one minute good evening welcome to the January 17th 2023 council meeting Madame clerk would you please call the role councilman hund here councilman masella is absent councilman Manti here councilman oconor here councilman tol here vice president albanes here councilman Smith is absent at this time I'd like everyone to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance and a moment of silence PL Al to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God invisible with liberty and justice for all this meeting is in compliance with the open public meetings act as adequate notice of this meeting has been provided by mailing the annual schedule of meetings to The Star Ledger Union County Hawk Union County local source and tapen to Clark by posting such annual meeting schedule on the bulletin board and Town Hall reserved for such announcements the official website of the township and the proper filing of said notice formal action may be taken at this meeting okay at this time I'd like to a motion to suspend the regular order of business I'll second that thank you councilman OK Conor thank you councilman hunt all in favor hi thank you and uh okay mayor is going to do the present ation this evening thank you madam president members of council good evening ladies and gentlemen um in his absence tonight I will be making a presentation on our Recreation director behalfs Ralph Bernardo he's home a little under the weather unfortunately for Ralph but he will be fine shortly I'm sure but I'm going to be standing in for him and what I'd like to do tonight is present the eth annual volunteer of the Year award somebody residents of Clark offer their talents and volunteer their time to help the recreation department throughout the year we are so appreciative for individuals that coach teams hold classes set up for major events and overall help whenever Ralph reaches out there is not much we can do to show our appreciations besides a verbal or written thank you that's when we came up with the volunteer of the Year award eight years ago to publicly recognize these individuals and thank them in person for going above and beyond I'm very happy I'm beyond happy to uh proud to present the eighth year recipient for this award Clark Recreations volunteer of the year for 20122 is Joe arancho on up Joe Joe has been T volunteering his time time to the recreation department Unico and the township of Clark ever since I Ralph started my position 18 years ago always in the building daily always offering his Services he takes part in every area of setup cleanup of the tree lighting trunk Retreat Easter um Egg Hunt concerts in the park and of course the running of the Italian Unico Feast which he's the president of the organization in addition to volunteering his time to the recreation department Joe has been a huge advocate in supporting the recreation departments financially through Unico and has never denied a request he has voluntarily suggested and purchased items for the W Department without too much persuasion on Ralph's part including a new electronic majon table for our seniors 100 new padded chairs and 25 new tables for our cafeteria used by every organization at the rec center that is a great generosity from Unico for all they do it and Achieve for their feast every year paid for buses sponsored lunches for our seniors even the electronic Marquee uh board you see on the front lawn was a Unico donation suggested by Joe he along with the board of directors of Unico have never turned down a request for our children in our community he does not look for res resignation of any type but he does from his heart generosity and the love for the town and for meaning Ralph maybe me too I don't know don't let the tough the tough outside exterior fool you as Joe is a teddy bear and anything he does it's always with somewhat of a smile and a calm personality and humor so cute with any asset to Unico the recreation department and to the township of Clark he exemplifies a meeting of hard work dedication loyalty and especially giving of himself and not accepting anything expecting anything in return on a personal level I've known Joe for over 20 years and hold him proud to call him my friend it is a great pleasure that we present Joe with this plaque and this plaque is volunteer of the year to Joe arano for the volunteering your time talent and generosity to the Clark Recreation Department in the township of Clark on behalf of the mayor council the township employees we appreciate and thank you for all you do and have done and will continue to do I just put that one in January 20 23rd that's [Applause] right okay and I'd just like to add to I know there's a lot of unicor members here tonight we thank you and this great Organization for uh all the charity uh you do a give in town and the charitable work you do and for people that don't I read it in here but I want to explain it they just purchased uh 100 new chairs and 25 new tables for the recreation center that is used you know probably every day of the week for everybody so they uh do our Feast they do the Columbus uh Feast every week every year Unico feast and it's well attended by the community and that money goes right back into the community on all kinds of uh great charitable donations scholarships and anything they can help this community with so Joe thank you and all the people of Unico that are here and I'm also proud to be a member thank [Applause] you Council we want to congratulate you and uh before we resume the regular order of business if anyone would like to stay and join the meeting you're welcome to or if you'd like to exit at this point you're welcome to do that as well so council at this point uh while some some folks are leaving uh do I have a motion to resume the regular order of businesso second thank you councilman OK Conor thank you councilman tol all in favor I okay this time we'll move on to Communications