##VIDEO ID:jj_3OZU9m2o## e e e e e all right good evening everyone let's call this to letter adequate notice of this meeting was provided in accordance with chapter 231 Public Law 1975 in our invocation I'd like to make two mentions one on August 26th um we have this uh anniversary of the loss of 13 military uh officials and um at the time when we had the suicide bomber um take those 13 lives and that's one particular um memory I like to make sure that we uh give meditation to but also 911 as well that's coming up tomorrow and we are in another here thank God we're safe and hopefully we can stay safe so let's just say uh a prayer to God that he uh stay safe for very very very very long thank you God them all PL salute commissioner Taylor please join me I pled to the flag of the United States of America and to the for it stands Nation indivisible withy andice for all commissioner Al here commissioner LS president commissioner Sor commissioner Maran here commissioner Taylor present deputy director Romero present director Soo here do I have a motion in second to open public comment on resolution items only so moves second all in favor I okay public notice anyone want to make a comment on resolutions only motion to close record second in favor resolution 20242 resolution authorizing the award of a non-fair and open contract to provide a series of three voted education mailers with design print mail shop service and delivered to the post office for Cumberland County Clerk's Office do I have a motion and second move second director do do we get a I thought we asked for cuz I looked all through it I didn't see did okay you guys looked okay no problem okay I I looked all over I didn't see it so I apologize commissioner Al yes commissioner Lo OB commissioner Soro yes commissioner Maran yes commissioner Taylor yes deputy director Romero yes director Soo yes resolution 2024 d524 resolution awarding contract for providing law enforcement uniforms and related accessories for the county of Cumberland and authorizing the re avertising for request for bids for Sheriff's Department portion of the bids bid number 24-18 do I have a motion and second Mo second commissioner Al yes commissioner loads yes commissioner SAR yes commissioner ran yes commissioner Taylor yes deputy director Romero yes director Soo yes resolution 2024-25 resolution authorizing purchase from Omnia Partners National Cooperative contract vendor for a abon propriety ass asset control and related programming for the County Department of Public Works what language was that do I have a motion in second second commissioner Al yes commissioner LS yes commissioner SAR commissioner Maran commissioner Taylor yes deputy director Romero yes director SEO yes resolution 202 24- 526 resolution authorizing purchase from the New Jersey state contract vendor for purchase of three 2024 Ford f450s XL with three 3 to four Cub cubic yard dump bodies and nine Fort Meyer plows for the County Department of Public Works do I have a motion in second move second commissioner Al yeah just the next three I the talking to the public works is that this we we put the money aside we're a little behind they they're trying to get up to date on that they've been putting off purchases for a while so that's why we see three in a row of uh going out to get vehicles for so yes commissioner loads yes commissioner SAR yes commissioner Maran yes commissioner Taylor yes deputy director Romero yes director Soo yes resolution 202 24- 527 resolution authorizing purchase from New Jersey state contract vendor for the purchase of 4 2024 Ford F250s XL four-wheel drive with 8 foot Meer plows for the county Department Public Works do I have a motion and second move second commissioner alright yes commissioner Mo yes commissioner Soro yes commissioner marshan yes commissioner Taylor yes deputy director Romero yes director SEO yes resolution 202 24- 528 resolution authorizing the award of a non-fair and open contract for purchase of non-state contract options for the Ford F250 and Ford F450 XL four-wheel drive trucks with me plow for the county Department Public Works do I have a motion in second move second commissioner Al yes commissioner LS yes commissioner SAR commissioner marshan yes commissioner Taylor yes deputy director rero yes director SEO yes resolution 2024 529 resolution appointing member to the agriculture development board do I have a motion and second so move second commissioner Al yes commissioner LS commissioner Soro yes commissioner Maran yes commissioner Taylor yes deputy director Romero yes director SEO yes resolution 202 24- 530 resolution appointing members of the Cumberland County Board of Health do I have a motion in second so move second commissioner Al yes commissioner L yes commissioner SAR commissioner Maran yes commissioner Taylor yes deputy director Amo director Soo yes resolution 2024 531 resolution reappointing a member of the youth service Services advisory council do I have a motion and second move second commissioner alright yes commissioner luds yes commissioner Soro yes commissioner Marshon yes commissioner Taylor yes deputy director Romero yes director SEO yes resolution 2024 532 resolution appointing member of the mental health and addictions board do I have a motion and second so move second commissioner Al yes commissioner Lo yes commissioner SAR commissioner Maran yes commissioner Taylor yes deputy director Romero yes director Soo yes resolution 2024 533 resolution Dearing approximately 33% of datam high density rolling file system as Surplus and unneeded property and authorizing the County Department of Public Works to sell it as scrap metal to a dealer within Cumberland County do I have a motion and second move second commissioner Al yes commissioner L yes commissioner Soro yes commissioner Maran yes commissioner Taylor yes deputy director Romero yes director Soo yes resolution 2024 534 resolution reassigning defense of Donald farbach in the matter of Brown versus cumland County docket number c l04 38-21 do I have a motion in second move commissioner Al yes commissioner Lo yes commissioner SAR yes commissioner Maran yes commissioner Taylor yes deputy director Romero yes director Soo yes resolution 2024 535 resolution authorizing application to an agreement with the New Jersey Department of Human Services Division of Aging Services for the agef friendly grants program do I have a motion in second move second commissioner Al yes commissioner LS yes commissioner SAR commissioner Maran yes commissioner Taylor yes deputy director rero yes director Soo yes resolutions 202 24- 536 resolution authorizing payment of Phil do I have a motion and second make the motion commissioner Al yes commissioner Lo yes commissioner Soro yes commissioner marshan yes commissioner Taylor yes deputy director Romero yes director select yes thank you these will be on the consent agenda next meeting ID 15209 resolution correcting resolution 20241 196 