for good evening welcome to the February 6th 2024 regular meeting of the Emerson governing body this meeting is being videotaped and may be viewed on your local public access Channel either 36 or 77 the meetings are also available Live on YouTube for those of you present in case of a fire follow the fire exit signs above the doors and exit side uh calmly Mrs ianora would you please lead us in the flag salute Al to the flag of the United States of America to the it stands one nation under God indivisible with liy and justice for all I would ask you to remain standing for just a moment as we take a moment of silence in memory of James lose a longtime Emerson resident with deep roots in our community who passed away his family business which many people have uh all across New Jersey and the county have uh attended is Barcelona's restaurant which celebrated their 90th anniversary in 2023 he will be missed thank you this meeting is called pursuant to the provisions of the open public meetings law and adequately noticed pursuant to NJ ESS 104-1 this meeting of February 6th 2024 was notice to the record and Ridgewood news on January 4th 2024 and published in said newspapers posted on the burrow website and bulletin board in the municipal building and has remained continuously posted as required under the statute Miss Ryan please call the Roll Call of the governing body sure councilwoman arenia here councilwoman rice here councilwoman Maguire present council president Timberman here councilman Gordon here and councilwoman Moore is absent and mayor Pala present the next item on the agenda is excuse absence of governing body member may I have a motion to excuse councilman Gordon and councilwoman Maguire from the regular meeting of January 16th 2024 we move second all in favor I all any opposed okay which brings us to proclamations and citations and I'm nervous tonight because I'm reading off of a script so that I don't mess up at this meeting and the reason I know how to read is because my first grade teacher and one of my fourth grade teachers are sitting in the audience and they're making me nervous and that fourth grade teacher is here to celebrate with us her 103d birthday Mrs ianora would you come up here and join me please Hi how are you hell congratulations congratulations happy birthday happy birthday thank you for the 103th birthday all right do you want to steady yourself on this or you're right okay she she's better shape than I am clearly so I'm going to read a proclamation about your life okay this is my life all right Proclamation Office of the mayor whereas Franchesco was born on January 23rd 1921 in New York City New York to Francesca Julius cha the second of two children and moved to Emerson in 1956 after getting married and whereas Franchesca aora and her late husband Armon two daughters Elaine and Mary both retired teachers and has five loving children grandchildren Justin and Christian Decker and Stephen David and Catherine levov and they still reside and she still resides in Emerson after 68 years whereas Franchesca aora began her teaching career at the New York school for the death the English secondary school and the burit school in New York City and shortly after moving to Emerson Francesca began teaching Elementary education where she is still nervous where she is still known as one of the most beloved and respected fifth grade teachers in the Burrow's history and whereas Franchesca aora taught in Emerson for 29 years and touch the lives of every student she had including this mayor and whereas Franchesca aora has volunteered as the manager of of the English language program at the Emerson public library for 22 years and has continued to do so throughout the covid-19 Health crisis as a direct result of her love of teaching she has taught English to many in order for them to participate in the Emerson Community obtained citizenship at driver's licenses improved job performances and afforded parents the ability to better communicate with their children's teachers whereas Francesca iora served as a valued member of the bur of Emerson's Library Board of Trustees for over 24 years and whereas Franchesca ayur has served as the moderator of the great books discussion group for over 22 years or is it more no it's where members come together from surrounding towns to participate in Spirited discussions over Plato Dante and Kafka and where iora also worked on the Emerson Centennial committee and is a devout Catholic serving as El Lector at the church of the Assumption for many years and whereas the burough of Emerson recognizes with respect and admiration the contributions of Franchesca ianora to our community and whereas Franchesca ianora is one of the most treasured residents in Emerson touching so many lives as a teacher as well as as a neighbor and a friend it is a privilege for our family to to celebrate her 103rd birthday now therefore be it resolved I Danielle deala mayor of the burrow of Emerson do hereby congratulate Franchesca on her 103rd birthday and in genu appre genuine appreciation by declaring January 23rd 2024 as Franchesca ianora day in the burrow of Emerson be it further resolved I Danielle depaa mayor of The Bu of Emerson on behalf of the governing body members and the of the bur extend to Franchesca aora our congratulations on the occasion of her 103rd birth than you and Miss Leone would you like to say something well wait before you do that I did happen to also bake some cupcakes so we're going to share them with with everyone but I you have something to say well you want me to say something I sure do I depend no it'll pick you up okay yes I I'm I'm speaking to whom speaking to the mic and just there's a camera up there okay yes I'm amused that my being here began with a $5 deposit on a house in Emerson now if you did your arithmetic You' know that I am a product of World War II I lived at the time of World War II