from the mayor and the reports of the township officers mayor yes thank you Madame President members of council ladies and gentlemen speaking of charitable donations I'd like to thank uh the Ferguson family in town Ferguson electric they've donated a beautiful beautiful air hockey table to our teen center and it's up and running and we'd like to thank you on behalf of myself and the township Council for your generosity to the Ferguson family uh Clark Recreation had and Ralph had their family skate night on uh last Saturday night just passed at Warren AO Ralph reports that it was a smashing success once again thanks for everybody who participated uh Christmas trees are being picked up throughout the community if you have a live tree throw it out at the curb we'll be buy to get it I'm sure they're about dry by now so hopefully we can be finishing that up by the end of the week so please try get them out but we will be there to pick up the other thing I want to report is right here I'm going to hold it up the resident guide is on hour clark.com and to get this guide go on to hour clark.com of course hit resident guide hour clark.com front and then one word resident guide and you will get this this has all the information of all the wonderful Services we'll be providing throughout this year and I think everything in here should be very self-explanatory so please go on uh hour clark.com and update our clark.com periodically so you know what's going on in town it's definitely a way for us to communicate for you the police department has reported to me there was 61 radar details out this month and we appreciate that and they have started with 11 traffic enforcement details this is uh police officers sitting in areas watching no left turn signs no rightand turns things of this nature so now adding to their everyday Patrol and radar enforcement they are now looking at traffic enforcement so if you're coming out of Dunkin' Donuts on Terminal Avenue you're going to hang a left be careful someone might be sitting there if you're on featherbed in ritton going up Featherbed Lane to ritton it's now a no leftand turn be careful I know a lot of people do not obey that I see it with my own eyes so police will be out there so please pay attention attention it's for Traffic Safety we just didn't willy-nilly decide one day to get up and do these things this was recommendations of our Police Department to make our um Traffic Safety a little bit more safer in the community uh no snow yet good news I guess it depends how you look at it but from our Township budget it's good news we're saving some salt but I'm sure we will get our fair share just want to remind everyone when it does snow once you get over 3 in you don't have to but please remove your cars off the road if possible we will do a better job for you if you don't we will do the best job we can basketball um Hoops that are out in the street have to be removed if a plow truck goes by we try to go curb to curb if it hits that we will not be responsible for it that is on you so let's not get into that conversation that concludes my report for tonight thank you madam president and members of coun thank you mayor at this time we'll move on to council comments councilman hun for your reports thank you councilman albanes um I have the Clark Police Department monthly report for December 2022 we saw a total of 2,779 calls for which of 128 ambulance requests three were fire department requests 18 were motor vehicle lockouts 104 were alarm calls 96 were motor vehicle accidents and 2,415 were miscellaneous calls there was a total of 15 adult arrests including but not limited to one for DUI five for theft two for receiving stolen property two for dobly conduct and three warrants there was a total of 10 juvenile arrests including but not limited to one weapons offense two for CDs and three of three offenses against the family all 10 were in-house dispositions that concludes cludes my report thank you thank you councilman hun councilman Mani will give the fire and Public Works report thank you council president in the month of December the Clark fire department responded to 43 calls the calls included but not limited to numerous odor and alarm calls three calls were related to Piper water lines that burst um three related to motor vehicles and two for Mutual aads um as always I'd like to thank the members of the Clark fire department for their hard work and dedication in keeping our town safe I also have the DP W report on uh behalf of uh councilman mazarella uh reminder electric drop off is January 28th 9:00 a.m. to 1 p.m. um as the mayor stated Christmas tree pickup will continue through January 27th please no decoration lights stands or bags spring clean up will start will begin in late March weather permitting please keep all branches and debris on your property until then and again with the snow um pending snow keep uh branches and debris off the streets along with uh Nets uh bulky and metal pickup will begin March 6 wether permitting appointment is uh required and you can call the DPW um at Town Hall uh that concludes my reports thank you thank you councilman Manti councilman OK Conor thank you very much from the finance committee the township continues to be able to meet its currence obligations and from the Clark volunteer emergency Squad Rec and activities we are saddened to report the loss of one of our daytime members at the age of 25 we ask everyone to keep her family in your prayers we will be hosting a blood drive tomorrow January 18th from 1:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the squad house in memory of the past Clark Fire Department chief Andy Beach please make every effort to attend 2023 new officers I had the opportunity to swear the new officers in last week and I want to thank them once again for their hospitality and the invite the president for 2023 John Henry bar vice president Charlie poisk