##VIDEO ID:8UvLEWkusQ0## Okay order please rise the as aedge Allegiance flag United States America the stands Nation indivisible this meeting is called pursuant to the provisions of the open public meeting La meeting of October 28 2024 was included in a list of meetings no sent to the Hun Democrat Courier News in January 3224 posted on the bton board at B Hall on their date and has remained continuously posted as required in addition a copy of this notice is and has been available to the public as a on file in the office of the B clerk any roll call please or councilwoman engart here councilwoman you got to unmute yourself both of you I'm here thank you Council here council president long is absent uh councilman parur here H Council vice president R here and mayor Cara here we have no presentations tonight um I just have a couple of things uh under the mayor's report um first of all I just want to thank uh the SCP for Sunday's Halloween party it was really lovely I think the kids had a great time um the parents had a great time also um and the witch walk was also really good Mark that I actually but Mark was good um uh I do have online let me see who's on my Champion's on yeah Mike Bill and Terry and Terry vote for okay so I asked Mike to to come on the call tonight under the mayor's report regarding that um the water connection fee because when I was talking with him so when I gave you my report at the last meeting about the connection fee how it's created um by uh D usage numbers as well as um our CFO doing a calculation on our debt this connection fee what I didn't know which my Campion told me was that it actually was in a number of our audits bought by our auditor for several years before uh you know that we needed to have this so I asked Mike to just come on um if you guys had any questions regarding this because I think you know knowing that it was part of the audit being caught by auditor that we needed to have this connection fee make it really significant and um pror mayor after being asked a couple of times or seeing it an audience a couple times uh agree to that ordinance to create it because like I said last time we already had it for the sewer utility we didn't have it for the water utility um Mike you wna speak on that at all or answer any questions that the council members might have sure mayor that is correct uh up until a couple years ago the water department did not even charge for somebody connecting to our main or if there was a change of use from one building to another and this was recommended by our auditors to pay off some of the debt in our utilities that those fees go directly to either the debt payoff or right into the system either by inhouse Public Works doing the work or a contractor and you know and then in addition to that um uh might get asked to um get our numbers on what are police officer oh um asked uh our our um engineer to get uh The Firm numbers on what our water supply looks like right now with the wells that we have online of course we have two more planned one has about 70% funding available uh the other one is not funded at all um nor is it engineered you don't have the easement yet but those are the last two Wells we can have in the town and with the the 10 Wells that we currently have um our number of our percentage left for drinking water in this town is 28% Mike is that correct yes mayor I was going to provide that at the next regular planning board meeting uh I was given a directive to have it ready for that meeting okay and that's an important conversation because it is our most important commodity we have um and we have a lot of residents here now who you know until we get another Well online we need to make sure we've got portable drinking water for them and needs to be cherished and loved and not just uh literally you know run out on the street or toss down a drain or whatever um because otherwise I mean we otherwise we're going to be in trouble it's G to be a real problem so um any questions for Mike Liz Adrian I'm sorry I missed 28% figure what was that number the 28% figure is how much capacity we have left on the existing Wells right Mike that right that would be for use for anybody coming into the burrow or needs more water so so for example Liberty Village has some capacity already because they had existing buildings you know all with sinks and toilets there were some restaurants over there so um when they're approved and you know they have to do this foret to figure out exactly how much they're going to need they may need more they may may be okay they may return some you know it just depends on I doubt that but you know just that's the calculation So like um T berries where it was an office building a couple of lawyers and a couple of paralal um it's now going to a 90 seat restaurant so the use goes way you know way up um so she asked that's you know she had she haded buy more units of water uh which is calculated Not By Us by the D so you know none of this is really estr this is just for water not sewer right this is just for water not sewer sewer wise we have a couple hundred thousand gallons last what correct mayor okay the problem is is that um we're the only people in this County that have sewer it's all through the RAR Township Municipal Utilities Authority and I mean I keep watching Ritt and building over build and I don't know where they're getting their capacity from um and sooner or later the DP is gonna shut down whatever and they may end us owing US money because it's our capacity that we owe own from from them but um you know looking at the new code numbers that came in housing the affordable housing numbers that came in um their number is very very high and um you know they're allowed to do deals where they build you know four units for one affordable unit their number I believe is somewhere north of 500 units so that means that they potentially have been building over 2,000 units and I don't know where they're getting the sewer from since we're the only ones to have any capacity left another thing to add mayor is excuse me COA always gets the water first always right well the water they're on R