when our men went to war and luckily our men did come back and when they came back we married we had families and it was a time of Hope and great plans and and great opportunities and so my sister-in-law and I decided that it was time for us to buy a house of course our husbands didn't want to hear it they just had de ears that the idea of mortgages but we said nevertheless we're buying a house so we packed our children in the car and went in the direction of Long Island for a while our cap if we would spend no more than $122,000 for the house but as we looked around there was nothing available to 12,000 so we raised it to 15,000 nothing available to 15 we went up to 19,000 $999 and we stopped going towards Long Island and came across the bridge for 50 cents across the George Washington Bridge and came to New Jersey uh in the classified ads one day we saw a development that was coming to a place called Emerson New Jersey and it seemed that the price of the houses were within our range so Inland the kids in the back and the two of us on front my sister-in-law and I crossed the bridge and we came to this Woodland with a one house on the Woodland it was the the model house went inside and there was a huge huge diagram showing streets that would be built in the woods and then houses plotted along those streets and for $5 we were allowed to reserve home on one of those streets so uh I picked a house my sister-in-law wanting privacy picked a house but not next door too close and I could see what she was doing she picked across the street which is better right you can see better across the street right into the windows yeah the lights are on yeah but I didn't I didn't say anything I just said oh good okay and so that began our um really idilic stay in this town of Emerson uh when we moved in uh everybody's door was unlocked the kids were very comfortable going into each other's houses there was no fear of any kind on Saturdays men mowed the lawn and chatted with each other and uh a couple of years later phone rang and it was Mrs gerlock I don't know if anybody knows Mrs girl yeah she was the principal of um the elementary school and she asked me would I mind coming to teach fifth grade I said of course not I'd love to come and so that started my love affair with the children of Emerson so uh it was a lovely time it was a lovely town and um after that what else did we do well in between teaching and taking care of kids and all that I had a little time for Community Affairs so I got to know more people in Emerson and became even prouder of this wonderful wonderful town so all in all we had a happy happy stay we're still here and we're just lucky to be here we're so proud of this town it has done so much for all of us and it just couldn't be any better and so I thank you for listening to my little love story and I thank you for the honor that you bestowed on me and I thank you for being my neighbors too and I thank [Applause] you do you guys all want to come down and take a picture with us come on down sure come on we're gon to take a picture with you everyone's gonna get the picture with you okay we're G come come face Rob let's hold the everybody happy birthday like I said I wouldn't be here without you or Miss Le all my other teachers from our great public education that was a wonderful thank you we'll see you next year okay not a cane and you have some extra cupcakes I'll come pick up the tray in a couple of days and maybe bring you a little lentil or pasta or something no what you say about the cupcakes you're cupcak on the tray and then I'll come pick up the TR we did already those are the leftovers you can bring them home and put them in the fridge I want to thank Miss Leone and uh Anna reneer for coming in and supporting Mrs ianora this evening also uh Mrs aora I think hung up her keys last year she hung up her keys last year a year and a half ago so um Miss Leone and an help her travel about to her different um activities so thank you for coming in and we will see you next year and if you would like to stay for the rest of the meeting we would would love to have you but I know you also like to get to [Laughter] bed okay the next Proclamation on the agenda is uh Black History Month whereas African-American history month was created by Carter G Woodson in 1926 to highlight the contributions made to the history of our country that for years had been omitted and whereas African-American an have contributed greatly to the success of our country in society business government and the Arts and Sciences and whereas the African American Community has endured Decades of struggle to be recognized as equal among our fellow citizens and whereas the African-American Community has persevered through hate and bigotry to stand up for their rights and the basic rights we are all entitled to life liberty and the pursuit of happiness and whereas during February our Nation takes pause to reflect on the injustices and struggles hardly fought and overcome by African-Americans throughout our nation's history and to pay tribute to the battles they have fought in the name of equality now therefore be it resolved that I Danielle depowell and mayor of the burough everon and on behalf of the governing body to hereby Proclaim February 2024 as Black History Month in the burrow of Emerson Miss will hang in burrow Hall and then that brings us to appointments and resignations I hereby appoint as the alternate one member for the 5-year unexpired term ending 1231 2027 Christia sefor Christian sefora to the shade tree commission Christian would you like me to swear you in this evening do we have an oath that would be me you like to hold the Bible absolutely you stand well ran come either way ready good call left hand right hand up y i Christian seza Christian do solemnly swear this that I will support the Constitution of the United States I support the Constitution of the United