resolution authorizing Grant application to the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General for a subgrant under the ffy 23 stop violence against women act ID 15210 resolution approving budget amendment ffy 2023 stop violence against women grant program $ 52746 ID 15211 resolution correcting resolution 20242 21 and 2024-25 resolution authorizing Grant application to the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General for the subgrant under the ffy 23 victims of crime act grant program ID 15212 resolution approving budget amendment and in title and text ffy 23 victims of crime act grant program $479,990 15291 resolution rejecting all proposals to provide concession of vending machine services for the cber county of Cumberland and authorizing re advertising for request or prop proposals RFP 24-19 resubmission 15295 resolution awarding fair and open contract for providing intermit intermit services at the Cumberland County Veteran Cemetery RFP number 24-29 15324 resolution authorizing re-advertising for and acceptance acceptance of competitive contract proposals for providing various youth services for the Cumberland County Youth Services Advisory Board RFP number 24-31 15332 resolution awarding fair and Open professional service contract to conduct a preliminary assessment for a completely inclusive playground for the county library lawn our Fairfield Township block 20 Lo 14.01 and city of Bridgton block 186 L 17.02 15349 resolution authorizing the award of a non-fair and open contract for grave marker excavation and reinstallation for three 315 grave markers at the County Veteran Cemetery 15351 resolution amending resolution 2021 d442 in order to accept a grant extension of one additional year for the bja fy21 connect and protect law enforcement Behavioral Health response program 15355 resolution authorizing application to the New Jersey Department of Human Services Division of mental health and Addiction Services for renewal of the Cumberland County comprehensive alcoholism and drug abuse grant for calendar Year 20125 15371 resolution approving budget amendment small cities cdbg 2021 housing Rehabilitation Grant $827 182 local match 15373 resolution authorizing purchase from New Jersey state contract vendor for 20 Dell 22 monitors and 50 oplex small factor 7020 for the county it Department 15375 resolution authorizing the award of a non-fair and open contract for annual maintenance with Depot service Serv and support of the software for Genesis sql4 time clock terminals 15377 resolution approving budget amendment sfy 2025 New Jersey jobs access and reverse commute $440,000 Grant funds from New Jersey transit to operate Workforce Transportation program 15387 resolution authorizing an extension of the subgrant agreement with the inspir health network for the fiscal year 21 connect and protect law enforcement Behavioral Health response program 15390 resolution authorizing a sub awward agreement with inspir medical centers Incorporated Cumberland County New Jersey youth violence cessation Initiative Program 15388 resolution authorizing application and Grant agreement with New Jersey Transit and the US Department of Transportation for grant funding under the federal Transit act section 55311 from January 2025 to December 31st 2025 15391 resolution approving budget amendment Cumberland County New Jersey youth violence sensation Initiative Program $35,000 resolution declaring sorry 15392 resolution declaring October 2024 as National cyber security Awareness Month 15395 resolution approving change order number one to contract for supplying and delivering office furniture and electronics equipment for the county of Cumberland and the Cumberland County cooperative contract purchasing system identifier number 181 CC ccps bid number 21-55 15396 resolution approving change order number one to contract for design and Permitting Services for the placement of structure number 06 DW 024 Maple Avenue over Maple Creek in the township of down Cumberland County RFP number 23-38 15397 resolution approving change order number one to contract for providing Expert Medical consultant services for the Cumberland County Department of Corrections 15398 resolution approving change order number one to contract for providing Expert Medical consult for the Cumberland County Department of Corrections 15402 resolution amending resolution 2020 279 and 2023 637 in order to accept a grant extension of one additional year for the FY 2020 comprehensive anti gang programs for youth 1544 resolution amending resolution 2021 41 in order to accept a grant extension of one additional year for the bja fy21 comprehensive op opioid stimulant and substance abuse site based program 15403 resolution urg urging the state of New Jersey to take an incremental and targeted approach to adopting the proposed protecting against climate threat resilient environment and Landscaping rules 1546 resolution authorizing increase of monetary ceing for legal expenses and the litigation matter of ccj energy director on on this one the 1543 are we going to take we're taking a position which is great but are we going to work uh set the letter to the rest of the any of the other counties that are actually uh doing the similar stuff that has been discussed can I throw that out that that we take a look that we we supportive of the other counties also jumping into this the uh this uh uh this a broad approach that the dp's Tak it at more than usual okay we're going to can we speak about this later yeah I would rather do it just at the end do at the end that's what I'm asking yeah yeah was there a couple things it just came to mind to the commission that's fine or so entertain 546 resolution authorizing increase of monetary cealing for legal expenses in the litigation matter of ccj Energy Partners LLC versus Cumberland County docket number CF 71320 in accordance with njac 53-53 through njac 5 col 3- 5.5 1548 resolution authorizing a shared service agreement with Mars County for the provision of male juvenile housing 15411 resolution certifying compliance with regulations of the local Finance Board of the state of New Jersey 15412 resolution authorizing Award of non-fair and open contract for providing Professional Services of independent monitoring of CFG in accordance with requirements of the Department of Justice at the Cumberland County Department of Corrections 15415 resolution resending resolution 2024 458 authorizing a shared service agreement with kland County Board of vocational education for video recording services do you want me to go through the placeholders um do you have any more on the3 just it's that we should be okay be very we should join and be local because there are already we we have so much every time we turn around they're bided on our land taking more of our land out of the blue that we don't most of the time don't even know about and here they are additional stuff that they have broad power