media release most importantly students are asked to use their imagination schools must submit their registration by Friday May 31st no later than 5:00 p.m the project must be completed by Tuesday October 15th the details on how the project will be picked up will be announced closer to the project deadline for more information on how to register and participate please visit ucnj.org fair- tr- application I'd also like to highlight an upcoming event on June 11th which is our Union County women's means business Summit at the Galloping Hill Golf Course in kennworth this event brings together women entrepreneurs professionals and leaders for networking workshops and discussions on leadership Career Development and more this year's keynote speaker is Aden beu founder at Aden bayu and companies for more information visit ucnj.org wmb also I attended several Haitian flag raisings this week um and I just want to send out kudos to all the municipalities who really took the initiative to highlight diversity in their respective towns and throughout Union County um and Memorial Day is a pond us so I would just like to wish our veterans um all the best and let them know that we thank them for their sacrifice for their service and we appreciate them and that concludes my report thank you commissioner mayor Bella thank you madam chair uh vote by mail ballots are available at the Union County Clerk's offices in Elizabeth and Westfield for anyone seeking to obtain a vote by mail ballot for the 2024 presidential primary election voters can use the county clerk's onstop service they can come and fill out in Westfield or Elizabeth apply for their ballot receive it fill it out and deposit it in a in a secure drop box on site all the same visit privacy booths are located in the office uh in those offices for people who wish to fill out their ballot that way the office locations and hours are in the Union County courthouse located two Broad Street room 113 in Elizabeth the regular hours Monday through Friday or 8:30 to 4:30 open on Saturday June 3rd from 9:00 to 1 o' uh for a vote by mail uh call and the coling fre I think it's June 1st though I don't think it's June 3 anyway if that's a Saturday and the Colleen Frasier Building located at 300 North Avenue East the Union County Services complex in Westfield regular hours are Monday Wednesday and Friday 800 to 4: Tuesday and Thursday 8:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. and on Saturday from 9 to 1 for more information the county clerk's services please visit Union County votes.com or contact the division of Elections at 9852775034 just this ear this this early afternoon I was able to attend uh School in Winfield with some second graders and they are recycling Champions and we have a program in the county where um our recycling experts are visiting schools talking to young children about what it means to recycle and I was very impressed with this group of students and how bright they were and how much they did actually know about recycling so that was great and I was happy to be a part of that in Winfield just earlier this week I attended a Union County means business event similar to commissioner delis Fort um this one was was actually directed to uh artificial intelligence and I appreciated uh the vice chairperson's comments I know many of us were there I think commissioner Kowalski commissioner Williams uh and myself commissioner delis for as well um and it was uh it was a really uh interesting uh conversation I want to thank Kane University for for always being good partners and making that uh space available to us uh and I want to thank our staff DEA meseros and Jeff Brooks who really did a nice job pulling that event together uh as far as the Clark Reservoir is concerned uh I know we're Gathering uh feedback on that amongst tonight but being part of that and I do know there's a um unless somebody else is going to speak to this uh going to be a forum in Clark in June uh that I guess more specifics will come out and have an opportunity to have kind of a public uh meeting on it is that right County Manager I don't know that we've set it up but we're talking about it with the mayor's office okay so there'll be more information to follow we hope to come uh out there and have some conversations directly with people in the area and and I want to join my my colleagues to to also thank our veterans and honor uh those who made the ultimate sacrifice uh on this coming Memorial Day with that Madam chair I'll conclude my comments thank you uh commissioner Kowski thank you chair um Union County Clerk Joanne majy has announced that the ballot drawing for the special primary election in the 10th congressional district will take place on Monday May 20th at 3M in the Union County Courthouse this special election is being held to fill the vacancy left by the late Congressman Donald Payne who represented the towns of Cranford Garwood Hillside kennworth Rosel Rosel Park Union Township and parts of Lyon as well as parts of other counties the special primary election will be held on Tuesday July 16th and then two months later there will be a special general election and that will be on Wednesday September 18th so for more information on voting in our Union count elections you can go to Union County votes.com or call 9852775034 about all County Clerk programs and services you can go to ucnj.org County Clerk or call 908 527 4787 and um I'd like to add that uh this of course this time of year is a happy time as far as students and many other people there's the graduation ceremonies uh very nice uh very impressive graduation ceremonies held over at Union colle College of Union County New Jersey uh in the last week I was uh privileged to attend that and I know many of my colleagues have attended the graduations over the years um also commend uh the prosecutor's office and the human relations Commission on their Awards which were um held last week um the teen Arts uh Festival happened up in the Watchung reservation as well as the Master Gardener uh spring Gard event in the demonstration Gardens and the reservation many things going on