let's see what we got here oh here she is where she's on Jasper she's Jasper today J yeah I can change that we're we're on recording and we're on YouTube now all right then I will call the meeting to order a roll call please eranos here Mr amang here miss Greenfield here m mccre oh I have to make her I have to make her a uh a co-host Sorry Miss mccre here thank you Mr McQueen is absent Mr Romero here Mr here all right notice of this meeting was provided to the Burnville news and Courier News file with the municipal clerk and posted on the municipal Bolton board on December 15th 2022 and supp imped on November 30th 2023 to change the start time to 2 p.m. and indicate the meeting is remote only via Zoom um Pledge of Allegiance wait a minute I got a flag here we go ready I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all all right do we have audience I see Lenny Lenny's here all right I'll read this whole thing then welcome to the December 26 2023 meeting of the Bernardsville burrow Council this meeting is being conducted on Zoom only and is being broadcast Live on YouTube members of the public attending remotely on Zoom will be given the opportunity to comment at the appropriate time time during the meeting in accordance with the following guidelines members of the public will be allowed to speak during the Open session on the agenda comments will be limited to three minutes per speaker which will be monitored and enforced by the borrow clerk comments containing offensive profane or indecent language or language constituting hate speech will not be permitted remote participants will be muted unless they are unmuted by the clerk and remote participants will not be able to unmute themselves the clerk will mute remote speakers at the expiration of their three minutes of a lotted time or if they make any inappropriate or offensive comments All speakers shall State their names and addresses before making their comments speakers on Zoom shall activate their cameras so that they can be seen by members of the governing body and other members of the audience uh we do not have any presentations do I have a motion to approve the minutes of October 10th 23rd and November 13th I'll make a motion to approve the minutes from October 10th October 23rd and November 13th I'll second all in favor I I opposed extensions all right uh so we now have an open session for items not listed for a public hearing would anyone like to be heard at this time we have Kathleen Williams oh she has her hand up okay I w't get un mute the [Music] time there she unmuted yeah hi yes this is Kathleen Williams 90 Roundtop Road um a couple three questions who is responsible for confirming any roads or uh drainage work respect to the Roundtop robe improvements of 2014 have been built to the engineer specs and the designs I would assume that's our engineer bur the burrow engineer yes yeah okay um I have replied to letters and they've gone unanswered are they going to be answered you've sent me letters I've replied letters and I've not heard back Jack any comments I don't know where we are on I'm not sure where we are I think we've responded to everything there's no real additional information add as far as I know okay and we're in the process right now of changing Engineers right so our new engineer will be on board um this week I believe no February January 2 oh January 2nd okay so there'll be some time lag in transferring information does does that mean there's going to be a different assessment because the last letter I received from Mr pigeon said you're doing nothing possible possible that he may change the his review will be different but I wouldn't I wouldn't anticipate that okay the last question I have is who is stating from the council and telling the employees that I am filing a lawsuit I have made public statements that I'm not I've put in writing that I'm not but it's still being stated and told outside people to outside agencies so I'd like to know who is making those false claims well you are making you are filing complaints with various State agencies as I understand it but I have not filed a lawsuit well still still the equivalent of litigation if you're going to State agencies and looking for Relief I've not gone to State agencies looking for the relief I've gone to State agencies indicating that there are violations in existence like any whistleblower citizens allowed to do you can't say that I'm filing a lawsuit and not allowing anyone in the town to speak with me that's different so you're saying because I've called an outside agency no one in the burrow is allowed to speak to me you're not just some random citizen calling the hotline about some other property you're complaining about your own property so that means no one from the town's allowed to speak with me I think it's more in the sense of we don't want misinformation so that's why we've been making sure everything goes through um Mr pigeon because different employees may have different answers or not understand what you're asking and we don't want any misinformation given out okay so so we're clear if I hear another burrow employee stating that I am filing a lawsuit then I will against them for slander or you know misrepresenting who I am because that's thoroughly inappropriate and I have employees telling outside people telling other citizens alleging I'm filing a lawsuit which is not true so that's that's Behavior Unbecoming of a burrow employee lying about