In the meeting, a resident named Mr. Weisenberger inquired about the status of the Fordav site and its standing with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The council’s lawyer clarified that the responsibility for the cleanup lies with the current property owner until the Redevelopment agency takes ownership. The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has approved funds and a remediation plan, which are awaiting the Redevelopment agency’s submission, oversight, and certification. The agency will protect itself during the condemnation process by depositing money in the court, which can only be withdrawn once the premises are cleaned to the required standard.

Mr. Weisenberger also brought up a local case of contamination, questioning if it had relevance to the Fordav project. The council, composed of members including Phil Zambrana, Margaret O’Donnell, James Pareti, David Potter, Richard Revolinsky, John Collins, and Mayor Trina Mehr, refrained from commenting further on the matter.

Additionally, the council addressed the postponement of a settlement conference initially scheduled for October due to trial scheduling conflicts. The new date for the settlement conference was set for December 14th, with a pre-trial conference scheduled for January 16, 2024. However, the council acknowledged the unpredictability of future postponements.

The council also discussed the introduction of the 2024 budget and the acceptance of the 2022 audit. They planned to discuss the budget and audit openly, but proposed a closed session to discuss personnel matters, as permitted by the open public meetings law. The acceptance of the 2022 audit was pending, with a correction needed in the listing of members who reviewed the audit. Despite some members not having read the entire document, a motion was made to vote on the audit, with the corrected version to be provided later. The council then introduced the 2024 budget, scheduling the hearing and public discussion for the upcoming December meeting.

The council concluded the meeting by stating their need to enter a closed session to discuss matters related to the selection of an executive director. Once the closed session concluded, a recap of the discussion was promised to be disclosed to the public.