States and the constitution of the state of New Jersey and constitute State and that I will bear true faith and Allegiance I will bear true faith and allegiance to the Saint to the Saint and to the governments stablished in the United States the government established in the United States and in this state and in this state under the authority of the people under the authority of the people so help me God help me God I Christian seza I Christian sza do solemnly swear do solemnly swear that I will I will Faithfully th will faithfully and partially impartially and justly and justly perform perform all the duties all the duties of the shade tree Commission of the shade tree Commission of the bur of Emerson of the bur of Emerson according to the best of my ability according to the best of my ability so help me God so help me God congratulations we're happy to have you that please Brian when's his next meeting do you know actually I was going to look it up tonight the last Wednesday right third Wednesday sure I thank you hey Christian congratulations congratulations congratulations congratulations thank you give it we'll get an email CHR the next item on the agenda is minutes for approval the acting burrow clerk has not received any requests to amend the regular session and close session meeting minutes of January 16 2024 as as councilman Gordon and councilwoman Maguire were absent I would ask them to abstain from the role call um let me just see something I think that I have an amendment to the minutes I just have to see which minute it was it was the 16th would anyone give me the pleasure of tabling me so that I could make a correction to them for our next meeting I'll make a motion to table it okay can I get a second what is this table it to table it I'll second and uh all in favor I I so if only two people are eyeing oh so two is two is correct okay all right so they're tabled and then the may I have a motion to approve the regular and session meeting minutes just I thought there were two meeting minutes okay well we could do the close session may I have a motion to approve the Clos session meeting minutes of January 16th so moved second all in favor I any opposed I'm and you two abstain correct all right which brings us to correspondents in case you might be wondering why we have letters from two of the principles on the agenda recently the Grand falloons a company that specializes in educating the Next Generation about Recycling and Earth Science visited our elementary schools this program has been sponsored by the burrow since 2020 paid for from our clean community's Grant collect allocation and I'm pleased to say that it's very popular for the kids and that they love it um let's see the January 6 2024 official notice of intention to approve a preliminary State development and Redevelopment plan is available on our website to view as well as posted on the bulletin board and that covers correspondence Financial business may I have a motion to approve resolution 66- 24 authorize emergency temporary budget Appropriations so moved second roll call please councilwoman arenia I'm sorry repeat that we're approving the U temporary budget Nicole yes councilwoman rice yes councilwoman McGuire yes council president Timberman yes councilman Gordon yes and councilwoman Moore is absent passes thank you unfinished business there is no unfinished business this evening to discuss the next item of new bu is new business and the first item to discuss is the 2025 Garbage Contract Mr Hermanson would you please start this discussion sure so um well two years ago we um we reup for a two-year contract for a garbage therefore uh or actually a year and a half sorry year and two months ago for two years so at the end of this year our garbage contract is up uh one of the things that we've looked into and already have reached out to uh to another town neighboring town to see if we could do a shared service with them uh they have told us that they we are unable this time to do that uh We've also looked to see if we could uh do a shared service with a with surrounding towns and look into to that opportunities to do that um and there's it will work best if when everybody's contracts are together and when they would expire together to do that to make it work it is something that we do want to uh delve into further and to see if there's opportunity for that for the future but we also have to uh be ready and be prepared in case that doesn't happen or if there's no way of doing that that we need to have a bid ready uh and we would like to have that bid prepared uh by our uh engineer who did it the last time uh no later than the end of March uh so this way it'll take 60 days for the Garbage Contract to go through and then we would process it and if we had a rebid uh like we did last time we want to make sure that we have enough time so that if we do have to go through that process hopefully we don't but if we do uh if that's the the way we would go for the contract we need to have uh the time to do it so we would like to have this ready to go Dave will be at the next meeting so we can discuss that uh of what we would need to do to prepare it uh to prepare the uh the next the bid the bid specs what town we let to know what town said no excuse me are we allowed to know what town said no they would service promise promise we we reached out to pamis and pamis said we they do their own garbage I was going to say don't they do their own garbage yeah we What towns What towns don't and their contracts are going to be up soon so as of right now there's we had one town that is uh right now oldan is up this year but it's not ours we're off we're off so there's a couple there was another town in Hillsdale we had talked to Hillsdale but the mayor changed so there was some discussions there but there hasn't been any discussion since then uh since the change and so we would look to try to