townships on American water so they'll get the water right I'm talking about flemington's Co numbers oh our code number we only we our new round for 10 years is 25 and that didn't count the spice Factory or it didn't count the um uh the new hotel project so we're just about there and with Liberty Village were there we're done so without worrying about anything we're we're in extremely good shape probably among the best in the county Poss very good to hear because we've always kept up with it you know we've never fought it thanks to our planners she really they they really work great us through the last 10 years but we also have an ordinance on the books that require it where other towns don't have that ordinance so we actually have an ordinance that requires at least uh 20% right she she encouraged us to yeah yeah yeah so um yeah I don't want to take anything away from best she great CL so anything else Mike anything from the council for Mike we're all good okay um okay thank you Mike I'll I'll stay on for the Academy Street in case there's any questions thank you thank you so I also asked Terry to come on Terry vote from Remington berck he called me last week um with good news bad news um regarding the Academy Street thema grant for Just Around 1.2 million to redo all that that flood area and the cber and everything so uh he just literally found out last week when the feds had an all hands on deck call um that the engineering design work for this project and the inspection fees are not included in the grant and he literally found out last week Terry you estimated that it would be somewhere around 100,000 to 130,000 you gotta Ki yourself off mute Terry hi can everybody hear me y y yeah uh we estimated survey and design to be approximately 130,000 mayor um we believe although I have not confirmed yet I I believe that the buau will be able to get construction inspection reimbursed if they RP to work uh we need to confirm that with the DCA we've had several meetings and Communications with the DCA the last several months uh including one on October 15th and we haven't started the work frankly because we wanted to be sure what DCA is going to cover and what they won't and for the first time at the October 15th meeting they told us that design cost associated with the work will not be reimbursable uh they made reference apparently this came up with one of the other applicants and they ran it by their supervisors and the decision as relay at the October 15th meeting was that design fees would not be reimbursable um what were requesting to to get the grant award we need um a survey of the area and we need to do a preliminary design what they call a 30% design um what we would like to do between now and the end of the year is at least get the survey work done um know Bill Hans is on I haven't talked to Bill about this but you and I talked extensively about the funding Terry um Terry you know we give we give engineering you know quite a bit of money in our budget every year and um and Terry still has about almost I'm gonna say what 60% left in the budget so the money is there to do to you know have authoriz you want bill in yeah you can put bill in to authorize Terry to go ahead and do this work so that we can secure the I like I said it's good news bad news right so um the bad news is that it's not covered the good news is that we have the money in his budget to do it the other good news is that um we're going to be doing this covert work which is really really really so necessary um because that road is going to potentially collapse in some big storm because it's so bad and the other good news um is that Terry told me on the phone that if we don't spend the whole 1.2 because he had originally calculated the design money as part of this if there's anything left over if we have another FEMA qualified project in town he's very confident we can use the money for that so it could be like the Main Street area that floods all the time it could be another area over in the flood plane around the circle um is that correct Terry am I getting this all right uh to be honest with you mayor I do not know at this point uh these D these DCA people we're dealing with they're kind of rigid I think there's rationale for it I can't speak at this point to what they're going to guarantee or not money to let us use it for something else in town yeah yeah the the closest parallel I can make uh if you're familiar with do state aid they give you a very defined aerial scope uh and if you have money left over you can do other eligible work within that area uh I can't speak for DCA one thing that we talked about mayor uh they now want to have the monthly progress meetings on my calendar where we can talk about that and talk about it at at each meeting this is where we're at any questions that come up you know I want the burrow to hear it from the DCA I don't want to keep coming back and saying well I thought it was X and now they're telling me why very request that they send the meeting invitations to besides me I mean my Campion should be on pant be on and our DPW subcommittee should be on which is councilwoman Parker I can respond mayor they had send us a recent request with some dates I I can reply all after this meeting and I'll copy everybody I'll copy you I'll I'll copy Mike I'll copy Adrian as well uh as Tony um and like I said they want to set monthly dates um and we can look at the dates and see who's available when and then choose a date okay um so getting back to the financing of of this 30 so are we talking 30% of 130,000 I me what are we talking about for this year as far as funding goes we're talking this year I just want to get the survey done okay and we have room under General engineering like you said earlier we're we're under our budgeting in terms of the year as we understand it and Bill can can can hopefully verify that and what's what is the approximation on the cost on that Terry the survey work is approximately $30,000 it's the area where the flooding occurs through out the road Network past the piping back from whatever you remember it goes behind a school and ultimately in a stream we