Senor corresponding secretary Susan elachi recording secretary Charlie poisk Jr Treasurer David newbie trustees Lorraine Pedraza Rona wasowski and Lorie Sheldon Captain Charlie poisk Senor assistant Captain Charlie Pok Jr first lieutenant Katie Sheldon second Lieutenant Kayla klaves first Sergeant Matthew mald second sergeant Christian luchano and Sergeant Christopher jenez the call volume for the month of December was 115 calls with 21 Mutual Aid calls in surrounding towns but does not include any calls where they were dispatched and cancelled on route for 2022 total calls 1,411 we have two ambulances rig one is 514 with 893 calls and the second rig is rig 515 with 518 call calls total mileage 26,44 miles all right um total hours responding to calls was approximately 8,466 man hours and that does not include any members hours when they were on duty but not on any calls so quite busy for our volunteers uh for the memberships members have been working diligently on taking continue education courses to maintain their certifications a core refresher class was held in late December for members who need to renew their certific ation we continue to look for new members to join regular members age 18 plus drivers age 18 plus and Cadets age 16 plus any interested can email them at membership Clark am.org we are looking to recruit members for an auxiliary of the squad we are seeking people with public relations fundraising web design and social media Savvy as well as those who are handy with the basic maintenance of the squad house please email them at membership Clark ms.org current happening as is continually being reported the flu covid and cases of RSV continued increase we encourage everyone to carefully consider it hearing to the CDC recommendations regarding vaccinations wearing masks and maintaining strong handwashing techniques our holiday fund drive has been sent to the residents thank you to all who contributed and continue to support us we are spending a tremendous amount of money on supplies as the costs have escalated and appreciate all your support and as always they wished everybody a very happy and healthy New Year and submitted by Lori Sheldon the trustee that concludes my report thank you thank you councilman ' Conor councilman tol thank you Madame President um from the environmental commission the environmental commission will be meeting tomorrow so if you get the live feed from this tonight you'll know the environmental commission is going to be getting together in the history room or AK room 30 in the Brewer Municipal Building uh discussions of what are the ideas for this year there's a reservoir clean up in the spring there's a a Ry River Cleanup in the spring and then the reservoir Cleanup in the fall but they're also talking about maybe an idea of having teams walk through the town and pick up garbage de breath things like this that get somehow caught up in the gutters and things that are not picked up so we're trying to get volunteers and come up with a volunteer group that would help to weekly walkthroughs to the town and clean it up and pick up garbage so again this will be tomorrow if you're not have have a moment that's January 18th room 30 we welcome to have you come out and join us talking about keeping mother earth clean green and historic thank you thank you councilman toll I will now give the library report um during the month of December we had over 7,400 website visits at the library and 5,75 visits um at the library um in the month of January um they're having a uh challenge for patrons to read and in order to track your reading they have an app called the bean stack app so this program is open for all ages including babies to adults um kids will earn small prizes and raffle tickets for larger prizes based on how much time they spend reading adults and teens earn raffle tickets as well for prizes based on how much they read so everyone's going to receive some small prize if you participate in the challenge so if you go on the website you can enroll in that program just going to read some of the names of the programs and the dates that'll be given and you can go online or call the library for more information the first one is the escape room uh this month they'll be doing an escape room on Saturday January 21st the time slots available are from 11: to 1 p.m. and they'll be covering the minds of Moria based on token's Lord of the Rings the evening book club will meet on Monday January 23rd at 700 p.m. the book they'll be discussing is the plot but by Jean hav corelates uh you can pick up a a book at the library um we have a new program being added it's called librarian by appointment and on February 2nd and 16th from 3 to4 you can contact the library and make an appointment to do an in-depth one-on-one help with any reli Library related questions you may have the appointments are 30 minutes long and it's the first and third Thursday of the month from 3: to 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday J February 8th and 22nd at 3:30 p.m. there'll be a crafty kids hearts and lollipops um creative artwork program uh this is for children ages 5 to 12 on February 9th Thursday at 4 pm. little scientist magformers um this will be a stem skill project for ages six through 12 and there'll be a free family game game night Bingo on Thursday February 9th at 6: p.m. um you can zoom in or attend uh the bingo game uh family night game in person as well um or you if you want you can bring your grandparents along there will be prizes at that program as well uh for Dungeons and Dragons fans the green Cas Society Venture Guild will be meeting on February 11th from 1: to 4:30 p.m. and this is a new program they'll be offering um so if you don't know what Dungeons and Dragons is you might want to look it up uh otherwise if you do know if you're interested you can you can show up um kids gaming Club will be held on Wednesday February 