coordinate towns on contracts of where they are so that's one of the things that we're going to start to discuss with these towns going forward last year from uh the mayor's meetings that I attend we were the only ones that went out to bid for garbage and then I believe a majority of them are going out to bid this year and I'm not sure how many of them are going out to bid next year when we are again I don't think that many but I did talk to Rob this afternoon and said that um at my next mayor's meeting which is next week um and he'll also have a um administrators meeting that we'll we'll try and figure out who's actually on our schedule at this point last year it was moov but because we only did a two-year contract we did that I think partially because we didn't like the price but also because it would shift our schedule in terms of going out that hopefully we were on schedule with someone else because two years is not the norm for a contract but we did that in order to shift the the cycle as well as um because we didn't agree with the increase so and at my last administrator's meeting we did talk to other towns that some are picking up their own garbage still uh Woodcliff Lake and we had talked in potentially you know see if there was something there um and uh we also talked to other a couple of other towns that are uh Pro that have the residents paying for the garbage uh which seems to be more expensive from what we've should wait to talk about any specific towns until number one Rob is here and until we have our meetings and we can say specifically to the council and report to them exactly Which towns are picking up their own which ones are on our schedules which ones aren't because just throwing out this town and that town I don't know if is helpful right now tangible yeah can we get that all written down yeah I was just giving you an idea of what other T what we're hearing that's off the meeting that there's everyone does things differently that's all does anyone else have anything to say on the Garbage Contract right now no okay then we will move on to the cell tower bid Mr Hermanson would you like to start that discussion as well sure so again the same thing with that we would like to have that bid out uh by the end of March uh our contract expires right now uh at the end of July we would like to have it for the end of March strictly for lots of reasons because we have a budget that's coming up and we would like to have the anticipated new revenue from the cell tower uh so that we would be able to know that uh for your going forward for this for this budget um we also want to make sure that we like I again same thing if we are not happy with the uh proposals that are coming in we would have the opportunity then to rebid uh I can tell that tell you that we've had numerous uh companies have already contacted me uh that they are interested in bidding on this that they want to know when this is going out uh so they there is some uh excitement over this from from a number of different companies to to to bid on this this Tower like who you just said you so AT&T has reached out to us castle tower aren't they yeah but they would they would run the tower right now we have they wouldn't have the they wouldn't have the who's on the top spot right now no they're on the top but the person who runs the tower is crown castle so basically AT&T would like to potentially have the tower itself that they would they would run it so that's they have they could bid on it and so there's there's two you know a couple of others that have reached out to us also um but there there there's interest in this in this Tower which is a good thing it's good for the bid okay anything else on that no just we would like to have that out I talked to our uh um to robano our qpa uh and so he's we're working getting ready to work together to uh to get the bid specs together so we can get that up okay anybody have any questions on that no okay moving on proposed Bergen County shared service agreement for the provision of limited tree removal services uh Mr Hermanson would you like to talk about that sure so generally what we have on up until this past year uh we have a tree removal shared service with the county on anything that goes down County Roads uh generally they do curb curb only but there are some things that generally speaking uh they will do uh looked for us to help us outside the curbs on certain trees that are coming over on into onto the towards the street uh it used to be a one-year contract now they are looking to do a fiveyear contract on this uh we just literally got this to give this to to our attorney to re look at this with it since it's gone from 1 to 5 years uh we would hope to have this as John could review it and look at it uh so we could discuss it and put it on potentially the agenda for uh for the next meeting okay um johnon can you have that ready for uh our next meeting I have to read it for I can't I don't know hopefully yes but I don't know if be ready depends upon if there's any issues that come okay um the next item that we have on uh business is uh 2024 New Jersey Department of Community Affairs local Recreation Improvement grant grant I know we've been talking about a lot of different ideas um do you want to elaborate sure so uh as we did last year we put in for open space and we also put in for the local recreational Improvement Grant we received money from both grants and on the local Improvement Grant we were able to use that money as our match towards the uh towards our open space grant that we were using on the basketball courts our idea this year is again to come up with one project strictly in an area that you know that you would pick the council would would come up with and give us uh ideas myself and Perry and we would then go through and try to find price and and uh uh and to do this uh then basically put it in for open space and then