##VIDEO ID:k087jobp_Ac## good evening and welcome to the Clark council meeting of October 21st of 2024 Madame clerk would you please call the role councilman hund here councilman masella here Council minti here councilman oconor here councilman Smith here councilman tol here council president albanes here i' like to ask everyone to please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance in a moment of silence pledge Al to the flag of the United States of America to the repblic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible 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 tap into to Clark by posting such annual meeting schedule on the Bolton board in town hall reserve for such announcements the official website of the township and the proper filing of said notice formal action may be taken at this meeting thank you madam clerk Council may I have a motion to suspend the regular order of business so move thank you councilman Smith thank you councilman hund all in favor I okay at this time we're going to proceed with the oath of office for our new police officer Michael cypriani thank you you good evening ladies and gentlemen Welcome to our meeting tonight uh we have a little busy early start with a swinging in of a new police officer Awards to uh two great members of our first aid Squad i w like to welcome Chief Barnwell and the uh PD that are here tonight members of the first aid Squad and of course the citizens of the community we're going to start uh with swearing a new officer tonight I want to welcome him to town and wish him nothing but a great 30 years here and uh of course to go home safe after every tour that's my Micha Sani welcome Michael would you like to bring anybody up with you to one in come on up folks feel free more than welcome like to hold the Bible put your right hand on the Bible okay you want to move in a little bit okay and you can repeat after me I Michael ciano I Michael cyani do solemnly swear do solemnly swear that I will support the Conant Constitution of the United States that I will support the Constitution of the United States and of the state of New Jersey and the state of New Jersey and it I'll bear truth faith and allegiance to the same that I will bear truth faith and allegiance to the same and to the governments established and to the governments established in the united states in the United States and in this state and in this state under the authority of the people under the authority of the people and that I will faithfully and that will faithfully impartially impartially and justly perform and justly perform all the duties of office of police officer all the duties of the office of police officer according to the best of my ability according to the best of my ability Township of Clark for the township of Clark State of New Jersey state of New Jersey so help me God so help me God okay thank you I uh congratulations and welcome you got right yeah I I went a little bit out of order because they had my sheet on top of his sheet so so age before Beauty I guess but anyway Captain akabo our Patrol Commander would like to read a little bio about Michael and which should have been done first but again he put his on the bottom so what are you gonna do right okay come on up cap thank you good evening mayor Salan Coro business administrator Jim ol Madame council president Angel abanes council members Township Clerk Edith Merkel distinguished guest family friends and community members but before we begin please help me welcoming in joining us the Union County prosecutor's office chief of detectives Chief Harvey Barnwell and we also have retired Captain Uh Kevin white as well so Chief Barnwell and uh his team Lieutenant s Santos have been a staple in our agency since July of 2020 with fostering our agency with a culture of transparency accountability and professionalism I would like to thank personally the mayor business administrator and the council members for their unwavering support of the police department and hiring of our newest police officer so thank you so it is my great pleasure to welcome our newest officer police officer Michael cypriani badge 504 officer cypriani was raised in Carterette with his parents David and Victoria and his brother Anthony he graduated from Carteret High School in 2013 After High School he pursued his passion for law enforcement enrolling in Middle sex County College for police for a police science degree officer ciani entered the police academy in seert New Jersey and went on to successfully graduate in 2013 officer San brings valuable experience to our department having served as a juvenile corrections officer for the Juvenile Justice Commission then transferring on to metal County Sheriff's Department in August of 2022 where he demonstrated commitment and integrity and a deep sense of responsibilities to those under his care officer cypriani enjoys watching sports he is a dedicated New York's New York Rangers New York Yankees and New York Giants fan two out of the three I do not [Laughter] like um on his off time he enjoys working out the gym fishing and spending quality time with his family friends and officer San is engaged to be married to his fiance Monica so we are excited to have you welcome to the Clark police Department thank you the badge careful have M I don't I don't need an on the job injury right away here that's good thank you come on folks squish down thank [Applause] you um next we're gonna this is amazing I want to say to you that um we are going to be honoring tonight two members of the volunteer first aid Squad and folks this is what Clark is about there's no doubt in my mind 50 years of volunteer service when I now the the men and the ladies of the squad like our fire department volunteers our PD of course is paid and they all do one thing is serve the community unwavering each and every day our PD is out 24 hours a day seven days a week no matter what the weather is they're there our volunteer fire department and our first aid Squad are there when that ptron goes off and calls them the service and to volunteer for anything is just unbelievable and we're thankful as a mayor and counsel you know whether it be coaching sports or right up to First Aid or fire or everything in between it's great to have residents this way but when I heard that Alan Riley and Gary Wagner both have 50 years in the Clark first aid Squad that that blew me away and I wanted to honor them here tonight in front of the community in front of the members of council to let you all know the kind of people we have in this great community of ours they never say no they're out there they're there for you the squad is a volunteer organization as I said earlier the squad also is really autonomous to the township the fire department is under the township perview the squad is not and when I first became mayor I found that to be a little unusual then I was explained the law and how it works and we give them a donation uh each and every year out of the tax budget out of our Municipal budget and we turn around at that point and we have them uh go out and they were raising money fundraising has been dwindled a lot over the years and also then we've turned around and we worked with them to bring in a Billing System to the insurance companies to help them out I'm proud to say I was the first mayor to ever purchase an ambulance for them versus them having to raise money I think we're going to be going on our third if my memor is correct two are already and another one coming and that's the least we can do for these men and women who serve our Community it was hard over the years to get volunteers because everybody is working today years ago people had maybe a husband work wife home they volunteered during the day I remember as a child growing up I saw a lot of squad uh female members during the day covering and at one time our daytime coverage was down minimal and I heard of a call where somebody was hit and they were waiting for another Squad to come out of town from out of town no fault to our members because they're out working they had no one for daytime coverage and Jim olor was on the squad then and a council member and we worked with the squad to bring in EMTs during the day and the amazing thing about that I think if I remember correctly we started them out at 10 bucks an hour am I right on that about 10 bucks an hour and what they did when 10 bucks was 10 bucks not anymore uh can't get you McDonald's but anyhow um they would sit and they were college students would sit in the squat house they'd get the study watch TV take a nap whatever they wanted to do and when the alarm went off they went out and then we were covering with our volunteers from 6:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. and it's worked out very well so I'd like to both bring up Allan and Gary right now and I have the clerk read your Proclamation into the record and then we'll present it with you and on behalf of myself and the uh citizens and uh all the people here in the squad in the community we we're so grateful and we thank you so much come on [Applause] up Madam Madam clerk whereas Alan Riley has been a member of the Clark volunteer emergency Squad and whereas it is with deep appreciation and respect that we commend him and his unparalleled 50 years of exemplary service as a volunteer for the Clark Volunteer Fire uh emergency Squad and whereas since joining the ranks in September 1974 Allan has been a Cornerstone of our Emergency Response Team embodying the spirit of selfless service and unwavering commitment and whereas Allen's Journey with our organization has been marked by exceptional contributions including his vital role in overseeing the care and maintenance of our ambulances and whereas his meticulous attention to detail and Relentless efforts ensure that our Fleet remained in optimal condition directly contributing to the safety and efficiency of our operations and whereas in addition to his responsibilities with ambulances he served as line officer and a trustee on the executive board for many years his leadership and strategic Vision has been instrumental in guiding our organization through both challenging and prosperous times his wisdom and hard work have led left an indelible mark on our operations and our community and whereas his dedication to his role and his enduring commitment to our or our organization are a testament to his exceptional character and professionalism his contributions have not only enhanced the effectiveness of our emergency response services but have also inspired those around him to strive for excellence now therefore be it resolved that mayor salvan a Coro of the township of Clark does hereby honor and salute Alan Riley for his exemplary service and dedication his legacy of Excellence will continue to influence and guide our Organization for years to [Applause] come okay next is Gary Wagner whereas Gary Wagner AKA Garfield has been a member of the Clark volunteer emergency Squad and whereas it is with immense pride and gratitude that we recognize him for his remarkable 50 years of dedicated Service as a Clark volunteer emergency Squad member and whereas since joining the rank since September 1974 Gary has exemplified unwavering commitment exceptional skill and a deep sense of Duty and