have to get that whole area okay Bill we good with that we have in this budget we're good you have to take yourself off mute I'm sorry you're talking to me I my internet just froze oh yeah I Wasing to you I was just wanted you to confirm that Terry's got the wiggle room to do the survey for $30,000 in his General budget um I'm not sure that there's that much money left in the budget no but I will I will double check okay yeah let us know please bill when did you want to do that work Terry I know this year but if this can't get approved until the next meeting are you okay with that yeah I mean NE you know now's a good time for it obviously if it has to wait until the next meeting it is what it is I mean we we have to make sure the money is available um you know it's a good time year because leaves are coming down is a good time to survey so I mean if we can find out know this meeting great if not it'll have to be the next meeting Chris is this something that the council could approve pending funding certification F by Bill think so bill will be the one have to be comfortable certifying bill would you be comfortable with they if they just um you know yeah P pending the yeah me finding the money basically yes that's that's fine be okay with we said real comfortable with you all right those Bill knows it's comments questions from the council I just wanted to confirm with Carrie hi Susan um the engineering design was included in the $1.2 million budget but of course that is not included in the grant the that that is correct we we had included it in the overall application I think we asked originally for about 1.4 with everything including design construction and I believe we got something on the order of 1.15 something in that range uh and we had hoped that we could like I said do the survey or or not the surveys the survey design and ultimately inspection as well as destruction and we've been talking with these people for months and finally at our last meeting of October 15th we you know we pressed the issue and they came back and told us sow somebody else had an issue and they ran it past the people who are holding the money and the decision was that design was not reimbursable and neither is and and neither is survey um obviously we trying to when will you know if the inspection is included or not because they said they told us at the October 15th meeting that they thought that if it was RFP per Federal procedures that that would be uh we can certainly verify that at at one of our upcoming meetings I'm sure you will be attending any other questions councilman Parker councilman leit online councilman's good okay all right so um can I have a motion to approve the survey work pending uh certification by our CFO that there is funds available angle we'll move second any other discussion roll call please call councilwoman anle yes councilwoman farara yes councilman L yes Council uh councilman Parker yes and Council vice president Rosetti yes okay thank you so much thank thanks for being on and staying on Mike and I Mike I don't know if you want to talk about that cul for one like brief second on why this is is even though there's not a lot of people that live there why this cul is so important to fix was that for me if you'd like yeah that takes a big portion of that side of town from um Reasoner Lane through copper mine all the way down Pell and it Clues uh up by St magdalene's too takes a big portion of the Town Runs Out off capner down Park a so it's a big chunk of area midle Street Big effect yeah right great okay thank you Mike thank you Cherry appreciate it you're welcome just call me thanks Bill all right thanks everybody good night thank you to council memb report councilwoman uh Council vice president um sorry thanks mayor um I personally don't have anything to share today but I am gonna read um council president Long's um information he s forwarded to me so for fire he has that the Flemington fire department would like to let all residents know that due to the extreme dry conditions that our partners in the New Jersey Fire Service have determined our fire danger level for this area has reached very high this level has moved in and out of extreme fire danger because of this the far forest fire service has instituted a ban on all outdoor wood and charcoal fires propane and natural gas fire pits and outdoor cooking appliances are permitted to be used for those residents that may use wood burning stoves or fireplaces for heating their homes or cooking proper disposal of Ash will prevent accidental fires if you must remove the ash from your indoor wood burning stove or fireplace it is recommended that ashes are placed in an airtight metal container with a metal lid this container should be placed away from anything that can burn and allowed to sit undisturbed for 3 to 4 days until all contents are completely cold and then they can be disposed of while this normally has a limited impact on the residents of the burough and the fire department it will change our responses until we receive significant rain if an outdoor fire is reported the fire department will respond out additionally a member of NJ forest fire will normally also respond if the fire is found to be in violation of the current burn restrictions it will be extinguished and the resident will be informed of the restrictions that are in place this is for the safety of our residents and our town we have been very fortunate so far with only one incident in the burrow that was quickly determined to be a permissible use of a propane fueled fire pit there have been over 59 brush fires and open burn incidences in the county of Hunan since Monday October 21st with the most notable fire being the fox grape fire in Ran Township where forest fire Crews operated for 4 days to ensure extinguishment with the upcoming religious holiday of dwali we understand that this often includes the use of fireworks we would like to remind the residents that consumer aerial fireworks are still illegal for use in New Jersey and to prevent any Accidental Fire we ask that residents refrain from using any sparkling novelty devices uh for OEM we