a citizen correct I think it's called a bad grave fine but yes we there there is in the employee handbook they are not allowed to lie about citizens so okay we will instruct them not to do that I think that's that's a reasonable request I I mean because I I have not filed lawsuit I'm attempting to work with the town and I have people slandering me publicly and to out for public other citizens and outside that's thoroughly an appropriate behavior right we will uh talk to our employees tell them that where not that I'm not filing lawsuits okay you're just trying to single point of contact because of your concerns for the situation okay all right thank you we will take care of that do we have anybody else I don't see any other no I don't see anybody all right then I will close the public hearing um the Open session we do have a public hearing on an ordinance um so I will open the public hearing on ordinance 2023 1988 concerning sore connection fees and sore user rates and allocation and amending chapter 16 of the burrow code entitled sore regulations would anyone want to be heard on on this ordinance seeing none I will close the public hearing um Diane why don't you move that I move to pass ordinance hey Mr Aman yes M Greenfield yes M mcre yes Mr McQueen yes Mr R yes M mayor yes moving on to resolutions we have uh just four of them I don't think any of them need discuss oh maybe well 259 do we need to talk about it Jack it's up to you all we we talked about it at the last meeting sorry so we're okay with this all right um so somebody like to move the four resolutions yeah I I have one um I have one piece of discussion for him just um I know we talked about this uh in close session as it was part of litigation and this is going to be our solution to it uh res resolution to it today uh I believe um um uh and this is in reference to the Oprah request I just want to State my opinion uh that I feel like we have an opportunity while I don't think that anything was um uh not included uh or you know there's there's really no uh information that I think uh on the on the Redevelopment that uh was um brought forward in the the information that wasn't sent forth through the Oprah request um I just hope in the future that we're better at being transparent um and making sure that we get that stuff uh taken care of both from a fiscal perspective and also just from an openness perspective I think that's an aspiration that we should have for the buau so that's my comment thank you anyone else okay do I have a motion I'll move that Revol resolutions 23- 257 through 23-26 be adopted I'll second a roll please M yes Mr rero yes Mr McQueen yes M mccre yes M Greenfield yes Mr amang yes uh mayor's report very short um on the 12th I attended the Somerset County Planning Partners meeting um the presentation was on the state development and Redevelopment Plan update so you'll probably hear more about that coming up uh we also uh had the hanle lighting at the shopping center the Somerset County governing officials met on December 13th and we elected new officers for 2024 on the 15th we had the burrow lunch thank you Nancy for pulling that together and Anthony um I think everybody was very grateful and appreciated it it was really nice for everyone to get to know each other with so many new employees I think they were very appreciative on the 16th we did wreaths Across America at St Bernard's Cemetery we had the scouts and the veterans and um actually probably about 30 volunteers so all in all it was very successful we sold 120 wreaths that we placed um the Personnel committee met on the 20th to interview the employment attorneys so um we'll be making a recommendation on that and I also want to make a special thank you to Diane for serving on the council for these past two years and actually before that for other times and we're very grateful for your time and effort and I think you've done more committee work than anybody and for your efforts on the trails committee um it's been a pleasure so thank you and you will be missed and that's it for me um I don't know if you have anything Nancy no I don't just want to wish everybody a early happy New Year thank you um do we have a motion to accept the monthly reports move to accept the monthly reports second all in favor I I okay um I don't know how many people had uh committee meetings do we have Public Safety no Finance no I reported on the last meeting because it was on December 8th and I'll just say that the next meeting is on uh January 12th um just FYI okay uh Personnel like I said we interviewed our two uh the the two candidates that the council had recommended um so we'll be we're recommending um de French cessco firm I believe what's I forgot his name frown what was flam Rich flam flam Rich flam um they were both very good but I think we felt he had more experience and you know wider range of skills so we'll be doing that at the reorg meeting um public Orcs we didn't me okay land use didn't meet this month um any other liaison reports yeah the planning board met um we approved the first piece of the affordable housing which was uh the Berard zav project that's right um anyone else yeah December's a quiet month for meetings um we do have a request from the somerson hills lacrosse to put signs up um the ordinance says 2 weeks Max I think they're looking for two months which seemed like a lot but what is the sign for it's for them registration they register for two months I