whereas his journey with our squad has been marked by his outstanding role as a chief Crew Chief and his ongoing active participation in our operations and whereas he is currently assigned to Friday nights and his dedication extends far beyond his scheduled shifts he has consistently gone above and beyond not only fulfilling his duty night but also covering a majority of daytime calls ensuring our community receives the highest level of emergency care at all hours and whereas Gary's willingness to step up during critical times is unparalleled he is known for being the first to volunteer for Holiday coverage and his presence at township events for standby support is a testament to his dedication and reliability and whereas his selflessness and Readiness to serve have made a profound impact on both our Squad and the community we serve in celebrating Gary Wagner's 50 years of exemplary service we honor not only his significant contributions but also the spirit of altruism and Excellence that he brings to our team his enduring commitment and exceptional service are an inspiration to all now therefore be it resolved that mayor salbon of Corso of the township of Clark does hereby extend our deepest appreciation to Gary Wagner for his extraordinary service and dedication his legacy of service and Leadership will continue to inspire and guide our Organization for generations to come congratulations gentlemen and uh I'd love to say another 50 but we'll get whatever we can get we can't plan at our ages we can't plan too far ahead right another 100 another 100 I'm into that 100 100 years between them how about that huh they were here before Band-Aids were made [Applause] thank you again gentlemen yeah if the squad would like to come up please do who have members that are here come on up yeah you know what would you guys would you want to say something to okay folks quick folks quickly uh Gary would like to say something real quick Gary okay yeah I joined the squad back in 1974 as they said just as a when I sort the ambulances back in that time right after I graduated high school and I fig let me join because I want to give a thank you because the squad over my time growing up as a child of the ambulance to come out to our house several times and that's what made me get involved and but never thought I was going to be be here that long but uh basically I just want to thank the township of Clark the council here for inviting us here tonight and along with the support they've given to the squad financially along with the loap program that they started giving us which is like some money they put into like a pension type retirement account as a thank you so I want to thank them for that and just thank the first St Squad and all the members present in previous because without all the members of the squad I wouldn't be able to be here tonight as the squad wouldn't be in existence and also thanking the uh entire town for people who have donated and supported the squad over the years because without the town's support and public support the squad wouldn't be in existence but thank [Applause] you up hurry up Hur up wait wait for councilman OK hey Liz wait for Council M Conor leaz on he's coming forward okay thank you very much mention squad's going to have a little coffee uh party celebration if anywhere you like to go you're invited to go over on a ridan road thank you okay at this time if there's anyone wishing to leave they're welcome to uh if you'd like to stay you're invited to stay congratulations to everyone congratulations okay okay Council I'd like a motion to resume the regular order of business thank you councilman told to have a second I'll second that thank you councilman Smith all in favor I motion passed all right at this time we'll move on to Communications from the mayor and reports of Township officers mayor thank you very much Madame President uh like to welcome everybody here again tonight uh first off I'd like to start off with the Unico Feast that was just held I'd like to thank all the uh members of Unico Joe Rancho president Ralph Bernardo vice president the rest of the executive board and of course the members but more importantly everyone who attended and had a very good time this great fundraiser that Unico started I believe it's 1 years ago is now a staple in the community and the beauty about this is the unikin um basically give all the money back to the community in the way of Grants scholarships helps to police fire first aid special youth organizations and our rec department and everything else you can think of so I know these volunteers work very hard from Thursday to Sunday I thank the Cub Scouts and boy scouts who are there there on Columbus Day Monday to clean up by 10:00 in the morning it didn't look like we even had a festival going on for 4 days so I want to thank everybody for that I'd like to thank Ralph Bernardo and all who participated in trunk or treat and all the little ones who came out enjoyed their few hours on a wonderful hot Saturday afternoon um I'd like to also mention what Halloween coming up uh children will be going door too the police department will be in neighbor hoods patrolling as always but I would also like to ask please try to end by dusk there's seniors and people really do not like answering the doors once it gets dark so please if you can uh and by the time it starts getting dusk out there the clock will be changing shortly thereafter this way too motorists can see you you can have a Clear Vision to them with your masks on and uh it's meant to have a fun day and we don't want to see anybody anybody get injured Leaf cleanup has begun in the community uh there are no more branches allowed out in the street we have had a branch clean up from March till de uh March 17th till uh September 30th and we are asking you at this point if you have branches to please collect them on your property to the spring if there's a major storm of any kind then we would set up a special cleanup as we've done in the past please try to here keep the branches out of the leaf piles they're not allowed in twigs and branches in the leaf pile uh the leaf schedule will start the first week in November Wards one and two the second week Ward three and four so on and so forth in the beginning if there are not a lot of leaves down and they get done with the first and second ward day or two earlier they might start in the third and fourth but they'll start again on that Monday this way people have an idea of when they're coming and what day they got to get them out by it makes it better to put them out we clean them up and they don't blow back we do the school areas every Monday morning so parents dropping their children off do not have to park in leave piles and have a problem with that I'd like to remind everybody on November 5th is election day please get out to vote uh I'd like to thank uh superintendent Ed Grande and the Board of Education Township Council all the veterans and Patriots who uh appeared and participated the Johnson football team cheerleaders band and all its fans in Patriots night it was a great night to honor our Patriots of this great Community I want to thank you very much for all that on another positive note I'd like to give a big shout out to superintendent of schools Ed Grande the Board of Education and Mr Tom Lewis of the Board of Education who worked very hard to obtain a grant for prechool uh here free prechool School here in Clark that's the key word free for ages 3 4 and five if you don't make the cut to go to school by 5 years old uh depending on the cut off date this uh was given by a grant by the state of New Jersey for a five-year period they run the program right they'll have a grant for another fiveyear period and which I'm convinced they will do they have been out talking to locations to house it here in town first and foremost and the beauty about this it's an early uh learning education for these young boys and girls at 3 four and five and they are certified teachers who are teaching them it's not just a babysitting day it's hopefully for three four and five year olds there's some learning going on to educate these young children right from the start to give them a great Foundation every house has to be built with a great foundation and that's what they're trying to do here uh it was amazing we got this I know in some of the urban communities this is a way of life here in Suburban communities not so much and also if you look at the Clark School District and a lot can be said and I always say positively we also have full day kindergarten some of the towns that are touching our community such as Cranford and Westfield do not have that and Cranford I believe has just come into it done in a lottery system from what I've Been Told we do not have a lottery system here so we're having this from three four and five year olds so to superintendent Grande Mr Lois and the rest of the Board of Education from the community thank you so much for your hard work and giving our youngsters a real real great Educational Foundation uh going forward and I think this will also do wonders for the housing uh prices in our community going forward because I'm sure if you're looking for a house and you can get free preschool here that saves parents somewhere between $1,500 and $2,000 uh a month that's a lot of money and I think our town will be very desirable as it is today but again thank you so much for that and uh great job and look forward to seeing the program begin on a not so nice note tonight there's always one bad uh announcement and this is uh our new affordable housing numbers have come out and Clark Township according to the great state of New Jersey are now responsible for an additional 166 affordable units here in town on top of the 170 units that were mandated to Clark in the first round that leaves us with a grand total of 336 affordable units by that number we would have to add about 2200 Apartments into this community Community okay going forward now here's the good news about it as property becomes available that is designated that's when these units can be proposed to be built some of this some of us here in this room may never even see it God only knows this isn't going to happen tomorrow or next year but this is the long-term plan our governor members of his party bang their hand on the table and say we need more affordable housing well maybe so but I don't think Union County and I'll use the whole County the way I know it's developed not only Clark needs to jam our communities with housing so by June 30th of 25 the mayor ba and the council is going to have to work with their planner and engineer to come up with a plan to where if certain properties were sold where would they possibly go and we have to have that plan without that plan you lose your affordable housing um protection and what can happen to Clark which we never do was what happened in Milburn Milburn did not file their plan and thumb their notse to it to say it in a street tone and developer went to court and not only did the judge say is I'm going to give it to him I'm going to tell you how many units and where it's at they lost their protection which we can never afford to happen in Clark we will be meeting with our planner and our engineer to start to try to carve out a