apply the same way again this year towards the uh local Recreation Improvement Grant this is due the 27th the this grant the open space is due in April as a we have to basically let them know that we're going to be interested put it show a letter of interest and then we actually have to be in by May for that Grant but so long as we're in first for this Grant on the 27th the second Grant should be easy because it's just by basically adding the same thing that we're doing to the to the uh to the open space so at this point now I would ask the governing body to come up with ideas of where they would like to see an improvement in one of the recreational facilities or a park or or something uh that they would think that n needs uh Improvement let me know uh and my Ben Perry know so we could look into this I think what we should do and then have our committee is have the grant committee knock around some ideas sure and that's why I was they give it to it so this way we could sit down with the grant committee because like I said anyone else who has an idea let us know and then we'll meet with the grant committee along with the parks uh and recreate people who are on on the committee there uh to go over them and then we we can get back on the 20th uh on the next meeting to let everyone know what we're are uh what we're looking to where we're looking to move Rob I forgot how much money is it again this on the last year where we what did we receive from the from both basically $60,000 for both oh so we got 60,000 for the from uh for open space and then we ended up with $60,000 also from uh from from the recreation of 120 yeah and it's not dollar for dollar this so the for the open space Grant we have to match I thought one was dollar for dollar right right the second one we do not have to match so this is great because the second one can be our match we can use this as our match so we do not have to expend any other taxpayer dollars from Emerson from our residents in order to do this which is the idea again of doing the same thing this year on whatever the project whatever project we pick can we spread it amongst a couple of parks or is it just one Park you can but generally speaking for open space they like to have one if you if you put in if you put three Parks down they're generally going to give you they'll find the they'll pick one park out of those three I think we should do one Park like go bigger go home and do one Park really really well that would be my suggest park park open space Recreation sobody can be like adding a w Center it could but that would take it could it would be a lot of money probably a lot more money than they were willing to like a second floor somewhere or adding something to something everything on the table everything is on the table we could look at and see what the opportunities are there that's the that's the idea of getting together and discussing this so I look forward to working with the with the committee okay me too anybody else on this okay um the next item is Introduction of ordinances uh Miss Ryan will announce by number and title the following ordinance upon approval this ordinance will be further considered at a public hearing to be held on February 20th 202 for at 7:30 p.m. or as soon thereafter as the matter can be addressed in the council chambers of the burrow Hall Municipal Place Emerson New Jersey and published in the record all ordinances are on the burrow website and on file in the office of the municipal clerk if you would like a hard copy please contact the clerk's office Miss Ryan would you please read the title of the ordinance sure this is ordinance 1684 d24 an ordinance to amend and supplement chapter 274 vehicles and traffic uh 27444 Section 8 stop intersection may I have a motion to introduce ordinance number 1684 d24 on first reading move second may I have a roll call please councilwoman arenia yes councilwoman rice yes councilwoman McGuire yes council president Timberman yes councilman Gordon yes and MO is absent very good um this uh next item on our agenda is adoption of ordinances this is the second reading and public hearing of ordinance number 16832 which was introduced at the January 16th 2024 meeting Miss Ryan would you please read the title of this ordinance sure this is ordinance 1683 d24 and ordinance to amend and supplement chapter 274 vehicle schs and traffic 27444 Section 8 stop intersections very good may I have a motion to open the meeting for public comment on this and this ordinance only so move I'll second it all in favor I any opposed motion carried we're open on this ordinance and this ordinance only seeing No Hands may I have a motion to close this portion of the meeting for public comment so move second all in favor I any opposed motion carries may I have a motion to adopt ordinance number 1683 d24 on second reading so moved second roll call please councilwoman arenia yes councilwoman right yes councilwoman McGuire yes council president Timmerman yes councilman Gordon yes and councilwoman Moore is absent pass okay thank you which brings us to reports uh tonight we have my report in the administrators the fource quarter taxes were due February 1st with a grace period through February 12th if you have any questions please reach out to the tax office at 201262 6086 extension1 1211 the 2024 commuter parking permits for parking on Emerson Plaza East are on sale now at the police headquarters Monday through Friday 830 to 7:30 p.m. the resident fee for one of those parking spots is $250 the 2024 dog and cat registrations were due January 31st there is a grace period that is now in effect uh until February 9th after February 9th if the application is received thereafter there will be a $25 late fee imposed applications can be found on the Burrow's website under the board of Health's page as well as in the garbage and recycling newsletter preliminary applications are being