so I and there are other counties that are on top of this I I think you're not going to find any no I don't think so so just but I think we should have a letter written to say we're we're with you whatever they work but we'll look at it you so sure we'll look at that sure the uh Association of counties may have an interest in being the repository expression okay very good well if if you're on the topic director if I you got to read this resolution because he's nuts all right flat out this this guy is is Off the Wall of what they want to put in there that's how I want to put it down as far as I'm concerned right what they expect to be done the amount of money it's going to cost the amount of work that's going to be involved um what they're going to do to families with this agenda is is horrendous it is terrible um that's why I have to agree with uh commissioner alre on this and I I know that our solicitor just said that the association of counties might be get involved in this but we really have to act on this because this this is what it's going to do to people especially down at the sh area just unbelievable the cost Factor they're going to run people out of their homes it's not it's not going to be feasible for them to do what they want to do and I don't know who came up with this idea it is unrealistic it was based on a Rucker's um uh research that U it really seems very farfetch but we'll we'll uh consider and we'll take R advisement from Commissioners and we'll look at it and then we'll come up with something that is um in all fairness to the rest of the counties all right then we'll come from there but I I I'm in agreement as well any else I can't believe the resolution okay continue okay these are placeholders 15334 resolution awarding contract for providing language interpreter and translation transcription services for the county of Cumberland 15369 resolution awarding contract for specifications for 2024 overlay program city of bridon and violent and Township of commercial Deerfield down Fairfield and Upper Deerfield Cumberland County New Jersey bid number 24-34 15370 resolution awarding contract for specifications for 2024 drainage improvements various municipalities Cumberland County New Jersey bid number 24-35 15372 resolution awarding fair and open contract for providing video reporting services for Cumberland County Commissioner meetings RFP 24-36 15385 resolution authorizing purchase from New Jersey state contract vendor for callworks phone system endpoint protection 15386 resolution authorizing second and final option to renew contract for credible Messenger Service RFP 22- 52 resubmission 15407 resolution authorizing purchase from New Jersey state contract vendor for motorol Solutions radios and Pages 15 413 resolution authorizing purchase from New Jersey state contract vendor for purchase of 2 2025 for Chevy Tahoe four-wheel drive to Sheriff's Office 15414 resolution authorizing purchase from New Jersey state contract vendor for the purchase Municipal equipment upfitting of two Chevy Tahoe for the Sheriff's Office discussion anybody want to bring a discussion on any of the other resolutions that we just well number 21 it's a 15395 my understanding is this is replacing some an old Antiquated filing Cabinetry system and I think it's being funded primarily with uh with grant funding I just wanted to verify that yeah this is for the division of Social Services so actually it replaces what was on board's agenda tonight so 33% of the DAT in filing system that's being removed being replaced and uh there were some issues with its use specifics But ultimately division it's primarily Grant funded so the county makes a contribution towards Doss towards its grants so it is gr F we were able to Source a bunch of cabinets within the county as well so this is the rotating file okay well I I want to comment if the public works I would I appreciate their effort I I assum that they took it out uh we we're we're waiting for them to empty them then we'll take cabinet it's it's well overdue it's a wasted space and and no I just want to compliment them for jumping in and taking care of a problem within a short period of time uh which uh I think that they had been asking for a while I Mr SI I want to thank you for tackling that project and and now we're all to get stuff that they can use so and we actually gained some working space gave plenty of working space they were very happy so um the ba and I was Al were there to inspect what was going on so I know the Deputy Commissioner was there as well and they were just too dangerous people were actually hurt with it so that's un way we're doing we doing okay and the other two I had was 15397 and te 398 my understanding is with these items that we essentially don't have a choice with them that they are Court mandated that'sa that's the Department of Justice monitoring follow up the Su understood that's all I have thank you any other Commissioners um I did have not necessarily a question but I would like um to call melisses up to elaborate on um resolution 15355 which is I just wanted you to kind of explain some of the services that would be covered in that Grant to the public Al and Drug there's been a lot of questions and concerns with the public about services that are available and so I just would like to sure I'm Melissa Niles I'm the department head for uh Cumberland County Department of Human Services I'm a viol New Jersey resident so this funding um has been around since 1998 um it's part of the um aerf funds which is the alcohol education reduction enforcement fund the this funding come it's also known as chapter 51 County funding and it's a safety net to fill in the gaps for um for people who otherwise won't have the ability to pay for services so and it's funded through booze tax so in New Jersey every time somebody purchases an alcoholic beverage a certain percentage of that tax goes up to Trenton by formula and comes back down to the counties by formula and that's how we get this funding to pay for four areas um early intervention prevention treatment and Recovery support services so the majority of this grant goes towards operating our firststep Clinic which has been operating since 1975 when C brook house opened its door for the insured and people with money the county of Cumberland opened it stores for the Indigent so we continue that Miss Mission through this funding um early intervention is considered we don't put any money towards early intervention because um in New Jersey considers a DUI an early intervention so that gets handled through the intoxicated driver Resource Center which the offender gets sentenced to that and they have to pay to either go to 12 hours or 48 Hours uh we have contracts with marville and New Hope Behavior health for U withdrawal management formerly known as detox and short-term residential programs also with them the Hendricks house has opted not to contract with us for halfway