plan to see what is the most feasible way to recommend this program going forward uh I personally do not support this whatsoever but as mayor we will have to protect the community which is first and foremost it's not my opinion the counts here it's what's right for the township and uh this is more of putting 10 pounds of baloney in a 5 pound bag as far as I'm concerned uh there is no need for this in Clark there is no need to this in Union County I know Jim has some numbers from other communities that even have a bigger uh what's Westfield about over 400 units is 397 more 397 more units so when you see these monstrosities going up you can thank our uh friends in Trenton for their love for affordable housing maybe someday we'll have a governor that'll put this back into the cities where it belongs where people that can't afford to pay the rents that are the going rate could have mass transit be able to walk to jobs and do things of that nature uh you know you look at Clark we don't have that really kind of community with mass transit and where people can walk to jobs there certain jobs of course but I mean think about the people out in the sticks of of New Jersey because this affects the entire State it's not just Clark or Union County this is the entire state of New Jersey has a mandate so when you hear these numbers and say I'm going to move that's okay if you're going out of state if you're staying in state you're going to deal with it somewhere else so I look at areas like let's say you know tkes Berry and those areas like they're going to build an apartment out in the middle of a farm some of a Farmland New Jersey how are they getting to work how are they going to be getting into mass transit it's ridiculous so we'll be dealing with that number folks again I don't want to create a panic where people are going to start saying you know there's going to be uh 2100 new apartments 2200 new apartments coming to Clark by next year that's not happening but we're going to have to designate land and that's where they got the community unities by the earlobes it's not about available vacant land or areas in need of Redevelopment this is about what would you do in this track of land if this sold out and they wanted to sell it to a builder so it's a little tricky it's a lot of work but we'll get it done and that concludes my report for tonight sorry about the last piece of bad news thank you mayor at this time we'll move on to the report of council committees councilman hund thank you madam president I have the September 2024 CLK Police Department monthly summary we saw a total of 1,832 calls for service including but not limited to 102 ambulance requests one for arrival requests which is mental health behavior emergency calls six fire department requests seven motor vehicle and Resident lockouts 67 alarm calls 81 motor vehicle accidents 22 shoplifting and theft 14 fraud and identity theft 209 were 911 calls and 1,135 were miscellaneous calls there were a total of 22 adult arrests including but not limited to eight for shoplifting five for warrants one for simple assault two for DUI two for burglary and one for possession of CDs the you B Bureau handed handled a total of 13 cases including but not limited to one for theft three for offenses against the family one for terroristic threats one for disorderly conduct and 13 were all all 13 were all in-house uh dispositions that concludes my report thank you councilman hunt councilman mazarella yes madame president thank you uh this is my DPW report for October um to Dov tail on a few things that the mayor had mentioned um the Le last Electronics drop off will be October 26th uh from 9 to 1 p.m. 9:00 a.m. to 1: p.m. in the DPW Yard behind this building this is the last one for this year uh grass pickup has ended for the season Branch pickup uh is compl complete as well however our DPW crew made a sweep throughout the entire town so please if you have any other branches please remove them from the roadway there will be no branches picked up until spring cleanup in March 2025 so remember that please bulky and appliance pickup appointments are required the week before your scheduled pickup week October is the final month this month is the final month for bulky and appliance pickup make a note of that please leaf pickup starts October 28th through December 19th and I believe if you have grass clippings you can mix it in with the leaves uh but please leave one foot um U distance from the leaves to your curb this will allow for proper water runoff and please no branches um the piles will not be picked up if there are any branches mixed in with them just make a note of that as well please a root m is still available deliveries on Fridays schedule your delivery by Thursdays please um DPW has been still making available outside our gate 16 in um uh free wood for the taking please do not make a mess and uh when the bin is empty we will replenish it no log split Splitters or chainsaws are allowed and if you need any other uh information e email DPW rcl.com for more information or DPW uh hour clark.com for schedule of the pickups but I'd like to give a special shout out to um our DPW crew they have been doing an excellent job for this community servicing our community I've spoken to a number of residents around and they're very happy with the quick response our crew has been giving our community very good job thank you very much that's the extent of my report thank you Council mazarella Council Manti uh thank you council president in the month of September the CL Clark fire department responded to 36 calls totaling 394 for the year the calls included but are not limited into numerous odor and alarm calls two calls were for Mutual AIDS from other towns one call was for a twocc car motor vehicle accident on a Garden State Parkway where passengers had to be extracted one call for a mulch fire and one call for uh other Home related fire um as always I'd like to thank the members of the Clark fire department for their hard work and dedication keeping our town safe that concludes my report thank you councilman medidi councilman OK Conor thank you from the finance committee the township continues to be able to meet its current obligations and from the Clark volunteer emergency Squad the squad provided medical coverage for the Battle of the Bands competition held at alj the squad participated in the 9911 memorial service and the squad had coverage at the high school Friday Night Football games their call volume was as follows there were 105 calls in September with three Mutual Aid calls total hours responding to calls is approximately 630 man hours this does not include any hours of members are on duty when not on calls and a year-to DAT call volume is 1,131 calls with regard to membership anyone interested in becoming a member can email the squad at www.car.com and the applications can be found on that site the squad is looking for associate members these are members that support the efforts of the squad with social media public relations recruitment efforts Etc but do not respond to calls if interested please reach out out to them the squad at their website ourc clark.com servicing the community we hosted two blood drives in September please check the lawn sign for upcoming blood drives and they are so proud to honor the selflessness of Gary Wagner and Alan Riley who celebrated an unbelievable 50 years of membership and dedication to the squad and to the people that they serve respectfully submitted Lori Sheldon trustee that concludes my report thank you thank you councilman oconor councilman Smith thank you Madame President uh before I get into the recreation report I would also like to thank all the volunteers uh who gave their time for the Unico Italian Festival uh there were thousands of people there over the 4-day event which ran Thursday through Sunday uh all the money raised as the mayor mentioned does get given back to the schools in the form of uh scholarships the high school seniors and as well as philanthropic donations to some local and National Charities as well as all the various um organizations in town uh on to Recreation the annual Christmas tree and manora lighting will be held on Saturday November 30th from 3 P.M until 6 p.m on the Brewer Municipal grounds there'll be pictures with Santa cowers K Middle School and alj High School bands snacks Refreshments hor drawn carriage rides bounce houses pony rides and so much more the event ends at 6 p.m sharp with the triam manora lighting uh the following morning is breakfast with Santa which is Sunday December 1st at the Grand centurions with uh there'll be three seatings the event always sells out so please register early if you have any questions you could always contact the recreation department uh and contact Ralph Bernardo at 732 428 8400 or his email is r berardo at our clark.com and all this information is available on the hour clark.com website and lastly if you have any children who are interested in recreation basketball or indoor soccer please register them ASAP you can either stop at the recreation office or register online thank you thank you councilman Smith councilman tol thank you madam president the annual Clark Environmental commission Reservoir cleanup was held this last Saturday October the 19th from 8:00 a.m. to 12 p.m. over 100 participants came out and worked on along the shores of our Reservoir under the direction of chairman Mark Hayden and all the members of the Clark Environmental commission working from the morning hours to the afternoon the The resi Clean Up produced over 150 gallon bags of garbage that were taken from the resi shores which included also two tire car tires a plastic storage container fencing and an also sort of H all assorted me things of household items a special thank you from Mark to the following troop pack 145 troop 75 Cranford pack 137 R&B Landscaping shopright of Clark Union County recycling department the yard of Clark Scotch Plaines Clark Department of Public Works and quick check for their sponsorship and endorsement and participation with the reservoir cleanup it was another year of success of helping clean up and help Mother Nature the next report we have from the Clark Historical Society I'd like to thank this came from Scott mccab and the members of the hist historical society that had the four centuries in a weekend this past weekend they would like to thank all the citizens who came out and supported the four centuries weekend and remind all residents that this Saturday if you have some free time in your busy schedules October the 26 2024 from 10 a.m. to 4 P.M the society will be having their annual fall vendor show craft show at the Dr Robinson that's at 593 Mass road if you have a few minutes come over and help support Clark history that's all I uh one more the other one we'll do later thank you madam president that's all I got in committee thank you councilman toe I'd like to give a report of some of the uh events that are coming up at the library um tomorrow night is one of the most popular events that the library holds each year the New Jersey paranormal event on Tuesday um 7 uh 10:22 from 7 to 8 p.m. um try to get there early there will I'm sure that uh event will be packed um paint a pumpkin for children nine and under and younger