15th at 3:15 p.m. and that's for grades 1 through 5 uh we'll be be pouring uh playing various board games and also don't forget trivia nights regarding Marvel movies will be held on February 16th from 7: to 8:00 p.m. that concludes my report uh from the library director at this time we're going to move on to um ordinances Appropriations and claims and we have eight ordinances will'll be having hearings on so I'm going to ask the going to ask the clerk to please read the first ordinance thank you Madame President uh for the record no objections have been received in connection with the proposed ordinances ordinance 23-1 is an ordinance to amend chapter 3 administration of government Article 5 Township Council meetings subsection 3-12 a procedural requirements of the code of the township of Clark I'd like to open up this uh uh ordinance for a public hearing is there anyone thank you do you have a second I'll second is there anyone wishing to come forward all in favor opening the hearing I I thank you need a motion good evening everybody Michael scholman I'm sorry you need a motion to okay do I have a motion to adopt the ordinance mov no no no no not not yet not yet okay whatever okay thank you because we're going to hear comments first right okay we're good yes Mike scholman 382 Carolina Street good evening everybody um I guess looking at what the changes uh the council's looking to limit public comment um from 10 minutes per speaker to five minutes as I understand it um I guess I just have a question if anyone wanted to answer it why um the meetings aren't particularly long um I think it's important to hear from citizens uh we don't get a lot of public comment this is the ability for folks to come in and express themselves on important issues uh it seems to be 10 minutes is almost sometimes not enough time uh to address people's concerns uh it seems odd to limit it to five um only there doesn't seem to be logical reason except to stifle and silence people if there's any comment to that I'm welcome to hear it thank you thank you is there anyone else who would like to come forward okay seeing no one I'd like a motion to close this thank you councilman tol anyone else want to second that I'll second thank you um regarding the 10 minutes [Music] um it's clear that probably we the only town in the state that allows 10 minutes um um most towns have three or five minutes of speaking now to clarify uh we absolutely would like to hear from the citizens about their observations their questions there are a number of different Avenues including this council meeting um where people can voice their views uh certainly written comments can be sent in if they're lengthy if they exceed 5 minutes um so there are many other ways ways to reach either the mayor's office the administration the business administrator or any council member this meeting is to conduct the business of the council and uh we are I believe moving ahead with the five minute limit anyone else care yes Madam president I'd like to say a couple comments on this matter there is the phone there is the email it's a 21st century way and people do call us on issues this past election I was inundated with calls and we answered them properly we responded properly and there's the one hand which I also do on Sundays I go to people's homes and follow up with them that way I like to do things in person this is a Das for complaints yes and other comments and issues and we'll only gladly take it from here to your front door and answer and address anything that would be put before us that's all I have tonight Madam president thank you councilman tol this time I'd like a motion to adopt the ordinance thank you councilman toll do we have a second I'll second thank you councilman midi Madame clerk when you're ready would you call the role please councilman hund yes councilman minid yes councilman oconor yes councilman tol yes vice president albanes yes ordinance adopted the next ordinance is 23-2 and ordinance to exceed the municipal budget appropriation limits and to establish a cap Bank this time I'd like to open this um ordinance for a hearing I'll move that thank you uh do I have a second I'll second okay the hearing is now open is there anyone who would like to come forward seeing no one I like a motion to close the hearing I'll move that thank you councilman Manti do I have a second I'll second that thank you councilman hund at this time I'd like to have a motion to adopt the ordinance I'll move that please thank you councilman oconor do you have a second I'll second it thank you councilman Manti Madam clerk when you're ready can you call the rooll councilman Hy yes councilman Manti yes councilman oconor yes councilman tol yes vice president albanes yes ordinance adopted next is ordinance 23-3 an ordinance to amend and supplement various sections of of chapter 161 entitled fire prevention of the code of the township of Clark okay I'm going to open up the hearing to the public is there anyone who wish wishes to come forward seeing no one I'd like a motion to close the hearing I'll Mo that thank you councilman Manti thank you councilman tol there any comments you want to make uh uh Mr ol well this is just an administrative change on you know who is in the chain of command at the fire department in addition to that we've reduced some of the fees so if we're having a onday street fair or you know things like um Unico that they don't have to pay the full fire inspection fee um until this point they had to pay the full fire inspection fee so this um reduces the burden on you know Township organizations that want to run um run events thank you um at this point I'd like um a motion did we do the motion yet no we didn't right motion to adopt I'll Mo I'll move that thank you councilman medidi I'll second that thank you councilman hund okay Madame clerk when you're ready can you call the role councilman hund yes councilman Manti