accepted to join the wait list for two new affordable rental apartments uh at the Valero site those interested should visit www affordable homes new jersey.com they can also call 609 664 2769 extension 5 info is also available on the homepage of our website and on Facebook those who submit an application will be entered into a random lottery for priority order and although any eligible households May apply residents and workers of Bergen Hudson Pake and Sussex counties will be selected before residents of other counties or States from anyone who has submitted their names to the clerk's office over the past few years your names have been submitted to cgp andh the Burrow's affordable housing agent if you have not been contacted please reach out to them directly to apply the deadline to submit the preliminary application is March 19th please note that cgp and H is administering this process not the burrow of Emerson if you have any questions because I know this could be complicated uh please call our administrator and he will direct you accordingly on how to get information and how to get in touch with cgpn which is our agent okay if you haven't heard already I'm proud to announce that on January 18th the Emerson luse board approved the construction of a colonial style 2 and a half Story American Legion building that will be at the 324 Main Street site this will building will be on the footprint of the dbon house with a much needed meeting room for for our American Legion Post 269 um it will also include four additional housing units for disabled vet veterans on behalf of the American Legion Post 269 I want to express our appreciation to the Housing Development Corporation of Bergen County specifically Lyn butlet and John biali for making good on their promise to our veterans um that they are getting their meeting room and we are so happy that that is coming to fruition and that will see them break ground hopefully this spring correct Rob yes yes okay um our military tribute Banner program is up and running for 2024 Banners are to honor our veterans Who currently live or have resided in Emerson the buau has made this program available to our residents who wish to honor their family members or friends by contributing $200 for the banners the banners will be on display from Memorial Day through Veterans day and are stored by the Department of Public Works during the winter months they will be rehung every year as long as they are in good shape we concluded our second year of the program with close to 50 banners lining our streets and look forward to displaying many more this year this is our way as a burrow to say thank you to the men and women of our great United States military the sponsorship rate is $200 per banner and it is tax deductible please place your order by April 30th in order to have them displayed by Memorial Day and the information on that is on our website correct up in two days yeah in two days it'll be up yeah they have to they restored it so it take two days very good okay and our next senior meeting is this week February 8th at 12: noon new members are always welcome I encourage our seniors to join this vibrant and active group with many social events and fun activities planned there will also be a free blood pressure Clinic offered at this meeting as well the senior bus is available to Residents age 55 and up and to those with special needs it runs each week on Tuesday Wednesday and Thursday please call Stacy at 2011 262 6086 extension1 1212 to book a ride and mark your calendars and get your unwanted paper documents ready we will be having a mobile shredding day in collabor operation with the bcua on Saturday May 18th 2024 from 900 a.m. to 1 pm at Burrow Hall we are also working with the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission as well as the Bergen County clerk's office to have their mobile offices come this spring we will announce more details as they are finalized the first Bergen County Board of utilities household hazardous waste collection of 2024 will will be held on Saturday March 9th from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. rain or shine in moonoi please visit bcu.org for all the details I attended the greater pasac Valley Chamber of Commerce mayor's breakfast in January it was very well attended I'm sure everyone saw the write up in the Press they covered it very nicely in the pasac press and I would like to thank TD Bank of Westwood for their generosity they donated their uh Lobby Christmas tree to the burrow and uh I called up Camille at the library she said that they did not have a tree so we put it in the library and it will be displayed there next year for Chris for the holidays um we're excited to announce that the mayor's Wellness campaign will offer a new series of programs in 2024 called Community conversations this initiative will be aimed at educating the public on a wide range of Health and Wellness topics throughout the year the first topic we will be opioid misuse among teens representatives of Northwest Bergen Regional Health commission Emerson Board of Health and the Emerson police department will be sharing their knowledge from a health and law enforcement perspective we hope that you could join us on March 13th at 700 p.m. in the senior center for this very important conversation we will be Distributing Naran wall supplies last on behalf of the governing body I am happy to announce that Emerson was awarded $1,833 from the N New Jersey Division of transportations trust funds local Aid infrastructure fund program to replace the existing traffic lights at the kinder KAC Road and Van Wagner Avenue intersection with audible traffic lights these improvements will increase pedestrian safety especially for those who are visually impaired our burough engineer Dave ainson will be at our February 20th meeting to discuss this project further also our no knock registration forms