that'll be held on Wednesday October 23rd this Wednesday 6:30 to 7:15 uh spooky family movie matina will be held on October 27th from 2: to 3:30 and on Monday October 28th uh for Pages uh 3 to 12 there'll be a m Halloween magic show um all these events are listed on the website so please check them out and um check out all the many new um maker space uh materials that are available for your use thank you that concludes my report on the library at this time we'll move on to ordinances Appropriations and claims um madam clerk yes for the record there have been no objections uh received in connection with the proposed ordinance ordinance 24-14 and ordinance to amend Article 5 entitled traffic regulations of chapter 347 entitled vehicles and traffic of the code of the township of Clark okay at this time I'd like to um open this um ordinance for a public hearing is there anyone who wishes to come forward seeing no one I'd like a motion to close this hearing moov thank you council mazarella do have a second thank you councilman hund all in favor okay at this time I'd like a motion to adopt the ordinance I'll move that thank you councilman Mani do have a second yes I'll second that thank you councilman mazarella any questions otherwise we'll take the Ro or do you want to comment Mr or yeah this is just the um don't block the Box in front of where the new Starbucks is going so that was part of the planning board approval this is just memorializing so the police department can enforce it okay Madame clerk when you're ready councilman Hy yes councilman masella yes councilman Manti yes councilman oconor yes councilman Smith yes councilman tol yes council president albanes yes this time we'll move on to the report of on payment of claims from councilman OK Conor thank you I have review the bills for the month toing $ [Music] 31,518lb name and address to the um clerk thank you hi John GRE 30 Parkway Drive I was just I had a question about number 10 the uh the payment of the tax appeal uh it's $220,000 it seems like a lot um if I understand it correctly that's from the uh amp I guess I was just curious as to you know how many years was there a problem and like what was it recent years and also you know kind of what happened and what can we do to me that because Mr grees that was the shop right property and it was two years s right you're right shopr I didn't mean Sho right you're right but yeah so the it's the shop right um is it um kind of like what years was that was that the last few years what happened and that was for years 2020 as noted on the resolution and 2021 okay so for two years they were overcharged $100,000 each year um um it's a$2 $20,000 return can I answer that go ahead and C property was originally assessed for 5,647 500 okay the new assessment was $ 4,473 th000 so it was reduced by 1, 173,000 that was year 2020 okay then in year 2021 the new assessment was 4,326 reduction of a milliion 32 21 and that was for the year 221 so the reduction was a milon 173 and a million 321 in the two years in the property so roughly $1,000 each year for $1 million incre decrease in value or 1.7 I don't know curious yes yes include that that was held uh yes that was what was authorized by the tax Court what what can we do to fr you know we don't want to do that again is is it fixed do we have it kind of set so that we're assessments vary by market value so it's really up to the tax assessor who's qualified to assess the property okay it just seems weird also because you know 20120 2021 that was a time where property values were going up and they were very high those years so to for that to happen seems a little odd um okay I I appreciate the information you have I know you can't answer every detail that I come up with let me let me step in for a second um you're right property values did go up but commercial property values did not all go up during that time period number one because a lot of people were moving out of their commercial space the other thing is we did an assessment of the whole town as part of this Township assessment we had an independent company come in and like you could appeal your taxes and you get that list that c every year Al also the businesses can um contest their taxes based on the assessment we do the best we had an outside independent company do it and in the end the tax Court sided with them that the value of the property was not as much as the assessor identified and back to what we've been discussing I mean that whole $220,000 comes from the township and you know nothing comes back from the county or the school so it's you know it's something we're going to have to deal with in next year's budget okay thank you for answering as much as you had available I appreciate it thank you is there anyone else who wishes to come forward on agenda items seeing no one I'd like a motion to close this portion of the meeting thank you councilman toll do I have a second I'll second that okay all in favor I I okay this time we'll move on to the resolutions Madam clerk when you're ready first resolution is app in William davit as a member of the Clark volunteer fire department okay this as discussed at our Workshop meeting this will be um approved uh motioned and seconded by the entire Council Madam clerk when you're ready would you call the rooll councilman hund yes councilman masella yes councilman Mani yes councilman oconor yes councilman Smith yes councilman tol yes council president alanes yes so we are very pleased to accept um the application of William davit and congratulate him as the entire counil this time we move on to the next resolution next resolution is seeking approval of the director of the division of local government services for insertion of a special item of Revenue in the amount of $8,155 for the childhood Le exposure prevention program Grant this also will be moved and seconded by the entire count Council as per a discussion at the uh Workshop meeting Madam clerk when you're ready would you call the role councilman hund yes councilman masella yes councilman Manti yes councilman oconor yes councilman Smith yes councilman tol yes council president albanes yes number four is accepting a $40,000 Grant from the National Fitness campaign Grant committee and Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey to Pro promote and Implement a free to the public outdoor Fitness Court do you have a motion Council so moved thank you councilman Smith do have a second I'll second that please thank you councilman hund did you want to comment further Mr Al yeah I mean this is a grant that we're looking to get to have outdoor fitness equipment it is similar to gym type of equipment but it's all outside it's all made for outside um we're also going to be looking for a uni County Recreation Grant to offset the vast majority of the additional expenditures associated with this again back to our um you know healthy Community mayor's Wellness campaign these are the different types of things that we we're looking to you know Branch out and and have um equipment for all people thank you um Madame clerk when you're ready would you call the RO councilman hund yes councilman masella yes councilman minitti yes councilman oconor yes councilman Smith yes councilman tol yes council president albanes yes number five is Council as the Board of Health authorizing the health officer to enter into a memorandum of agreement with rers University for comprehensive tuberculosis services for residents in an amount not to exceed $3,566 do we have a motion Council yes I'll move it thank you council mazarella do you have a second I'll second that thank you councilman Smith any questions or discussion on this pretty straightforward as discussed at our Workshop meeting um Madam clerk would you call the rooll councilman hund yes councilman masella yes councilman Manti yes councilman oconor yes councilman Smith yes councilman tol yes council president albanes yes okay number six is authorizing and directing the mayor to execute a memorandum of understanding with the county of Union and hvi services for leaf composting at the Union County Conservation Center in the amount of $4 per cubic yard loose or $6 compacted do I have a motion Council yes I'll move this as well thank you council mazarella do I have a second I'll second that please thank you councilman hun Madam clerk when you're ready would you call the rooll councilman hund yes councilman masella yes councilman Manti yes councilman OK Conor yes councilman Smith yes councilman tol yes council president presid albanes yes number seven is authorizing the Chief Financial Officer to cancel the remaining balance in the municipal Alliance Grant in the amount of $531 for the period July 2023 through June 2024 do I have a motion Council so move thank you councilman Smith do I have a second I'll second that thank you councilman Manti roll call Madam clerk I just interject a second sure for you uh I believe uh that was just excess money that we didn't need need to use Jim yeah when like any of these projects we estimate what it's going to cost at the end of the day we you know we have a final number and it just happened that it' be le it was less but we were already granted the matching portion of the money so we're returning the money okay at this time we move on to the consented gender res olutions oh sorry roll call councilman hund yes councilman masella yes councilman Manti yes councilman oconor yes councilman Smith yes councilman tol yes council president albanes yes okay now we will move on to consent agenda resolutions first item on consent is authorizing the tax collector to refund over payment of sewer fees in the amount of $420 number nine is authorizing the tax collector to refund overpayment of taxes in the amount of $ 21,561 71 and 10 is authorizing the tax collector to settle a tax appeal for Block 71 lot 140101 as authorized by the tax Court of New Jersey with credit issued in the amount of $220,100 two thank you do I have a motion to adopt Council so moved thank you councilman Smith do you have a second I'll second it thank you councilman Manti Madame clerk when you're ready would you call the rooll councilman Hy yes councilman masella yes councilman Manti yes councilman oconor yes councilman Smith yes councilman tol yes council president alanes yes Madam clerk do you have any new business on the calendar there is no new business thank you at this time we'll move on to the public comments section of the meeting I'd like to open up the meeting to the public public if there's anyone who would wishes to come forward please come forward state your name and the your address uh to the clerk and uh direct your comments directly to the council there anyone wishing to come forward good evening I'm jilia Collins Clark New Jersey I just wanted to have on T on the TV station Also regarding the rabies clinic that's coming up on November 7th for Township residents and basically any Resident of New Jersey can go to any rabies clinic throughout the state but um this has been published on our clark.com it's November 7th 6 6m to 700 p.m. all and uh pre-registration is required and walk-ins are not permitted and it's going to be I assume at 4:30 Westfield Avenue on November 7th yes it is uh regarding the reservoir I attended the nove I'm I'm sorry October 7th