have the November emergency preparedness topic focuses on disaster Communications we are emphasizing the importance of residents preparing not only for burrow wide alerts but also establishing their own communication plans with their family and Social Circles we encourage residents to discuss and practice how they would communicate in emergencies designating emergency contacts and knowing multiple ways to reach each other if traditional channels are unavailable a key component of staying informed includes subscribing to the Flemington Barrow alert system which provides Barrow specific alerts directly from our Public Safety Professionals in addition we encourage residents to follow our official social media channels Flemington OEM Flemington police Flemington Rescue Squad and the Flemington Fire Marshall office for real-time updates and Essential Safety Tips as we enter the busy holiday event season OEM is also actively involved in public safety planning for upcoming events like the Turkey Trot and the Hunter holiday parade we're committed to ensuring these gatherings are safe and enjoyable for our community earlier this month C team members participated in a countywide drill with other C members from hun and County this included light search and rescue exercises and a missing person search drill in a local park our C members are preparing for expanded roles and additional training hours to strengthen our community's emergency response capabilities and that's all thank you um Council vice president in his report regarding these the fire stuff I mean with Halloween coming up we have a lot of people in town who light fire pits and those are all banned right now right correct of now unless we we I don't see any rain in the forecast so I don't anticipate that changing yeah I I thought I it was a little confusing um did it say that propane was allowed but not open fire pits correct no W open fire pits or charcoal those are prohibited right but the fake ones that use the propane or jelly are allowed um are the I'm going to ask our police officer who was here do you know if the police are going to send out some kind of notice before Halloween let reminding people that right now fir fits are illegal there it's also going to be 82 degrees on Halloween so it might not be so much of an issue as traditionally yeah but I mean we have people who just do it because they you know what let me talk to I'll talk to the te about sending something out reminding people they have patrols out right too um this see any open fire pits so okay it's bad we need rain badly thank you so much for doing the council president's report absolutely anything else that's all for me thank you forar okay can you hear me y okay great in the meeting on the 15th of October two of the council folks had discussed during their Council reports the need to review specific locations buildings in the burrow master plan and possibly reone them I reached out to our zoning attorney Cara Kinski on October 18th and she advised that we are not allowed to do spot zoning but would suggest that we would need continuous strips uh next regarding the Flemington free libraries retirements and personnel which are ongoing changes we will be voting tonight on resolution 2024-25 which directly addresses the recent establishment of a full-time library assistant Technical Services position Forge Sanchez has worked part-time at the library for some time now and it was recommended by the current Library director that he be promoted to that full-time position I'm pleased that the board has uh acted on that uh suggestion to hire from within I hope you will all vote Yes in support of the director and the board and that's it thank you ouncil sure all right let's see last week I attended the New Jersey Urban and Community forestry programs core training uh one interesting thing that I learned is that the um NJ UCF accreditation provides more than just uh opportunities for funding and grants but it also provides for certain um what the heck did I write here it provides for certain um what do you call protection from liability related to uh Shad trees in our municipalities so save us money in other ways not just through grants um and other funding opportunities for the HBC we sold out our free tickets for the walkin talk tour this Saturday the next HPC meeting is November 20th at 7M here in burough Hall if you are planning on any exterior modifications to your historic home please remember to fill out an application before Monday the 18th so we can get you on the agenda for next month tomorrow by noon is the deadline for participating in the FCPS Halloween decorating contest for residents and businesses we've had around 12 residences sign up and two businesses so please if anybody especially businesses would like to participate uh the link to the Google form is on the B website You' got until noon tomorrow um let's see oh and yes like mayor mentioned I too attended The Witches Walk and had a wonderful time and I had the honor of uh being a judge in the children's Halloween costume contest over the weekend um last year councilwoman angart warned me that the out of everything that she has to do on burough Council that uh that is one hardest decisions she ever had to make and um I can confidently say now as I'm sure councilman Parker and mayor Carol can also attest to as well uh it is not an easy job rarely as a politician do you get to see the misery you inflict directly on the faces of those affected in real time but we did not sign up for this job because we thought it would be easy and I think it demonstrates our character leadership and most of all our courage we don't shy away from tough decisions and while each and every one of those adorable children were more than deserving of a prize I would kindly ask the parents of those children whom we snub to please forget about this by the time the mayor and I are off re and that is everything I have to report oh my God we made no children cry though C and last thing too busy having yeah oh yes thank you the rabies clinic will be this Saturday at the firehouse here 38 Park Avenue to 10: a.m. and I'm not