yes councilman oconor yes councilman tol yes vice president alanes yes ordinance adopted next is ordinance 23-4 an ordinance to amend chapter 170 entitled food establishments section 17-7 C1 entitled fees of the code of the township of Clark at this time I'd like to open up uh a hearing for this ordinance is there anyone who wishes to come forward seeing no one I'd like a motion to close the hearing I moved thank you councilman tol I'll second that thank you councilman hund all in favor I I any comments on this one mrar this is similar to the um fire department this is just for the uh health inspector we changed the fee that used to be $275 to $50 a day to a maximum of $175 for 4 days anything more than that they have to pay the full fee so again regular businesses a full fee it's just to um help out the organizations that run events in the town excellent thank you um I'd like a motion to adopt the ordinance I'll Mo thank you councilman tol I'll second that thank you councilman hund Madam clerk when you're ready call the roll councilman hund yes councilman Manti yes councilman OK Conor yes councilman toll yes vice president albanes yes ordinance adopted next is ordinance 23-05 an ordinance entitled an ordinance to fix minimum and maximum salaries this time I'd like to open up the public hearing on this ordinance anyone wishing to come forward seeing no one I'd like a motion to um close the meeting close the hearing thank you councilman hund second thank you councilman Manti uh this time do you have any comments this evening on this the only changes that we're making it to the DPW um the we usually do this all at one time however we extended their uh contract for one year so some of the people were pushing against the cap and we had to increase it but it was only uh the four levels of DPW that were increased thank you do you have a motion to adopt the Ordinance do you have a motion to adopt the ordinance move that councilman oconor and yeah I'll second that thank you councilman tol um do you have a motion uh just roll call roll call councilman hund yes councilman Manti yes councilman oconor yes councilman tol yes vice president albanes yes ordinance adopted next is ordinance 23-6 an ordinance establishing a fee for filing of annual registration of Certificate of Insurance for businesses and rental units and multif family homes with four or fewer units within the township of Clark pursuant to njsa 40a col 10 a-2 I'd like to open up the hearing on this ordinance is there anyone who would like to come forward seeing no one I'd like a motion to close the hearing thank you councilman oconor do have a second thank you councilman hund all in favor I at this time i' like to ask uh Mr Al would you like to comment on this at all this is this is another one of those State mandates similar to to the uh mandate that we had on lead paint uh requires all businesses to have a minimum of $500,000 general liability insurance all rental units to have a minimum of $500,000 um Insurance uh some exceptions for 1 to four family homes that are also being occupied by the owner it's $300,000 but this is another thing that we're going to be sending out postcards on so look out for them and we're looking to have people register online line and uh pay the fee so we can process all of this and this is going to be an annual recertification so it's it's not just a one-time uh deal you're going to have to show that you have insurance you're going to give us evidence of insurance and every year we're going to be following up that you still have insurance thank you um council do I have a motion to adopt the ordinance I'll move that thank you councilman Manti I'll second please thank you councilman o Conor Madam clerk would you call the roll when you're ready councilman hund yes councilman Manti yes councilman oconor yes councilman tol yes vice president albanes yes ordinance adopted next we have introductions of proposed ordinances the first is ordinance 23-7 an ordinance regarding the regulation management and enfor forcement of the proper administration of vacant and abandoned real property within the township of Clark I'll move that okay thank you councilman Hy thank you councilman Manti so there will be um any further discussion on this one at this point um I I think I'm going to sound like broken record but here's another um State mandate on vacant property it goes into quite a bit of detail on you know how they have to maintain the property uh how long they could have it pay a registration fee and this also will be another process that we will be doing um annually and making sure that not only are the vacant properties properly maintained but they are also um insured and you know there's a fee being paid to um maintain the vacant property thank you Mr olor okay the public hearing on this ordinance will be February 21st I'll call the rule councilman Hy yes Council Manti yes councilman OK Conor yes councilman tol yes Council uh vice president albanes yes okay the next introduction is ordinance 23-8 and ordinance to amend chapter 48 section 48-5 of the code of the township of Clark entitled employee policy and procedure manual um this is just to uh put a couple of additions and move up so we are put making uh updating our bereavement uh time off and for In-laws we're moving it to 3 days and also we are including aunts and uncles as also three days so we're updating our bement policy through um you know for all of the employees thank you very much council do I have a motion to introduce um thank you councilman OK Conor I'll second it thank you councilman maniti Madame clerk when you're ready you can call the role councilman hund yes councilman Manti yes councilman oconor yes councilman tol yes vice president albanes yes public hearing on this ordinance will also be on February 21st okay at this time we'll move on to the payment of claims report from councilman oconor thank you I have