so I encourage everybody to check our website and and Facebook and uh and visit our our parks and our County facilities through the the rest of the spring and the summer and my thanks also to our veterans and wish everyone a Happy Memorial Day weekend thank you chairman thank you commissioner Baker thank you um on behalf of the Union County Board of Commissioners and the count County of Union uh we would like to announce two events that are happening in conjunction with one another um we would like for the County residents to join our recycling Bureau on Sunday June 2nd uh from 9:00 am to 2: pm at Union College of Union County New Jersey 10:33 Springfield Avenue in Cranford now there's one event uh is going to be held for the uh disposal of household hazardous waste uh which is created um as a collection site uh this event as a collection site for the safe disposal of items like chemicals oilbased paints batteries and more uh the next event is the beyond the Ben recycling event which will take a collection of electronics clean plastic bags textiles reusable bags food waste and specific forms of Styrofoam these events provide comprehensive solutions for hazardous waste disposal and recycling uh benefiting the environment and Community for detailed lists of acceptable items and additional event specifics visit our website at ww. NJ .org recycling or call the recycling hotline at 908 654 9889 and I would just like to add that uh I hope that the residents do take advantage of these upcoming events um recycling uh and the disposal of you know hazardous waste materials and other uh things like Tech uh textiles and reusable bags especially styrofoam is taking styrofoam is taking on a different kind or new kind of uh issue and concern in terms of its environmental impact so I hope that um our residents uh continue and wisely comply with the recycling uh uh program and uh come out and participate in these two events uh and let minimize the Imp that these articles or items have on our environment okay thank you very much Madam chair thank you commissioner Williams thank you madam chair uh the County Board as well as the department of Parks and Recreation would like to invite all res residents to kick off the summer season with rhythm and blues by the Brook an afternoon full of musical performances and activities at Cedarbrook Park in Playfield on Saturday June 1st from 12 noon to 6: PM uh rhythm and blues by the Brook 2024 will be headlined by the still musical sensation The Fifth Dimension a Grammy winning five-part vocal R&B group which has with stood the test of time racking up 22 top 40 hits including Up Up and Away Aquarius and my personal favorite Stone Soul Picnic um five number one songs and over $25 million in sales and almost 60 years in the music industry also appearing will be a vocalist The Company Men delivering a sound that combines artists from Sam Cook another favorite to the weekend into a Soulful blend R&B groups true soul and Frank winsy will also stare the Sha stage and DJ bkim will once again serve as Master of Ceremonies during the event guests can visit the food and vendor Marketplace and enjoy their favorite summer treats and refreshments Additionally the car and motorcycle spectacular presented by gwiz Auto entertainment will also be returning this year children especially can look forward to an exciting afternoon packed with activities from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. they can tackle our challenge course and bounce around in inflatable attractions in our kid Kids Zone additionally sponsored by Zeta Beta sorority Inc ITA Omicron zated chapter of planfield the health and wellness Fair will also make a comeback and for scheduled details and updates on this event please visit ucnj.org RnB that's ucnj.org r a n DB uh that concludes my comments thank you madam chair thank you Commission granados thank you very much chair uh we would like to invite our residents to our annual Union County portuges flag raising ceremony in commemoration of the day of Portugal this re event will take place on Thursday May 30th at 5:30 in front of the uni County courthouse located at two Broad Street in Elizabeth this is co-sponsored by the Portugese American Leadership Council of the United States which is a national nonprofit base in Washington DC area the flag Raisor will include a short invocation a speaking program as well as the sinking of both national anthems the national anthem of Portugal sung by soloist Ilana boru of the academy for performing arts and Scotch Plains for more information about portal Day festivities around Union County please visit our website on social media Pages at ucnj.org and for more information reference to this event please contact Judith guest Community engagement and diversity coordinator at 908 52743 A8 or via email at Judith doest ATN nj.org and during Memorial Day weekend let us honor mourn and reflect upon the US military personnel who died while serving in our armed forces that is it thank you chair thank you County Council Bergen nothing tonight thank you thank you uh County Manager edman thank you chair just a couple comments I am aware of the uh comments on the Clark neighbors Forum I just wanted to um also say there's plenty of positive comments on there who support the project I don't want those comments to be overlooked um and there's also talk about swimming there is no swimming that abbreviations for storm water management it's a flood prevention tool that's all thank you thank you Vice chairwoman Leon thank you chairwoman um yesterday I had the pleasure of attending and speaking at the Union County means business AI Unleashed panel at Kane University with my colleagues Commissioners delis Ford marlla and Kowalski as well as our County surrogate Christopher Hudak it was great to see so many local Business Leaders uh learning about leveraging art artificial intelligence and making ethical considerations regarding AI in their daily lives in this everchanging Tech world it is particularly exciting to learn about the latest advancements and how we can integrate this Innovative Technologies in