Health Services because they have other funding sources so they still accept our County residents they just pay for it with other funding and um recovery Support Services some of that funding goes towards the recovery center for our community activities yeah thank you Melissa I know you know we go around the community and we hear all the time how addiction is um touching a lot of people's lives and I just don't want people to feel as though certain things aren't available um and I don't want funding to be an issue so I just wanted to give you an opportunity to explain what the county has to offer thank you thank you and there's more than that but I'll just limit it to any um I have a question on resolution number 15396 as it pertains to downtown um Can can you uh uh elaborate on what's going to be done there do you know uh what the expectation is that was map 11 right structure I had that question better work director yes whiter um hey Doug how are you I'm all right how's everyone the as as you probably know but maybe not everyone in the public does the the the structure that failed down on mle Avenue was already out for design and permitting uh when the uh failure occurred um these changes in the particular um res ution are a combination of things that were items that may have been um come up since then um related to things that were exceptions in the original proposal and there are two items additional survey um and um and and one other item that that that come up because of the repairs the county undertook uh because of the emergency in order to stabilize the rest of M Avenue so we didn't lose the entire call um the plan is to still replace the structure with a larger structure um which was the original impetus from the township because of the condition of the pipes as well as the extremely um high flow velocities which are generated by the original pipes um because of this we have to get DP Buy in before we can just go out there and put the structure in which we're the process of doing with our consultant um it's kind of an iterative approach because we are changing the size of the structure we're not putting the same pipes back in uh if we were just replacing in time we probably wouldn't been able to do that by now um already as an emergency the weekend F failed uh but due to the change in the size of the structure um we unfortunately have to get D buying ahead of time so it takes a little it's a little more time intensive than if we were just going to put the exact same structure back so you're being proactive on this particular um Maple Avenue which we know was the um the conduit had failed previously we had to do an emergency um repairs on it to get the road flowing again um and then you're continuing to do proactive work to get it up to our new codes correct correct okay very good thank you and the structure is just pipe is that no it's it's the road the existing the existing structure was two corated metal pipes from the 1960s uh the new structure is going to be larger structure prop I don't know the exact size yet that's part of the dat of the design but it'll probably get box CT so that way that the flows through the structure will be reduced um as opposed to being excessively High which causes erosion and is also a threat should anyone um fall into the water in the vicinity of it they can actually be harmed or killed by getting drun through Str Mr whiter can you please explain a box CT as opposed to people knowing just what a Culver is yeah I'm sorry the original structure was two pip uh box cover is a concrete structure it's shaped as a box it has a much bigger opening and it has but but it's a preast structure Northeast pre-cast makes them old castle the contact of various Brands um but it allows a bigger opening to be made the which allows the water to flow more water to flow through the opening but it reduces the the velocity of the water which is the dangerous part thank you sir um So So eventually are they going to rebuild the road yes yes okay that's just I I mean I was down there I did view the site and what he's saying now we do know that a child I think a mother or child was killed maybe 10 or 15 years ago because they got sucked through the the pipe so this was a situation where the road actually collapsed due the yes yes wonder what you're looking at instead of those pipes imagine a big square box because it's a large square box the water going through it goes through at a slower rate than trying to put them through small yeah pipes okay which and you know that that's title so it's going in it's coming out so the larger the Box the slower the water is going to okay now from what I understand they'll have protection in front of the boxes in front of the box so somebody can yeah some kind of buhe or something thank you all right director all right see on U that were Grand funds for the uh the transportation program for the work uh end of the are we is there any update on the consolidation of the Workforce Development buses and our our which number is that uh well it's just a grant it's 15377 I'm just asking if we are we proceeding on combined them uh the Workforce Development asked us a while ago to take it to see if they we' be interested in birging give just wor buses for roots is there any update on that what you need to do is talk to uh the uh department head of um saying they'll be able to give you that information she instead of she here oh there I didn't see I apologize well I I kind of thought that maybe um the administration would answer that question we have had meetings and at this time there is no plan to merge the two divisions is there it it it generally comes down to both grants require matching funds and if you don't have enough what uh office of employment training has in matching funds is is in their department and to try to bring it into our department we Lo we would lose money as well as the additional cost to bring it over to the cats program because there are different salaries and it it was just a the funding we would have actually had to cut transportation in order to bring them over well I okay I I was told that that that there's you can always transfer money from them because they're more than will to to fund it they just want to be out of it because exactly what you just said that they're they're competing against us so they're drivers they paid less than our people do so why would they work there if they could move over to the counties all right just okay thank you okay thank thank you any other Commissioners have any comments yes please did everybody else yes okay um I got a piggyback off of what commissioner marshan talked about with the uh 397 396 and 397 just want to make sure everybody realizes these are this was due to lawsuits from the previous administration and that we have to pick up the T the other is um 398 uh the other one is uh resolution uh 406 all right which is ccj again this is something that was done