reviewed the bills for the month holding 1912 $2,567 thank you at this time we'll move on to the citizens hearing on the agenda item um each person addressing the council shall give their name and address to the clerk and all remark shall be addressed to the council as a body and not exceed 10 minutes in duration there anyone who wishes to come forward on agenda items seeing no one I'd like a motion to close this portion of the meeting some thank you councilman oconor thank you councilman hunt all in favor I okay this time we'll move on to the resolutions okay first resolution is authorizing the planning board and planner to prepare a general reexamination of the master plan and development regulations this is uh just to formalize we're updating our zoning or ordinance chapter 195 uh we've done extensive work on you know different items that have come up over the years that we've had issues with so we're cleaning those up we're also updating the fees that haven't been updated since 2011 um so this is just one of the steps to bring it to the planning board make sure it's consistent with the master plan and you know then we'll bring it back to council for adoption or rejection thank you any other questions no okay like a motion Mo that Madam president thank you councilman toll do I have a second I'll second that thank you councilman Manti Madam clerk when you're ready councilman hund yes councilman Manti yes councilman OK Conor yes councilman tol yes vice president albanes yes okay number 10 is authorizing the business administrator to execute a shared services agreement with the Bureau of Mountainside for street sweeping yeah this is another one of those instances we have two street sweepers mide needed some assistance so we're going to help them out as a shared service you know it helps them out it helps us out um the fees that we are going to be reimbursed are the reimburse rates based on FEMA so this is what FEMA would reimburse us for um in the event of a disaster we're also going to have an increment on on our staff time to bring the um the sweepers up there and to do the cleaning and they have to they're responsible for all fuel maintenance and cleaning during that time and also um disposal so it's it's a good deal for us it it and it helps out a neighboring community and possibly we could get some money from the state for entering a shared service agreement did you look into that yeah there's there's a bunch of things I I don't think it's going to hit the threshold it's only two times it's probably going to be three or four days two times a a year okay but yes thank you do I have a motion Council I'll move that thank you councilman hund do you have a second I'll second that please thank you councilman oconor Madame clerk when you're ready would you call the role councilman hund yes councilman Min yes councilman OK Conor yes councilman tol yes vice president albanes yes number 11 is appointing Ryan Crowley and Michael Silva as members of the Clark volunteer fire department I'll move that thank you councilman Manti second please thank you councilman OK Conor it's always great to um see new appointments and we've had quite a few over the past two years so welcome to Ryan Crowley and Michael Silva do you have a motion count uh do I have a roll call please councilman hunt yes councilman midi yes councilman oconor yes councilman tol yes vice president albanes yes okay number 12 is authorizing the health officer and Township Clerk to enter into an agreement between the township of Clark and the City of Elizabeth division of Health STD clinic um again this is another um time where you know sharing services with uh the city of Elizabeth to cover ourselves for any uh sexually transmitted diseases and within the town that they need advice or assistance on thank you um council do I have a motion I'll move that okay councilman midi and then councilman oconor thank you when you're ready Madame clerk would you call the role councilman hund yes councilman Manti yes councilman oconor yes counc councilman tol yes vice president albanes yes 13 is authorizing the tax collector to make the proper adjustments for 100% property tax exemption of block 80 lot 15 in accordance with a directive from the US Department of Veterans Affairs move that thank you councilman hun do I have a second second thank you councilman oconor Madame clerk when you're ready would you call the roll councilman hund yes councilman midi yes councilman oconor yes councilman tol yes vice president albanes yes number 14 is authorizing the tax collector to settle a tax appeal for Block 91 lot 18 as authorized by the tax Court of new Jersey with a refund issued in the amount of $1,863 71 do you have a motion I'll move that thank you councilman oconor do I have a second I'll move that I'll second that sorry thank you councilman Manti Madam clerk when you're ready you can call the rooll councilman hund yes councilman Manti yes councilman OK Conor yes councilman tol yes vice president albanes yes 15 is amending resolution 22-1 166 the official Township employee holiday calendar to observe juneth on Friday June 16th 2023 to coincide with the state holiday and to reinstate Monday June 19th 2023 as a regular work day do you have a motion I Mo that thank you councilman ' Conor do you have a second I'll second that thank you councilman maniti will you call the rooll when you ready Madam clerk councilman hund yes councilman minity yes councilman oconor yes councilman tol yes vice president albanes yes Madam clerk do we have any new business on the calendar there is no new business thank you um at this time I'd like to open up the meeting to public comments if there's any person wishing to come forward please state your name and address to the clerk and all remarks shall be addressed to the council as a body and not exceed 10 minutes in duration good evening again Michael scholman 382 Carolina Street um mayor