workship Workshop meeting and I had asked if we had heard from Union County or Mr Atman regarding any decision by the New Jersey highway Authority for travel of watercraft underneath the parkway were you able to reach him Mr oage I have I've had three conversations with him he still doesn't have anything official in writing but he is working on it okay oh also back to the animals just so people know in Clark our Animal Control is associated Humane in Nork and they're overwhelmed with animals so if you're thinking about adopting a pet now or in the New Year please consider norc instead of purchasing a pet thank you thank you and thank you for mentioning the rabies it's um it's very rare to find rabes cases in the United States it's really uh very minimal however in this uh recently there were I believe two or three raccoons in Middle sex County that had rabies so um it is a serious issue is there anyone else wishing to come forward hello uh John Greaves 30 Parkway Drive um there's two things I kind of want to talk about uh the first was um the Department of Public Works I I was looking at the budget and you know from like 2015 all the way through 2022 I saw that there was 19 full-time employees and two part-time employees and then in 23 it dropped down down is 16 full-time employees and then this year's budget is 14 full-time employees so it seems like we lost five full-time employees and two part-time employees in the last two years and I I know that services are a big deal in the town and I just wasn't sure how that fits fits into the you said about the services I know that that's an important part of our services that are provided and you know that's just something that it seems like we're dealing with fewer people um doing fewer people working in the DPW um the second thing that I wanted to talk about was you know you guys uh mentioned some things about the school budget last year or last month and you know I think there was a couple things that you know I think um not everything was not the full picture was presented so you know you basically said that you know the school budget this year year was a little over 37 million and you said that the student enrollment was that not right the tax levy okay well just take my word for it for the moment but if I'm wrong I'm happy to adjust my my thinking on it um from what I understood it was the budget was 37 million and you said that the student enrollment went down and you said you know the school got the money they requested you know this was in response to the issues that I had been having with the pilot program um but you know um and we can confirm the 37 um I just went with what was said at the meeting um but but compared to 2023 that's actually a $1.2 million increase so even if the enrollment went down the school um taxes that people are paying are up $1.2 million and that's if that number is correct that you stated at the council meeting that's the biggest increase in the last 10 years um not by a ton there were some that were almost that much um and you know it was something that you know we should have mentioned that who's paying for that right it it wasn't the people that um it wasn't the developers who gave a pilot pilot agreement to it's the Clark taxpayer that has to pay that full $1.2 million increase um and at the same time there was a little over $600,000 in tax breaks that could have covered more than half the school levy increase but because the pilot agreement residents shouldered the entire cost of the increase and you also didn't mention the W Hill development how many students actually came from there you just mentioned the total enrollment in the schools and uh I sent a pilot requ um a Opa request to the school and they sent back and they said there's actually 28 students that are coming from that development so there's 28 new students coming from that development but they are not none of the money they're paying is actually contributing to the school budget the taxpayers the residents outside of that are um handling that and you know I'm not upset the students it's not their fault you know I I I think it's you know I I just don't like the deal that you guys made and I think that is responsible for that you know um so you know I guess you know I understand the running the town is is not simple but it's not hard to present the whole picture and I'm asking you just please stop making these pilot deals in a situation where it's going to be adding money to our um or not adding money to our schools and basically the it's pushing the burden onto the residential taxpayers and away from the businesses and you know it would be great if we could minimize the the mitigate the issue that's caused by the deal that you guys already made um I know that there was an ordinance that said you could add money to the schools um it when they passed the the the when they passed the resolution to do the agreement there was um also an option to increase some of the funding take some of the pilot money that you guys receive and give it to the schools and maybe we can do that to help offset it because 28 students is about $560,000 uh that the school has to take on and we'd like to offset that as much as possible um that's it thank you very much for your time anyone else wishing to come forward Nancy tws is 43 Colonial Drive with the affordable housing I don't understand why all the time affordable housing has to be brand new facilities built for affordable housing why can't existing apartments or dwellings be converted into affordable housing just seems like we're running out of space I really don't want to see Clark filled with highrises and what every single piece of property that gets torn down now we have to be burdened with additional apartment buildings in town where can't we convert something that's already here plus I mean I hate to be kind of not really jealous cuz I don't want to really live in an apartment but the affordable housing units end up being brand new luxury apartments that people get for affordable housing it's just doesn't seem like it's right for everybody else that's paying through the nose and I really don't feel like hearing about how we're not really paying for it we're all really paying for it people are living not having to pay the rent that everybody else is paying and everybody else is paying more in order for the other people to pay less so I know just seems we're always talking about new units new units new units new units and I just don't understand why it always has to be new thank you okay there there are um several Arc homes in in this Township and those count towards affordable housing units and those are residences that um um disabled people live in and those are counted as affordable housing units so it's not always new units um I don't think the units are luxury I think they're they're different so for example um you know one of the uh the age restricted development the units are not the same so they are made affordable but and they're built there but they're not the same as luxury apartments I don't know if you want to add Mr Al to that Madam president they they are by the state law they have to be the same they have to have the same amenities and the they have the same amenities but you're not going to get a granic countertop you might get a different type of countertop things like that you know you're not going to get underground parking you're parked out in the lot there there are some differences in in how they put it together and that's how they try to the developer will try to save money and make it more affordable for them to build it in accordance with the requirements of the percentage that they're committing to so it may not add up to much I don't I don't know but you know underground parking versus outdoor parking things like that or what they do didn't we also look uh look into having uh already established apartments and having them reduce the rent and making it up as affordable housing and they said no um they didn't say no so there is that possibility the issue that you're going to run into is that we would have to refurbish them on the Township's dime uh we do have the development fees that we're charging however we're primarily using those for the first month rent as you know as we um as we approve on in Council so there's not you're going to need a lot of money to refurbish them and then also make up the Delta between you know market rate and affordable rate that's why it makes more sense to do it from a new building perspective the investor calculates that in a total return of capital and you know we've worked through it and I'm working through it now on 27 Westfield Avenue but what's going to end up happening is you know they um their rent is stipulated on the I mean their um taxes are stipulated on the amount of rent that they get so that's how they do the offset and that's how the town has a soft cost so to say to get to that point so we could do it it's just going to it will cost a bit of money and it's not like we have to make the last 10 or 15 right now we need you know 300 in change of which we have don't hold me to this I think about 105 already so we still need 230 or so more units you know can we chip away at the side possibly for 1015 but that's still not going to take care of the bulk of our issue right I think it's very difficult for a smaller town to do it but there are larger towns that have um formed housing corporations and they use their developer fees as Mr ol said they take the developer fees and then buy homes and then then refurbish them do whatever's you know needed they'll buy the home refurbish it and then they form a uh affordable house but those are usually municipalities or cities that have a significant commercial base where absolutely it's not going to fall on the residential because if we did that we would have to have you know some of that fall in the residence and back to what Nancy was saying it's going to hit the taxpayers again also you need a lot of you need a lot of development going on the town There's pilots and things like that that feed it because you need development construction going on and a lot of towns don't have the land left such as in our case the areas identified are not really readily available uh right now to build any housing so is anyone else wish wishing to come forward good evening everyone ogre good evening folks on Council who actually have to be here good evening those of you who don't know I'm Mike scholman I live at 382 Carolina Street coming here did the math two and a half years anytime no no comments from the audience please otherwise you'll be removed so I was saying two and a half years and I got to say I put my money where my mouth is and of put myself out there as maybe the polar opposite of what we had in terms of government these last 24 years and we were told it wasn't you on the tapes and it was there was nothing wrong and the AG report refuted that and we've come sort of Full Circle I stood up here two and a half years ago and I looked at the seven of you it's not about May Bon Coro at this point this is council meeting and you're the council members and I looked at all of you and I had questions that were unanswered that you knew the answers too we found out and I had questions about what you personally