with the previous administration and the the suit that that entails because it and what's happening is the count is paying dearly because of mistakes in the past I just want to make sure everybody realize that when you start seeing these numbers um I just want to clarify that and let's see um of course the shared service with uh uh Mars county is it for juvenile detention the amount of money we're spending there because of uh the lack of foresight and and closing uh the juvenile detention center that we had here in C Camp again all of this is because of bad decisions in previous administrations that were're stuck with at this point in time the last one is did we read 15411 we did okay I have to acknowledge the administration and definitely uh Mr Bridgeway um I've been on a board number of years before I came back on this the board this year and I never was on a board that didn't have notes after an all never on the board that didn't have notes he's the only person I know that actually had two audits in a row with no notes and the audits are [Applause] correct that that that's not seriously that is amazing that is amazing so I just I want to just give that to you I appreciate that and I just want to point out this is the second time we've done one of these this year so one was the financial statement this one's the single audit which is all of our grants so in case anyone in the public sees the resolution has no like hey you did this already it's something different so this is the third time put later after the meeting the drinks are on J but no I just want to make sure we give you the recognition you deserve that was phenomenal thank you app all right all good yes all right comments are done okay public comment I need a motion and second to open public comment on so Mo second all favor okay public comment on new business Sandy aavo upper deer field Township at the uh September 6th meeting a caller posed a question to I guess Mr Carr um that I I'm not sure was answered and it was something to the effect that does the taxpayers of Cumberland County get saddled with the legal defense costs for Commissioners when they are sued individually for any actions or lack thereof taken during their tenure on the cumland County Commission board and is there an ordinance or a resolution whichever one applies that can confirm the answer thank you thank you anyone else excuse me good after good evening Jennifer web McCrae Cumberland County prosecutor um I had come up here to talk about a new program but before I do that I just want um a point of clarification I did listen to miss uh Mr SAR commissioner sar's comments with respect to the closing of the detention center and that being the F of previous administrations I want to um for the record state that I have been a member and um chair of the juvenile detention Alternatives initiative um asked by um previous County Administrator kouch to chair that committee with the child court administrator working for 15 years to make sure that only the right children end up in detention um when we started when I started as prosecutor there were hives of 35 kids 40 kids in detention at any one time for many years we were averaging seven or eight children in detention at at any one time and that was why we closed our Detention Center when we closed our Detention Center we saved millions of dollars for the county whether that decision was right or wrong it resulted in millions of dollars of savings because of salaries and wages and health benefits we are now at a time where we have a high um at crime is cyclical crime has low low periods and then High periods right now I believe we have 22 juveniles in the Detention Center many of them charged with murder conspiracy to committer commit murder robbery um and very serious gun offenses I would submit to you that we work really hard to make sure that still only the right juveniles are detained as a result of their actions because they are children their minds are developing and only when they are threats to Public Safety should they be detained um this is a Statewide problem at the present time we only have seven open detention centers I would submit to you that um both the state and perhaps the counties did not think um long hard and thoughtfully about what it meant to be both a sending district and a receiving District uh uh County excuse me when it came to detention centers or jails but I want you to think about it because I have written to the JJC I have brought it to the attention of the Attorney General just today in a meeting that I believe that there needs to be Statewide legislation governing this area if counties are in the position to receive juveniles they have to educate them they have to deal with their um the things that make them act out and oftentimes are why they are there and the the problem that I see in this area is that the receiving counties pick and choose which children they want to take we have contracts with them but when they don't want to take them they tell us no all about that and when we are sending districts we pay a premium because we're at the mercy sometimes ships passing in the night trying to find a harbor for our kids to stay I would submit to you and I suggest it to both the JJC and the attorney general that if a county has to pay $300 to house their juveniles the rate should be set at 15 or 20% higher for the counties that send kids there I would also say to you that it needs to be Regional because we are sending our children to places like Essex County I say this with respect to adults and I say it with respect to juveniles almost no one is going to spend the rest of their life in jail it matters especially with juveniles that that we make sure that they keep connections to their communities to their families so that when they come home they can reintegrate into the community and hopefully not keep doing the same things that they're doing that's pretty hard when we're sending juveniles to places like Morris County like ESS County you said that we closed the deten Center down the C Millions but now you're where were they going to send a kids well at the time there were agreements and counties were willing to take our kids there is some some thought that you can make money from housing individuals adults or juveniles so I'm I'm not saying whether it was right or wrong it wasn't my decision to were you involved in the tearing down of the nothing wrong with it building of the juvenile detention center when that decision think you know that I that I don't have the authority or it's not my decision to make to close down a A detention center I had input but and it's definitely not my authority to decide whether to tear it down or not I'm just saying that this issue is a complex one it's one that needs State oversight when you're talking about shared services agreement and I believe part of the reason that we're in the pickle that we're in being a sending County not