alluded to budget issues possibly on our Horizon at his statement or speech last meeting at the reorganization meeting and the town passed um resolution 2302 earlier tonight um which sort of hints to that being a possibility that we might face um significant increases um due to health insurance premium increases that we have sometimes no control over and other mandates from the state I guess my question as we start this New Year is is what is the town's plan to deal with that especially um if the state is not going to limit or cap the increases on the health benefits what is the strategy this town has outside of what potentially could be inevitable which is a increase in taxes um specifically what discussions have been had I know no one wants those increases I don't want those increases you all don't want those increases but what is the strategy moving forward um to make sure we don't run into these problems um that were raised tonight a little bit were raised at the at the last meeting um if someone has an explanation it would be appreciate that's really an open-ended question tonight it's not a long speech for me for the first time in a while so thank you seeing no one I'd like a motion to close this section of the meeting Mo thank you councilman to do have a second second thank you councilman o Conor at this time we'll move on to mayor council and professional comments favor all in favor sorry I thank you yes thank you madam president um I'll answer Mr Schulman's question next um first I want to start out with the Barnes & Noble site uh which is going to be hackin sack healthc care I've been reading on Facebook a lot that you know people are saying well do we really need another Health Care Center folks I remember it was 10 15 years ago when people were saying do we really need another banking Clark here's what I'm going to tell you the township government has absolutely no control over who leases something as long as it fits the zone that is a multi-purpose Zone there years ago when I was growing up it was a shop right I remember that Brian do you remember when they used to have the race car track in there too that was fun though shop right shop right but that was fun um Barnes & Nobles came it was a great anchor to our community at the time they are downsizing their stores and closing some stores they vacated the property hackin sack Meridian healthcare came in and leased the property um what can I tell you it's simple what would have gone better there you know one person said a Cracker Barrel another person said Trader Joe's another look maybe you're right maybe you're right we do not have that control if it fits the Zone it's in the zone if someone comes up with the lease Bingo the only time we have a say is if it's not fitting The Zone and we don't have that say the zoning board has that say the zoning Board of adjustments so I'm going to say this about hackin sack Maran Healthcare it's going to be a clean use there's not going to be shopping carts all over the uh parking lot papers garbage you know it's going to be a clean use we're right conveniently off the parkway We Touch Cranford Westfield Scotch Plains Railway lyen Woodbridge even the township of Woodbridge it's a convenient spot it's a good clean Safe Community and people like to be here so I know it's like a once a week week Saga on you know do we need well yeah like I said to somebody the other night it doesn't matter what we want if the landlord leases it he gets it anyway um to Mr shulman's Question tonight on healthc care was a very good question and uh I'm going to tell you that we are working diligently on it I have no concrete answer that I want to share with anyone at this time because all options are on the table and we are looking at it what I find very strange there's a lot of money down in Trenton that could help and this is a double hit to the taxpayers of all the municipalities that participate in Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield State Health F benefits plan because the county also participates in it and you'll be getting hit from your Township and your County uh we are going to continue to look at everything in this year's mun Municipal budget all options are on the table right now and I'll report back to you when we know more and give you more of a concrete answer when I can thank you uh that concludes my report for tonight and thank you very much thank you mayor um councilman hunt thank you um just a very brief response to for the congratulations to Joe Rancho for volunteer of the year that's a tremendous honor Joe does put in enormous amount of time into the community and to the younger community in general so just again thank you congratulations to him and uh once we have more as the mayor just said more concrete answers for the health insurance issue um that's what I do for a living so um I understand that the increase is not one that we would want it's a very unfavorable one altogether throughout the state and unfortunately that's the way the in insur health insurance industry is moving through the past several years so that concludes my my report thank you thank you councilman hun councilman Manti uh thank you madam president um first and foremost I want to congratulate Joe Rancho on volunteer of the Year award welld deserved and again just a amazing uh guy and just a great asset to our community um on a personal note I'd like to uh thank uh the emergency Squad um we had a personal situation over the weekend and I just want to thank them for their hard work and their care in our um situation so I I truly want to just reach out to them and uh thank them with all my heart um with that that concludes my report and uh uh thank you thank you councilman minti councilman OK Conor thank you very much uh Mr shman as the mayor had said um the administration is working on the budget it has not been presented to council yet so when that happens that's when