know seemed like a long time open they used to open registration in December or March start or April Start early April is that when they start yeah in April yeah usually sometimes even the end of March it depends but having sign for two months to um displace some other group from having a sign for two weeks that would be my only concern no that's a good point did they specifically say where they wanted the signs they just said around town I don't know what that means I I think it was on the uh the application let me double check that I'm concerned about the um in the center the triangle that that's would be the only thing that would probably issue says OT 141 CI Finley AV and 202 Burnsville Library Kan does anybody does anybody know that this gr I I mean if they're having problems with um uh getting people to register maybe it makes sense I just would worry that if we're going to do it for them then we probably need to have we could have similar requests from all the other sports teams in two months they just mean we CA sign can we say something like two weeks is standard and if another group comes in and we feel that they need the space after their two weeks like in the subsequent six weeks that they would take a priority it may be too complicated but you know what I'm getting at like in other words yeah if no one's in the space why not give it to him but at the same time I take your point that you know you don't want to become like a signed bananza so if somebody else comes in and needs this space we may have to revisit it with them but if that's too complicated I get it I don't think it's that complicated if we just tell them you know they can do the two weeks or longer until we get another request yeah up to two months yeah it depends on the location too I mean if it's somewhere that that's going to be the only sign in the area then it really doesn't matter but if it's in the middle of Town Triangle then that's an issue well I think it was only one OT and and the library everything else is a field like a playing field everything else play Fields would matter I don't didn't they have H Finley and oh yeah Finley and and 202 yeah that corner gets piled up why don't you make the re um the exception would be for OT Ott that's and I where at the library would they put it probably right at the entrance oh yeah so on the but that's not going to interfere with traffic Anderson no but the library puts their own signs there yeah they do think there's one out there now for yeah I don't have a problem with them leaving them at the Kanas or Veterans Park um or C which is the Polo Grounds I guess they mean so can we say that they could have them for two months there and the other locations two weeks yeah I mean that that would work anybody else I'm fine that's good well we can say two weeks and then revisit I mean I feel like we're micromanaging here but revisit it in two weeks if there's or I I don't know like if it's going to be the winner Market sign request coming up y I think it's easier to just make a decision and have to keep revisiting it yeah I know but so then why don't we just go with the I I don't think the playing grounds are like the play the fields are a problem so let them do it at the fields for two months and the rest of locations it's two weeks yeah I know you're really involved with the sports team so yeah I mean I think they can put probably if they do it two weeks like now and then they do it again two weeks in another six weeks or so right like yeah there's nothing that's stopping them from doing that either as like a reminder that's true yeah rather than a continuous two months but then you know and people don't see them anymore when they're up that long look at just ignore them yeah so if yeah they could come back in a month and put them up again for two weeks I like that idea yeah same but at the fields we don't care they can leave them there is that okay yep y Anthony you got that yeah okay good all right um what do we got now do we have any correspondents we don't I don't think um any unfinished business I don't know if it's unfinished but I I am interested in pursuing more conversations around the automatic license plate readers that we talked about at the December 11th meeting it two days later that another incident occurred on December 13 I don't think we have to dwell on it because there's probably information we um still need to gather I don't know Nancy if I should connect with you offline maybe it's a conversation we have to have with surrounding townships to see if they would share the cost with us as the chief recommended and then maybe we bring a recommendation back to finance and Public Safety or Council um how would you recommend Maybe explore that I think maybe you um the chief and I should have a talk next week okay and figure out what the best way approach is and then maybe bring it to the Public Safety Committee okay good I just want to make sure we're U moving diligently on it um to try to Stave off any further incidents but thank you that sounds good okay yeah that was more unfinished business yeah okay any new business no all right uh final Open session for items not listed for a public hearing anyone like to be heard seeing none I will close the public session and would someone like to move to adjourn to Executive I'll move to adjourn to Executive second all in favor I opposed okay okay I'll stop the recordings and move some boxes around we're not coming back at