a receiving county is because the state did not think about this thoroughly and think about the fact that we would have spikes and crime and they should have because we all know that that happened prose ad prosec won't you acknowledge then the quote unquote millions that we save we're spending Millions upon Millions now and we still can't find places to put the thing I would agre with we didn't have our own facility which we had we wouldn't be in this position that's a very a very valid point that you're making but I what I'm saying to you now and I'm bringing to the to your attention is that I've been ringing this alarm for over a year and I would ask that you use your influence to act at the state level say that there needs to be some guidelines the JJC needs to be involved the Attorney General needs to be involved and frankly I believe our state legislature needs to be involved in making good sound plans for how we deal with cyclical crime when there are spikes in crime we need to be able to house all the children that need to be housed so that we don't compromise Public Safety and in times of lose does every single County 21 counties in the state need to have a Detention Center in my opinion there should be thought to Regional detention centers that address this is and that may that may occur man prosecutor because as you know tics might even shut down there Attention Center as well and uh for jual and that's that's going to create more of a problem and I think you and I had this conversation not too long ago where I was put under the gun uh to make calls myself to put a juvenile in actually several juvenal and and make calls to try and find them some type of Housing and it it broke my heart to do it because one I thought just my own judgment you know really didn't even need to get uh incarcerated but that was the judges you know thoughts and you know you should put I think you should put an activeice on it but that's my opinion the point is is that it's it's you're you're know if you can always like you can compare it to the hotel industry you're always going to have occupancy that's always available so you have to look at it in the sense where you're going to have a lows and highs and hopefully you can prate those those inmates in there to the point where you're not costing yourself anything and you know that there's no money to be made in the jail business so at least trying to keep those those numbers down expenditures so we are actually we have talked about this in the past uh recently actually um especially along with the jail now um in progress as you know supposed to now so with that say I take your advice um the County Administration takes your advice and we will weigh it you know through and through thank you I I appreciate that one one thing that I think should another thing that I think should be on the table is there right now at present there's a Prohibition of attaching detention centers to the jail the adult facility um to me you can put the the proper you know walls um locked doors in place where you could have them housed W Within by each other but not comingling with each other doesn't sound like idea administrative rules have to be reviewed as well but um we are I would submit to you at a crisis state in in terms of the counties the 14 counties that are continuously looking for places to house our individuals but it's a balance sometimes we save and sometimes we spend I would just say that there needs to be special attention paid to what the state is doing about it and what counties are doing about it and maybe somebody has to sue somebody if they say they're going to take our kids and they refuse to take them maybe we need to file an action so that somebody can you know decide this issue because it's an important issue judge Grant and the courts go around the country saying that we are a complete jdai State they take pride in the fact that we've reduced the number of children that are um detained at any given time and we're really pushing them to also take some of the responsibility as shared collaborators in this process to help us fix this process it's it's it takes everyone in this area m you you you so you be abated to what you're saying you would be supportive because we are doing of this Regional G which the directors alluded to that a ju that a juvenile part would fit what you're kind of talking about and your addition which I do like the idea of breaking down that walls and actually using we were going to upgrade our mental health capacity in that jail that if if we had ability to put the juveniles somewhere around there it could be used also to help them deal with it is that that's what you're kind of say to us saying we should use common sense and the fact that they're separate you can keep them separate in a the same facility with walls and locks and things of that nature it doesn't have to be at a different location and we can then share a lot of our the costs and stuff that are associated with it could be there okay thank correct correct thank you thank you m prose thank you okay anybody else your name sir and uh Chuck albino director Department of Corrections I didn't couldn't sit idly while we had this discussion about juvenile since I the one that usually is manag them all weekend trying to find a bed for them uh I I agree with most of what the prosecutor said um um I think we need to would my recommendation would we think long and hard before we try to um consider incorporating a juvenile facility on the same footprint as an adult facility wouldn't wouldn't be something that I recommend um not necessarily uh I think not not a good formula um not not really done in MO in most jurisdictions and and probably for very good reason and one other consideration because I I've had I have had contact with the Juvenile Justice Commission over this issue and we have to understand that we could we even if we wanted to just build our own detention center now it's not it's not something that occurs in the vacuum JJC you kind of the way it's structured legally you need their consent to do it um an interesting conversation I had with them and it was in a in a kind of a different context it was in the in the context of once we uh build and inhabit the Regional Jail uh there's a section of the existing jail that we have now in Cumberland um that will no longer be in use was there any possibility of that perhaps being converted to juvenile bed space maybe even a regional as the uh would also preserve some jobs and function of that building in Cumberland County and one of the things that the representative from JJC who toured with me said was you know you have to understand there JJ's position is there's enough detention bends that already exist in New Jersey the problem like our jail uh a lot of these um centers are underst staffed so you have a reluctance on the centers to house juveniles to their full capacity because um they they get cited