we take a look at it so um as the mayor said and I hate to repeat what's been said but when they get an answer and we get our budget we'll be able to take a look at it further so thank you for the question um teral Avenue take a ride down it um the the plant the R&D plant is very much alive it's pretty big and I know they are still looking if I'm correct mayor at the end towards the end of this year to be complete am I correct Jim yeah so again a lot of activity on um on on termal Avenue um other than that again you know I talked a lot about the volunteer hours everybody gives it a town um two new members of the fire department over 8,000 man hours for the Emergency Squad and when you heard me read the the the list of officers at the emergency Squad you know there's uh a lot of family members Fathers and Sons mothers and daughters it's really a family affair and our Township Brees a lot of that so once again thank you to all the volunteers whether it's fire department whether it's assert whether it's emergency squad or any other the youth organizations or any other organization in the town um society today really doesn't um promote um or value volunteerism like it did when I was younger so it's even more meaningful that these parents and teenagers give their time back to the community and back to their um back to their friends and families so thank you for that that concludes my report thank you councilman oconor councilman tol thank you madam president um happy New Year we forget that we're 20 uh whatever 18 days 17 18 days into the new year and I just want to say to the residents who we campaigned at your door and you asked for things you asked for something that we're going to carry into January 1st we took the oath of office on January 1st and now we're working to implement and get what you requested taken care of and we're going to do that for you because that's only proper we thank you for your support and we're going to continue doing the good deeds of this community because that's what this is all about and if it's not then we don't belong here but you said yes you're going I want you to continue and we're going to continue for those we lost in the last month Carol Barrett Andrew Beach Jean carheart Mary sortino Diana George who is a friend and Arlene Fernandez and of course my mother Kathleen toll A Mother's Love is eternal it will last forever even though she's not physically here she's in spirit and in my mother moved into this Township in 1958 because she loved the township of Clark she instilled that in me through the last 33 years since my dad died she always said what a beautiful town she loved ral's programs she loved going to the library she loved being a part of the township of Clark which I continue trying to carry on for the next generation and still in you the residence of Clark what a great Community we live in and we must always honor that and those who come before us with that said on behalf of my brother Kevin and I we want to say thank you to the township of Clark for its kindness support during a very difficult time it came on quick my mom was 98 years old but she didn't suffer she got Co and was dead in a week and that's what Co does to people it takes our loved ones and we hopefully they have a cure for it soon what I said again saying my brother and Kevin and I want to say thank you to the community for the cards and to as Jimmy manetti just said before the first respond Incredible 2 in the morning they come out because I made a call I need help they came out and they were there for us the first aid Squad unbelievable they get out and do a call like that and take care of our family's emergency needs just I have to say again to the officers who came out thank you from the bottom of my heart my brother's support and we thank you for being there for us and that's when these other council members talk about it when you actually experience it at home it's incredible that they're there for us and we thank them and we wish them good health to all to this community that's all I have to say guys uh we'll be continue doing the Deeds I have some issues that will be popping up I'll talk in more details when I have more facts I'm talking about Bartell I'm talking about Katherine Street Washington Stanton and Harrison when I have the facts and I have something to present to you I will be doing that whenever it takes I don't care how long it takes as long as we do it right thank you Mr Madam President we appreciate your time tonight thank you councilman tol our business administrator Mr or no comment tonight thank you for all your input tonight uh Madam clerk no comments thank you thank you counselor no comments thank you um so I also want to than congratulate Joe Rancho um I I really enjoyed the comments that the mayor made I mean wherever Ralph was or whatever activity was going on Joe was always there always um being supportive so it was really it's really great to have someone so dedicated and to take so much personal time and give it back to this community and of course as president of Unico the tremendous support to the township is greatly appreciated for everyone who's involved in the recreation center and um participates in all the activities that the town has to offer which are tremendous it's a it's a real um tribute to this community to have the recreation center that we have I just want to welcome the two new um Clark Volunteer Fire volunteers Ryan Crowley and Michael Silva wish you luck and thank you for all your dedication um and also to the emergency Squad thank you for that report that was very thorough report councilman o Conor was really appreciated and I think gave more insight into the enormous number of people that are involved in that operation and um yeah so thank you to them and uh that concludes my report like a motion to adjourn second thank you councilman toll councilman OK Conor this meeting's [Music] adjourned