our community and businesses uh special thanks to our host Drew Thompson and our panelist h flal of Google Laticia gther of abundance IQ and Dr David Joiner of Kan University I always I also want to send a big shout out to Jeff Brooks and Dina MOS for their uh phenomenal uh job that they did and all the county staff I'm looking forward to the next event and the opportunity to continue exploring new and exciting developments also I want to wish um a happy Memorial Day to all those veterans that sacrificed their lives for our Liberty and well-being and lastly I want to congratulate our County Manager on receiving his master M's degree from Ruckers go Ed thank [Applause] you thank you congrats Ed uh on Monday I attended the successful banding of four male paragan Falcon chicks at the uni County Courthouse we had two years in a row with four females so this is the first time uh in a while we've had an email uh chick so that was very exciting um these ID bands along with the rooftop webcams help the county and its Wildlife Partners track the Falcon's behaviors and habits for better preservation of the species uh the baby Falcons received a medical health checkup and were returned to their nest with their parents mango and Freda and if you were in the area you saw they were just screaming until the babies came back so it was just a really very cool experience um the Falcon population in the US was severely reduced in the 20th century due to pollutants like d DD DDT uh leading to their addition to the federal endangered species list in 1973 improvements have allowed their removal from the Federalist in 1999 but they still remain an endangered um animal in New Jersey uh Union County joined the restoration efforts in 2006 installing a nesting box on the courthouse Tower roof under the state wildlife experts guidance uh and the Falcons have laid eggs there annually since 2016 and we have cameras there that provide 24hour at 247 Falcon C falcon cam live stream um of the nest and I know that a lot of our uh residents as well as our schools and classes uh follow it on a on a daily basis to to keep tabs on it um and it was a really exciting thing that we a few of us lordis and I were able to hold um each hold a a baby falcon um and it was it was just a very cool experience to have um and we are so grateful for our Wildlife Partners as well as our team over at Trailside and Robert tarkowski who bravely you know went up there and and helped grab those babies and and uh it it was really a a very cool experience and something really fun to be a part of so I'm I'm so grateful for all of that um we've had some really great events recently our teen Arts Festival up at Trail side was really fantastic last week um we have some of the most talented students in the country probably in the world um living right here in Union County um and it was just a day full of dancing and singing and performances and artwork and um glass blowing I mean there the the list goes on and on and it was really um a fun day to see so many students and I was actually speaking to one of our uh County police officers ERS who were there um who I I know from a long time ago high school and we talked about how these things are so important now to have other outlets for students that may have to find their place somewhere else um and and through things like teen Arts they've found a place to be able to shine and highlight what they do so it was really a wonderful day um we also had Touch a Truck last weekend um at Oakridge Park which was a really great partnership we had um our Clark fire department there we had our County um emergency vehicles there uh we had our Disc Golf Group there and my kids I will tell you now want to play disc golf They want me to get a set for the backyard because they had so much fun uh doing that uh and just again another great day for Union County um and then if I could just briefly touch upon the reservoir I know that um commissioner Mir Mirabella said um that we are planning to head into Clark in the upcoming weeks um to speak to any residents that uh may want to talk about things that they like or dislike about the pl um and I know that our residents here today were just relaying some of the uh comments that other people have made but something along the lines that stuck with me was a magnet for what the town doesn't want um is really I think the polar opposite of what the plan is um as a mom as everyone knows a mom of young children um there's so many things that are limited to people because of cost and abilities to to be able to get to um things or the amount of children you have and not being able to do it um so outdoor recreation spaces like this are just really what make our County so amazing and I know that I spoke to um a friend of mine who lives in town in Clark with young children her daughter actually came here a couple of years ago if you remember um because she had said can we do something at the Clark reservation to make it you know something for the kids in town um and I think it's a great opportunity to have something special right here in Union County that residents can take advantage of um and without having to drive far away without having to pay a lot of money and with all the overdevelopment of Housing and apartments and this is really something that's going to highlight and accentuate some of our um open space and I'm really looking forward to it so um I I know that we'll have that form coming up um and I do agree with um our County manager that there were plenty of people on that site that we didn't highlight tonight that had some really positive things so um thank you for coming to the meeting tonight and with that I will ask for a motion to adjourn so moved second all in favor okay oh and I also want to just recognize Memorial Day weekend this weekend and thank our um service men and women who sacrificed their life for our freedom thank you chair chair may I just as for the motion to adjourn there was a sorry motion was made by commissioner Baker seconded by commissioner Williams okay well I need and all in favor all in favor I I thank you [Music] [Music]