for not providing adequate Educational Opportunity counselors a lot of the ratios that you need um to to properly detain juveniles are pretty expensive so um I just think it's a it's a I wanted to weigh in because I think it's a subject that we need to kind of there's no quick answers but one of the things that I would agree wholeheartedly with the um prosecutor on is there at this juncture where we are today there really does need to be some push from the counties for the state to become more involved because one of the things I learned when I was the one actively trying to find a bed for juveniles um during the summer this happened to me multiple times one of the things you is there's open beds but you'll have counties that will have contracts that lock those beds up so and I think that was the point that JJC was trying to make was that you know let's just say right now we have a contract with uh we're approving a an agreement with Mars County for four beds if we don't if we only have three juveniles detained in those beds they'll hold that bed for us so if another County needs that bed they'll tell them there's no beds available because they feel obligated to hold that bed for us and there's counties all over the state that have that and one of the things that and in fact the pr and I have had conversations about this one of the things that makes more sense is doing away with those agreements like the ones we just are approving and make the bed space managed on a Statewide level so that we we're not harboring beds for a county that doesn't need them at the moment and you have a county like we were in a situation where we had absolutely no place to put the Juvenile and we're forced to house them temporarily in a situation that we didn't want to be you're suggesting collaborative type situation with the state and the counties it's it's not overly really when you think about it's not overly complicated is you set a daily rate for juveniles period so you go to whatever the highest county is charging and you set that as a Statewide rate we all pay the same thing and when we have a juvenile that needs a bed someone manages the bed Statewide and says hey we have one in in Camden you'll go there or we have one in Essex rather rather than have an available bed that's reserved for a detainee that's not in custody it just doesn't make sense Mr are they still reserving that bed and then and then denying yes yes and we have contracts with um I'll I'll I'll leave the names I'll leave the names of the counties out to protect the innoc what mil SE was a moment that we have contract with we have contracts with Atlantic Camden ocean now Mars Bergen Essex we have contracts with almost every available County but I again I won't name the counties involved but we had two we have a county with whom we have a contract that has consistently denied us the opportunity to put our juveniles there who then allowed another County to put Place juveniles there when they didn't have a contract and they worked out an agreement to do that so trust me when I tell you there's a mix of mismanagement politics anything but the right uh intentions that come on you know I I hear the same thing and please excuse me and there's no disrespect intended on any of this but you know I here we we got to talk to the state we have to collaborate with it we have to talk to the state and talk to the state okay they know the the problem that we have so the the argument of why we have to go and talk to the state they know it they are dragging their feet okay it's it's not the counties it's not the pro it's not you it's they sure right we're having a problem aren't we with the the jail trying to even build a jail we're having a problem are we not well slow walk in it that's for sure it's not a walk in a park no okay what I'm getting at is it's the state that's doing this okay so the question is how many people have to beat down that door for them to say okay we're going to do something they already know this proba exists yeah I I don't I don't doubt that it's just um and the director's been in this Bo with me when it's Saturday and I'm on the phone from noon until midnight I mean literally noon until midnight trying to find a bed for two people it gets awfully um tough on not so much myself but you know my staff are in the same boat so it's just just something I think the prosecutor brought up okay so who should we call to get a meeting with them to do something about it now uh oh I think the prosecutor's recommendation uh or conversations that she's had with the attorney general or positive I don't know that who from the county can pick up the phone and directly get a hold the the uh the attorney let me write can we write a letter get a letter and 20 other counties get them involved with this with this I'd like to get uh the solicitors point of view this on this along with the director and the prosecutors let's put our heads together and then we'll make a some type of a statement that's what I prefer to do I hate to sprinkle good news in the middle of all of this but I do have I would love to hear something there you go that's I saved it for last um with the uh I I put out a directive today um that with some negotiation you know we're we're really under two consent decrees we're we're in one that was discussed tonight with doj where you just approved additional funding for the monitors and then and I'm there's no lie that's a very the monitoring on that doj case is very expensive and it's going to be ongoing so I'm I'm not going to lie to you that's not something that we're going to get be able to get out from under relatively quickly they're uh pretty exacting in what they're asking us to uh accomplish and we're working on it very collegially they're very it's a very Cooperative relationship but at the same time they're very exacting in what they want from us and it's going to take us a while to achieve those goals and that's why you see that money going up on the other side we've done very well with our Cod it consent decree so the directive that I put out today um is going to change and this is with the cooperation of that monitor we're no longer uh there's two different types of testing that we've been doing on U our inmate population and our staff uh quite a an intense amount of testing uh the two types are rapid and PCR uh testing um and the difference is uh rapid test is probably under $10 and the PCR test is probably minimally $100 so uh put out with the consent of the Monitor and the Department of Health can you mute your speaker please don't step on good news uh with the uh approval not only of the monitor on that case but the uh Department of Health we've now eliminated PCR testing so over the course of a year I did a quick calculation we would spend probably about $900,000 in PCR testing alone and with this conversion to um rapid testing for all of it it'll knock it down to about 990,000 so uh we should the