are available on our website and in the 2024 garbage and recycling newsletter please note that if you need one of these decals there is a fee of $5 but for anyone over the age of 65 they are free I also want to congratulate our burough resident Susan lyy on achieving her 800th career win as head coach of the Holy Angels basketball team Susan will join us at a meeting and be recognized for her accomplishment after the season concludes good luck in your upcoming playoffs the next regular meeting of the governing body will take place on Tuesday February 20th at 7:30 p.m. on that night we'll be we will be honoring our police officers for their life-saving actions to revive resident Tim Gali in addition to the Gali family we will also be joined by representatives from New York Presbyterian Hospital on behalf of their Advanced heart failure and cardiac transplantation program which will be especially fitting as February is also American Heart month for our residents I want to make you aware that the ones that are riding on the New Jersey Transit buses and rails New Jersey Transit is proposing Fair increases up to 15% effective July 1st 2024 with future annual increases of no more than 3% there will be a public hearing on this proposed increase on Tuesday March 5th from 6:00 p.m to 8:00 pm at the Bergen County Administration Building written comments can be sent to New Jersey Transit directly as well more information can be found on our burrow website that was a long report Mr Hermanson do you have anything to add I always like when you go first so it leaves me very little all right but uh I and and most of my stuff was also in the you know that with new business that we were discussing so I the two things that I do have is our randoff Pump Station that we are uh moving forward with that um you know as as most people know that when our you know some of the storms that we do end up with uh the pump gets over you know gets built up there overflows and and runs uh to we have to get our guys out there so our hope is now to get this taken care of very very quickly uh timetable of you know early uh April uh I've been working with Dave and our engineer in order to make sure that that happens and we feel very good and comfortable that that's going to we're moving forward and getting that done with our C cdbg Grant that we have that's first second I'm going to give you an update just read it right off uh I received it earlier tonight so it's actually hot off the press so on bankovic field uh as you can tell there has been some work already done over there the some of the polls are down so demolition is complete the new poles are assembled and ready to be erected we have foundations scheduled uh they are to be installed Thursday and Friday of this week weather permitting inspections are scheduled by the Burrow's construction department on Thursday and early next week then they plan to install the polls Monday and Tuesday and perform underground electrical work Wednesday Thursday and Friday again you know uh with weather permitting with completion date projected to be February 16th so the lights will be in and ready to go with our new lights for Bank ofi field by and so uh we're looking forward to that also and having that completion uh that was also another grant that we were you know we worked with that's a great um Improvement to our uh baseball fields I know baseball will enjoy it and I'm sure anybody that goes down to the fields um in the evenings to walk or taking some fresh air we'll enjoy those so that concludes my report okay uh the next order of business is public comment members of the public are welcome to speak on any topic by coming to the table and stating your name for the record in the interest of time speakers are limited to three minutes in consideration of all who may wish to speak please keep your comments brief and concise may I have a motion to open the meeting to General comments from the public move all in favor I any opposed we are open to the public would anybody like to speak no one okay with no requests may I have a motion to close the meeting to General comments from the public so move second all in favor I any opposed motion carries that brings us to resolutions on consent may I have a motion to approve consent agenda resolutions 67-4 through 74-2 so moved second second and roll call please councilwoman arenia uh I just have a quick question I'm sorry uh the ca 72-4 it says authorized not to exceed limitations I forgot what those limitations were I'm sorry my mind is little out there today 455 right on 7224 that's for the firehouse no right it says amount authorized 455 yeah 455 yes she said yes councilwoman rice yes councilwoman Maguire yes council president Timberman yes councilman Gordon yes and councilwoman Moore is absent pass thank you which brings us to closed executive session members of the public May remain on YouTube until we return to open session at which time formal action may be taken may I have a motion to go into closed executive session to discuss matters that are exempt from the public pursuant to NJ 104-1 at SEC and adequately noticed by resolution 75-24 so mov second roll call please councilwoman arenia yes councilwoman rice yes councilwoman reguire yes council president council president Timmerman yes councilman Warden yes and councilwoman MO is absent yes is thank you so we are now in close session Mrs ianora happy happy happy birthday happy birday we wish you many more years I know you think you're John we are four minutes beyond our curfew did we have to still say that we were going to extend it no just a just do it just a just want to make sure don't forget to say that Ashley left may I have a motion to reconvene so move second all in favor I with no more business to discuss may I have a motion to adjourn at 11:05 p.m. so moved I I all in favor I okay we are Jour thank you for joining happy birthday Mrs