thought of everything that's gone on over the last what we know four years and probably a lot longer and we still don't have answers so I'm going to ask you tonight another question or set of questions to see maybe if you're still either in the dark about what's going on still or you really know and still aren't telling us what could I be referring to well November 5th is a really important date I'm not here really to make an election speech what's an important date though it's November 6 it's November 6 it's not just the day after election day although it's important from my point because November 6th the mayor has another scheduled appointment currently scheduled to go back to the courthouse in Union County it's currently scheduled to potentially enter a guilty pleague that's on the calendar or a copy happy to share it with you scheduled to stop saying the investigation bogus and bunk and people are out to get them but my concern goes back to all of you and the folks who listen and folks who watch and the folks we've talked to because if that is to happen if that plea agreement does go through and all expectations are it is it's on the calendar again weirdly enough after the election but whenever it does go through statute's clear that person has to Forfeit their office that person can no longer serve so we are at a position right now there's a date that a judge in the Superior Court expects our mayor to show up and change his plea to guilty I don't know for what but that's on the calendar and if that is to happen whether it's the 6th the 26th or sometime next year he can't be May anymore people are going to vote in two weeks they should know that they should know that if they pull that lever they're not getting the mayor they're getting the ba cuz that's what our law says here in Clark the ba takes over and Jim we've gotten along but no one knows they're voting for Jim right that's important so I don't know whether the seven of you knew that I don't the seven of you care but I'm hopeful that maybe after this meeting and learning that information you do something you haven't done for years just ask the man the important questions I appreciate the Civic engagement and most of the time the respect a lot of you give and I look forward to whether or not election day goes one way or the other you're still going to see me here still going to be advocating for what I believe is right for this town with my town I don't need to put 40 or 5050 or 60 years in it to call it my town I live here pay my taxes send my child to school here and you're going to keep hearing from me until we take seriously everything in that AG report everything that left out that we all still know about thank you there anyone else wishing to come forward hello Glenn Fogerty uh Goodman's Crossing off Lake Avenue so I've appeared at the last few Council meetings uh well first of all Mr scholman to address his comments uh he comes from a party that thinks allegations are convictions particularly false allegations in kangaroo courts from corrupt prosecutors so again he seems to be uh convicted ing someone before uh there's been adjudication uh you should have learned that in law school that that's uh not quite the case but in the land of Kangaroo Court Democrat Politics the allegation is the conviction because all you need to do is slander so I'm going to talk tonight about a group of leftist candidates who call themselves stronger Clark their motto should be slander not Solutions because it's that's all that have this group claims they want to restore honesty integrity and transparency to our town governments I find these claims to be completely ludicrous given their Shifty behavior and their dodging of questions on social media in past appearances I've talked about how they block people how they an Ask answer questions with more questions which I call sophistry and how they've engaged in ethnic profiling of people with Italian last names and Irish last names and Slavic last names that they block them from their page I'm not going back to a society where people say Irish need not apply and Mr Schulman are his proxies they block people who have lived in this town for decades including myself they don't want dialogue they just want to spout their far-left views their woke views stronger Clark are like used car salesmen on one in nine aside from their incessant stream of insult insults and lies about our town its residents and our Council and mayor as he did with his little diet tribe tonight they spout meaningless platitudes about making Clark more vibrant which means woke rainbow whatever and provide zero Financial details as to how they're going to be so much better all they offer is slander not Solutions especially Mike in reality the only strong things only things stronger Clark will make stronger and higher are taxes regulations radical woke educational policies and government control over every aspect of your life including secret tape recordings of people yeah they've done a lot of that too in contrast what they'll definitely make a lot weaker is our law enforcement as that allied with defund the police radical Sue Alman their claims of fiscal responsibility are a joke whoever heard of a radical Democrat that will tax or spend less who are these people as Jer Seinfeld would ask well I'm going to tell you each candidate they've put up with the exception of Mr Bill grib who's a real Clark guy and not really a real Democrat anyway is a big zero in terms of financial qualifications business experience business qualifications municipal government qualifications unlike yourself Miss albanes who's a CPA and a CFO of a major town and the rest of you who are successful business people what are they now I'm a Gen X guy and we grew up watching a lot of Sesame Street and there was a shady character on Sesame Street called Lefty the salesman and he would come up to Ernie and say hey you want to buy an O well what Mikey leftist the salesman comes up with he wants to say you want to buy a zero because that's what he's offering in terms of business experience in terms of finan icial acument he has nothing is he a financial professional no has he built and run a successful business no has he manage the town no he's a Crim defense lawyer and what do Crim defense lawyers do they keep criminals and drunk drivers out of jail or put them back onto the streets to the detriment of law-abiding citizens only reason this guy wants to get local control of our Police Department back so we can wield power over it and further it soft on crime agenda he has vowed to fire our police chief and who knows how many other officers that won't obey his walk woke whims it's also well known that stronger Clark's most Ardent supporters want to replace our police officers with social workers as if that's worked anywhere if I'm angry seem angry I am because I'm sick of his slandering eye town when Mike ran for counsil last time he said he would question the values of the people of this town if he didn't win now he's back and anyone who doesn't vote for him must be a racist according to his Doctrine if you do vote for him Mike Will wave his magic wand over you and declare that you're no longer a racist Mr foger are you going to have to wrap it up yes he's a one-trick pony never mind his own hypocritical adherence to skin color based Marxist dogmas like critical race theory he just doesn't seem to like this town or its people very much what does he want to be mayor of a town he clearly hates except the harmit he's just over the border from Cranford I'm gonna have to cut you off back so you know what just one more thing Mike I've never heard you say anything nice about this town or its people or our Council and I say Bravo to this Council that have done such a great job for these past 20 years may it be another 20 years with other like-minded people thank you and good night sorry thank you thank you for your time there anyone else wishing to come forward do you know what i' like a motion to close this section of the meeting thank you councilman tol do I have a second second thank you councilman oconor all in favor I okay okay we are going to move on to Mayor councel and professional comments yes thank you Madame President uh Mr shman came up here tonight and told me something that I had no idea about entering a guilty ple on November 6th I just texted my attorney although he has talked to the Attorney General's office over several months I will not be entering a guilty plea on November 6th so I guess that's the October surprise uh I have a right if I feel to to enter into a play I have a right to fight the case that is still being talked about uh and to let the community know because I'm sick of listening to this crap I am being brought up on misconduct for using Township personnel and office equipment and I did I used the public fax machine 1.7 times per month average over a seven-year period and that's documented and a handful of emails I do not run my business at a town hall I guarantee you in every government building in this state people have used the fax machine or the computer for a personal assistance to a doctor a insurance company whatever the case may be this is another weaponization against a Maga Republican because something I said that was recorded and I did and I apologized that was in a con casual conversation would I to believe with an extortionist turned around and got publicized to portray me as a racist but I will tell this community to this day not one person of color has ever come to that microphone to a newspaper to a news media company that says Sal bonacorso ever discriminated against anyone it's not true maybe I use poor language in the Quick Check part working lot telling this individual who went to the Press because he was being looked at for taking free garbage cans from the city of Lynden all documented all documented to save his own butt and try to incriminate others and make others look bad who did their job and did it very well if you walk off the street right now well not right now building's closed anytime tomorrow between 8 and 4:00 and ask any one of our staff in the building I have papers and many senior citizens do this each and every day each and every day can you fax this to my insurance company can you fax this to my doctor can you do this we don't have fax capabilities we do it as a service to our citizens in our community that's a fact our facts is a bulk Bill we don't get charged individually for doing it it's not a dollar or $5 or $10 a copy it's a part of a bulk bill that's what I'm being depicted as as a criminal when this is done in every single office and to just warn anybody that wants to enter the government Arena if you're sitting in a mayor's office or in Town Hall's councilman perhaps and you have an email to your phone that you would like to answer on a computer and you turn to that computer and you go on to your private email and you answer that email you have broken the law in the state of New Jersey in the state of New Jersey that's what I'm being depicted for not using public works trucks and men and labor yes I asked a girl the fax if for me one of my administrative assistants it took maybe 20 or 30 seconds to do it that's what you depict somebody with a clean record of 20 24 years about and they charge