county should should see some substantial Savings in that regard so I want I know you were concerned and rightfully so with the amount you see in this monitoring I just wanted you to know that we're working really hard first of all not to put you in these legal circumstances that are costing the county this much money but even with the within the context of what we're dealing with now doing our very best to try to you know mitigate and and and create a better environment there and we're working hard with these monitors to eventually get us out from under that as well so thank you very director I just want to point it's not the director to put us in this position this is past well he made statement I want to make sure you say that it's not you to put us in this position it's it's past practices for the last that we're correcting that you're correcting to get us out of this so I thank you for that no that's okay now I didn't come I just want to let another another meetings to about your the situation you were put into when listen this is I came into this W Eyes Wide Open the County Administration was very honest about about the circumstances that we were in so just you to know that you we hear the bad news it's good to know that we make progress in areas too so even though one of the monitoring situations is kind of has us kind of hard pressed right now we are seeing seeing some good uh progress we've done exceptionally well with covid at the jail so hopefully that will I'm hoping that maybe in a year or so we can maybe be out from under that monitoring Al together um and then we'll save even more money because even that $90,000 of testing is probably two or three times what most jails are doing so thank you you're welc appreciate it okay any other public comments sir St your name where you're from uh Victor Bermudez uh PVA local 231 president um I'll be real quick because I got to get the shop right to watch the debate get some food um I'd just like to start off by applauding and everybody because uh for the first time this is the most communication I ever ever seen with the jail in regards just for one topic this juvenile situation uh Madam prosecutor our director doing a great job the Commissioners this is the first time that we all been on the same page and actually communicated with each other with the ongoing situation and problems uh we've been made aware of it for once instead of it just being thrown in our lap uh with is being said is the liability issues that lie with these for officers like us taking on such a an unknown variable with dealing with juveniles that's a whole different type of training and like you said this was handed down to your lap from past administrations that got rid of the manor got rid of the Detention Center try to get rid of us try to get rid of the CCA was trying to just demolish the working class in cly County you guys are helping preserve that and now we're hit with bail reform that's failing we're getting every jail has 100 to 150 more inmates than we've had in the past uh five years I would say the director would be able to tell better but uh the counts are going up and the juvenile problem is not going anywhere like like Madam prosecutor said the crimes are increasing and they're heavy crimes so I know every everybody was looking to who to address this would be the JJC you have to get in touch with Juvenile Justice Commission and we'd have to have some people in the right places to actually get their attention and bring up these problems because it's growing like you said we had I'm not going to say the number but we had a number of inmates involved in something pretty critical and we had to go up north Jersey to take care of it that's a long ways for us to take care of something and a lot of politics are involved in that why a lot of places aren't taking our our kids and we're just caught in the middle of it again from not being prepared I I applaud uh the prosecutor's idea of putting them together and then the director saying having them apart I understand both sides where we could possibly make money by putting them by each other and and housing other places because it's growing problem because everybody's closing the juvenile you save Millions like you said by getting rid of salary you're getting rid of benefits but you got rid of all the jobs in cumberly county and this keeps happening and these people leave or they become a part of the system they become a part of the system and have to go on low incomes and this was is a growing problem so we're employing other people we're sending inmates and we're sending juveniles to other places instead of employing our own so I I I understand that we need to probably build a facility to house our own that'll cut cost for usay paying somebody else and paying other people and we can employ our own and and having it apart because I understand that you don't want the kids to be on the same setting as an adult facility because you don't want them to see where they may be graduating to next I understand that part as well like the director was trying to say so having it set apart like the violent Prep Academy they call the Prep Academy in violent for the juvenile offenders for the state there's a place in violent and they have different setting with you know outdoors and woods and everything you know I understand maybe there's a way to connect with these kids in a different aspect but that's away from the training of a correction police officer and that's a whole another ball part so I applaud everybody and communica and I I thank you guys for working with each other I thank you guys for communicating to us the problems and working together it's this is the this is the best experience I've had in my 27 years as correction officer thank you anyone else public comment motion to close second all in favor we have a resolution for executive session we have Okay resolution for executive session question yes executive session okay very good oh wait there's a question that came up I'm not rendering a legal opinion for the public okay very good thank you sir okay uh resolution 2024 legal opinion 537 resolution providing for a me meeting not open to the public in accordance with the provisions of the New Jersey senator fire and Bay open public meeting Act njsa 10 col 4-12 matters related to collective bargaining agreements matters related to litigation negotiations and attorney client privilege matters relating to the employment relationship do I have a motion move second commissioner Al yes commissioner LS yes commission Sor yes Maran yes commissioner Taylor yes deputy director Romero yes director SEO yes and it's not anticipated that you be taking action thank you sir this has been a QBC television production in association with our partners and sponsors QBC broadcasts on Comcast cable channel 22 and live streams its programming on Facebook and 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