Char you with misconduct to grab you by your earlobes if we were outside in the quick check parking lot I would have used another vernacular okay you can imagine what it is to try to squeeze you at of office when they know that what they have is garbage garbage and that is what the fight is about right now there's no November 6th re resignation or ple agreement that I can tell you straight out I just texted my lawyer who was away says I have no idea what you're talking about I'll talk to you tomorrow about it right now I did it okay and when so and the Turn the Page you know we have politics and who's getting up and who's running and who's doing this and who's doing that folks I'm going to ask you a very simple question you make the decision I'm not going to get into a diet tribe about firing the police chief because that's ridiculous you can't do it never had a hearing the Attorney General's office screwed that up to you want to go into that for a moment I will just a moment Union County prosecutor's office did an investigation the AG didn't like the findings they opened up a three-year investigation that's as far as I can go with it right now we don't like what you got let let me go find something you can't fire a Civil Service employee without having a hearing unless they were charge of a major crime yes if a the police chief was caught with cocaine in his car or something of that nature then you could suspend without pay until until it happens you have to have a 45 day they have 45 days to charge the officer and have appropriate hearing I listened tonight about the school going up a million something maybe they did what was the revenue they laid against that I don't have the numbers in front of me I couldn't tell you honestly was that all in a tax increase health insurance goes up pensions go up salaries go up just like in the municipality we're back back on the pilot program we're back on going on schools got 37 less people than they did last year 37 less they ended the year with a $3 million and change don't quote me to the penny I don't have it in front of me but they've been ending with an average of $3 million surplus the school has no need I read tonight on stronger Clark not that I want to visit that too often it's the Twist and Turn uh website of the community that if Mr Shan's the mayor he's going to make sure that he gets involved with the universal pre CARE program and I'm and I'm not quoting I'm giving you a just to what went on you can read it for yourself because he's going to want to ensure the locations and get involved with that school district when Mr shelma doesn't get the mayor has no authority over the school district whatsoever nor does the council people we have a very good friendship and working Rel relationship and we do and have 24 years ago the mayor the council the superintendent and the Board of Education couldn't stand each other it was a it was a a frus every time they got together it was bad I put that together we assist we work with the schools we give them the salt for their buildings on snow and ice days we work with them in many many different ways that I don't want to go over even the the uh preschool for the special ed children at Brer that save somewhere between $2 to3 million per year we do everything that we possibly can do to keep as much money in the classrooms we have people who got into town shortly and are experts on the school district do you see anybody here from the Board of Education or superintendent complaining about the pilot PL program I saw tonight that out of a00 ,000 pilot rebate we had I'm sorry tax uh refund we had to give back that Clark Township ate it all and technically in collecting that 200,000 again just for rough numbers rough 100,000 was from the school another 50,000 was from the county and another 50,000 from the township we ate it all last month we ate $100,000 in tax appeals we provide all the services in this community safety schools we work with them and all the services we have to give police fire first aid you heard that earlier this evening a lot of things that we have to do and pay for at the end of the day when you have an area that's in need of Redevelopment the oldp let's start there let's start there the oldp SAT vacant developers want to develop it through a pilot program because by giving 15% in affordable housing 15% affordable housing they can't build that building and have a return on their investment that they would like to have this is going on throughout the state we talked about this for months and months here's what I'm going to tell you as far as the election I'm tired I don't want to listen to it anymore it's getting more and more ridiculous each and every day November 5th you go into the voting booth you make a determination if you were here 24 years ago plus you know the mess I took over from the elport administration you didn't have a third of what you have today in this community not a third if you moved here in the last 24 years why did you move here was it about the safety the schools and the services probably so Safe Community good schools great Services whether it's DPW Recreation or whatever other service you want to talk about we'll put that record if you choose me thank you we'll serve and be proud of it if you choose him that's the way cookie cookie crumbles the way I look at it we've been hit with a mountain of induo conversation for the last four years Mr fogot he's right Mr shman said two years ago and when he was soundly defeated in the second ward on Election morning if the Clark voters if the Democrats do his bet again paraphrasing one part I won't paraphrase I'll give it to you this a paraphrase this part if the Democrats are do better than we've done in Clark in the past elections and the quote was I have to wonder about their values Mr shman was living in Clark maybe four or five years at the time I don't really know four or five years I believe he is going to question your values Clark he's going to be the values mayor your standards your values better meet his standards because he's going to call into question an entire community's values just like the leftists marxists do just like the woke if you don't think the way they think you're wrong not that it's a conversation and agree to disagree we all do that no one's going to think alike but that's what the values mayor will do don't agree with him he'll call your values into question because he's Lord Jesus Christ he lives in the most highest values and standards of any person in the world and with this I'm tired I'm done Clark have a great night thank you so much we'll see you next month thank you mayor councilman hund thank you Madame President I just want to congratulate officer caprini uh being sworn in tonight uh and you do a wonderful job on the job and stay stay safe and and come home every night to his future future wife who we met tonight um congratulations both to Allan and Gary for their unbelievable dedication for the past 50 years to the Clark volunteer emergency Squad that those two Feats are unbelievable to me um that's a long-term commitment more so than marriage almost I would say I think they've been working there longer than most most people have been married so kudos to them um and then also just as normal thank you to our current police force for the services that they do the driveby they do every night to keep it on Town safe and uh that's all I have for tonight thank you thank you councilman hunt councilman masella yes thank you Madame President um to Allan and Gary um I've known you both for many many years congratulations for your 50 years years of service to our community God bless you both and all Who services to protect our community and our residents please ladies and gentlemen lock your vehicle and your resident doors at all times and if you see hear or suspect something please call RPD they're going to respond quickly to ensure your safety and well-being until next month well God bless and stay safe good night thank you Council mazarella Council Manti thank you council president um as we closing on Election Day I would like to take this time to remind everyone to please exercise your right to vote on Tuesday November 5th um Susan B Anthony once said someone struggled for your right to vote so use it uh 4 years ago I was elected to uh from the people of Clark to serve as your councilman at large it's been an honor and I I thank you for the opportunity and I truly believe that our town led by mayor salbon Coro our business administrator Jim olich and the other members of this Council have always put this Community First I am proud to call this town my home and the people that sit here next to me my friends for 50 years I've been a part of the Clark community and like other members on Council I went to these schools and graduated from Johnson I've walked on these fields not only as a player but also coaching my children and those of their neighbors friends some of my dearest friends still wear the Clark police firemen and EMS uniforms and I am proud of our Police Department led by Captain akabo and Captain lot I'm proud of our EMS and our fire department led by Chief SAS and the great job they do serving our community I appreciate the hard work of our DPW led by Scott mccab and I'm grateful for all the men and women that work hard at our Township offices and truly humble to work on this team Clark will always be my hometown and I will continue to work hard to ensure that all the residents are also proud to call it theirs too Mr shman I just want to address one comment you made that you get to the microphone and you said this is my town it's not your town it's our town and I will fight for our town and make sure that all the decisions that we make are right for our community that concludes my report thank you council president thank you councilman councilman OK Conor thank you very much first off um I'd like to obviously thank Gary Wagner and Alan Riley for 50 years of dedication um I've had the opportunity to work with the squad as liaison for a long time and I know they're very highly regarded in that uh in that organization as you can see by the uh outpouring of people they had here tonight one thing they forgot to mention about Allan Riley that uh people in town here probably know already but this is my opinion he is probably the best and most helpful employee there ever was at Town Hardware right we when I when I first bought my house here I didn't know what I was doing I go into town hardware and I'd just find him and he'd explain to me how things worked and what I needed to buy and and against company policy I'm I'm sure he helped me put a few things together in the store so I could take it home uh and not have to struggle so Alan congratulations and thank you very much for all your help um as Bill mentioned Unico they get great organization they give a lot back to the town um thousands of people over the weekend but that could never happen without not only the organization but a lot of the volunteers as well so thank you to them um get out and vote right whether you vote for one side or the other just get out and vote people died for your right to vote Please Don't Let It Go by the wayside I know in the ward elections there's about a 20% turnout in our town and I know it's not 100% either for the presidential one so um the government has made it a lot easier for everyone to vote early voting mail in ballots and in person so if you don't vote it's a choice it's not an excuse so please get out there and vote and one last thing October is domestic violence awareness month if you need to reach out call the National Domestic Violence Hotline is 8007997233 and the video phone for death survivors is 1855 81211 thank you very night very thank you very much have a good night and I'll see you at the polls thank you councilman oconor councilman Smith thank you Madame President uh congratulations to police officer Michael cypriani and also congratulations to Allan and Gary and a quick story on Gary I was at the Unico Festival uh for probably 40 hours over four days Thursday Friday Saturday and Sunday and needless to say I was exhausted Sunday night cleaning up around uh 10:00 or so and there was Gary still he was there all day every day and picking up garbage and helping us clean up and helping us set up and uh he's a few years older than me but 50 years on the squad and he's still spry so congratulations and I appreciate all the help he gave us at the feast that's all I have this evening thank you thank you councilman Smith councilman tol thank you Madame President here we go again um Halloween is coming up please be careful when you're out and about the way the light is as the sun setting earlier and earlier just just it kind of it's a little bit more difficult as you get older but just be careful with the kids out trick-or-treating and yes hopefully they could be done and get all their trick and all their candies by dusk uh to offer sarelli nothing but safe Tour of Duty and always have in the back of your mind Billy Waton he didn't go home that one night and it can happen to anybody anytime anywhere um to those we lost in the last month Mary gas 99 years of age 50 years in Clark Vincent Lori longtime employee of the Clark Board of Education he was a maintenance with the 50 years of one job awesome over 50 years living in Clark a Navy veteran he gave back to his community Steven canterino lifetime resident of Clark devoted a friend to many so I'm going to end with this you the citizens of Clark have democracy in action you have a right to go out and be heard and get your voice heard if you so desire and that's on November 5th you go to a poll and you vote I'm not going to tell you how to vote but I'm going to say this to you I always believe in keeping this Township clean green safe and historic and I know the one person who's been doing it for 24 years is going to continue doing it the way we want it and safe and honorable with a great job Mr Mayor and to all the members of council we wish you nothing but success and good luck that's what I I have to say tonight to all get out and vote and be heard thank you councilman tol um I would like to uh start out by an addition to the other congratulations and celebrations we had this evening congratulate Captain akabo for being Hometown hero awarded by Congressman uh Kain on October 11th so congratulations on that [Applause] award um we heard the great resume uh that captain akabo mentioned with our new officer Michael ciani we wish him the best of luck and um it it is just wonderful to be here this night for me to honor Alan Riley and Gary Wagner I mean 50 years that's totally amazing um and that's really the fabric of Clark that's what makes it a great place to live to be in a small town where you can have personal uh exchanges with the people who are involved in these things um I do want to talk about some of the things that came up this meeting at this meeting and some things that have come up in the past um you know Mr Schulman asked for our personal opinions and and a lot of um comments are made about what do you think about term limits and this and that and I I did address this once before but I think it's a good example of the types of things that those candidates bring up um they kept questioning us what do you feel about term limits give us your personal opinion give us your opinion in April I did mention to them that under the charter that the town is under the Faulkner act uh njsa njsa which is the statutes of New Jersey 4069 under other forkner act that we're under we cannot we do not have the authority we cannot pass an ordinance to change term limits as I said I do support term limits come out and vote for who you want to vote for but the bottom line of it is we cannot have a referendum we cannot prepare an ordinance to change any state statutes that contradict the ordinances of the township so again just an example of the types of things uh we constantly badgered about we brought the answer to you and that is the answer we cannot change the fauler ACT another thing that I've been asked by Mr gavves don't you research don't you go to the department heads and talk to them about what they're doing why are they doing this um as I've explained to him in private conversations that is not consistent with the state statute statutory law of what a council person does under the Faulkner act okay okay so under the Faulkner act the council ex exercises legislative power over the over the township they prepare a budget they're required to prepare a budget they're required to have an audit done and conduct legislative meetings if the mayor objects to something that we do he can veto it but we can override it but we are not responsible for supervising the staff of the Township if we want to have a meeting if if we have questions I address them to the business administrator who runs the departments on behalf of the mayor or to the mayor if a meeting is needed one with one of the department heads the business administrator will gather the information or have me meet with him and the department head so again it's it's just a total misunderstanding of our form of government uh not doing any research coming up with questions and facts and some of them even contradict themselves um the Faulkner act uh is under the op optional Municipal Charter law you can find it right online you just Google it it's all there 60 pages one section relates to the form of government that the township of Clark has but even this evening John gavves comes up talks about the budget for the schools and as I've mentioned in the past he feels that Pilots take away money from the schools the school gets whatever they ask for you mentioned they their budget went up and they got the money they required the pilots have nothing to do with the schools funding nothing to do with school funding in this case the township gave the money the share of the money they got from the pilot back to the schools we had a hard time finding anyone else who even did that and whether it was legal to Do It um on one hand you're asking why did the school budget go up on the other hand you're telling me schools in Clark the teachers in Clark don't make enough money which again I have nothing to do with that you have to go to board of education meetings and talk to the Board of Education members um as far as stopping pilot deals um there are blighted areas in the town that need to be addressed and um as I as I said one has nothing to do with the other if I didn't answer all of your questions Mr grees that you brought up because I couldn't follow uh what were facts that you were presenting versus questions um please get in touch with me and I'd be happy to answer your questions um in closing uh I would like to encourage everyone no matter which way you vote to come out and vote on November 5th and as was mentioned mentioned um by the mayor it's just fantastic that our Township is going to have um prechool for free for ages three through five that aren't in kindergarten and we were very Innovative um I guess it was around 2007 when we made the decision and it was various committees that were involved with the superintendent at the time um to go ahead and invest in full day kindergarten it's a tremendous asset to the community um I think that's one of the reasons why people do come to Clark uh people are very happy with that and this is just the icing on the cake and uh again congratulations to the whole uh Board of Education and that concludes my comments for this evening I'd like to ask Mr Al if he has anything to add as a report of the officer of the township yeah um I also want to congratulate both um alen who was actually one of my training offices you know 2030 years ago guess almost now um he you know took you out patient and worked with every single one of the members um and I also you know on from Bill's perspective uh you know Garfield uh as we all call him in the squad uh he has that energy at 2:00 in the morning so after getting dragged out of bed for an ambulance call and and having a a full conversation for 20 minutes on the way to the scene uh it's not something that you you you want to do but he always has that energy 247 365 and he's been always dedicated to the um Squad so I want to congratulate both of those you know on 50 years it is definitely an accomplishment you know the the time the um effort to you know keep up your training and get out all of the time is just um for a volunteer it it takes a lot so I want to congratulate both of them uh that's all I have thank you thank you madam clerk big day coming up thank you um I just want to talk a little bit about uh the ways you can vote in this election I've had a number of questions in the last couple of weeks and people are a little bit confused so I want to just let you know uh the sample ballots are all out that is a large folded piece of paper with red ink on it those are your sample ballots the reason you might want to keep that sample ballot is it has a barcode on the front it's not absolutely necessary but it makes it quicker at the polls they they are now electronic poll books and that barcode can be scanned and your name comes up a lot quicker than if they have to search it so that is a valuable piece of paper if you still have it if you didn't throw it out um some people are confused thinking that is your mailin ballot uh you can tell the mailin ballot because it comes in a bright yellow envelope so if you've applied to vote by mail it comes in a bright yellow envelope you want to step by step follow those instructions um it's very specific and you want your vote to count so we have the dropbox at our building or you can put your mail in at any Dropbox throughout Union County and the the third way you can vote is early early voting starts on October 26th and it runs through November 3rd the hours are Monday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. and Sunday from 10: to 6 so it's very convenient um you can go Clark does not have an early voting location but the two closest locations for Clark residents would be either Union College which is on Springfield Avenue in Cranford or the rway recreation center at 275 East Milton Avenue I have a whole list in my office you can take it if you want you can call me you can email me um if you have any questions we're happy to answer all of your questions so I agree with Council get out and vote thank you thank you I'd like a motion to adjourn thank you councilman to do have a second a second thank you Council Manti all in favor meeting adjourned for