in charge of it but yes true I didn't think about it oh and um I don't know if anybody else planed on mentioning it but I think we have sorry officially Halloween is Trick or-treating it's Halloween yes 400m to 8m correct on Thursday and BR and Bell are going to be closed right at some point they'll be closed the radies vaccine they give I mean I know my DG goty here last year and it was a threeyear shot now yeah well we us one year and it's 10 now we're doing great only for puppies it's one year right I'm sorry Trent did you just say w THS I thought I heard hour so yeah it's going to be a lot of people are calling and we have it on the message board last year a lot of people missed it so like first come for Ser or is we only have like 75 or 100 we run out of shots Chelsea will stay yeah at line right okay now I just got you just got one I just got I totally forgot about it uh okay thank you councilman Parker yes so you will see on the resolution that we have hired a based upon approval we've hired a new police officer um who is wonderful actually interviewed him myself turns out that he is a former student of Scott um at rvcc and Scott spoke very highly of this yeah isn't it great I mean I I said something he said Scott Evans and I said yeah um spoke extremely highly of him I think he's gonna be a really great addition to um to the department he comes with a lot of enthusiasm but he also has some um uh certifications that are needed in he work for the county and I know that the think very highly well yeah yeah yeah yeah he um yeah I I enjoyed talking to him um So based upon approval he will start I'm really happy I'm really enthusiastic um again um Chief thinks he's going to be a great and as does the lieutenants think he's going to be a great great addition um speaking of police we're going to have um there's coffee with the police at shaer Cafe on is it on Thursday or Wednesday Wednesday Wednesday at 10 o' 11 yeah so um if you're around I think it's really really productive and really good thing that one of the things that the chief is trying to do the police department overall is trying to get to know the community and having the community get to know them and it was one of the things that I certainly um was really really high on and task the um Chief with and he's followed run it beautifully they've done several different events I think this is a really really good event to to be around um and maybe we'll also do it on a weekend because I think a weekend will also bring more people in to to to meet them as well um let's see the only other thing that I have is well there's two things one is on F I'm really happy to say and Rob can talk to it and thanks to Bill Hance um fct has finally gotten some the grants that they've been trying to get for I don't know how long uh finally has come through all the paperwork's been filed Bill Hans thank you so much for for just I I know it wasn't easy um and especially me knocking on your door and pestering you but thank you for getting it done um it's really going to help with with um what what FCP wants to move forward I do want to make a correction of something that sorry um par woman casario said is looking at spot zoning I don't think anybody's looking for spot zoning I just want to make sure that that's clarified that I don't think that's even an issue about spot zoning it's zoning overall um and lastly I will say this unfortunately I have to say this so I don't like talking about campaigns I don't like doing anything like that while while I'm sitting in the seat I am very very honored and very very grateful to sit in this seat that said I did have a someone that based something on my property which was extremely scary because um a they know where I live which is I don't think it's that big of a secret but it is very very unnerving to see something like that and if it were just about one person but it just has the sense of um someone who has an issue with diversity and that to me is something that I absolutely in this world of Worlds cannot tolerate I just cannot tolerate it's just I you know what I don't care about anything else but I do care that we can live in a town and feel safe in this town and everybody can have their differences but no one is defamed or defaced or ridiculed or feel bad about this really really I my my husband and I were just we were so angry and so put out by this um that we you know all the emotions ran and I will say this and I don't want to dig up a lot of stuff but this is the beginning of something that I experienced in my life as a child because as a child I had a cross burned on my lawn and every window busted out in New Jersey in New Jersey when we first moved in in New Jersey so it started like this and so I am my radar is up I keep asking myself if it's worth it I'm just saying I'm grateful that the chief reached out and is doing their due diligence or whatever the case may be but we can't have this this we're so much better than this we're so much better we're small town everybody kind of knows everybody um and one of the things that I have been working with for the last two years is in inclusion and diversity amongst everyone and take my word for it I truly truly me I really don't give a damn what you are I really don't care I just care about the content of your character that's it that's the only thing you're judged on for me so I expect the same thing I call it psychological reciprocity I will respect you and you will respect me as well thank you and I want to apologize councilman Parker because I meant to say something about the defacement of of this sign on your property and um there is no place for this anywhere and it's disgusting to me that it happened in my hometown in 2024 because we had stuff like this in 60s and uh and I'm very truly sorry this happened to you y thank you C Woman anle They The Best For Last you for and I want to also um Wason I was with when we um when we found the um the defacement and it was really upsetting to see I it was really sad that day um so we got we're g get through it um yep okay so uh my Council report is um I mentioned this at my last uh report but I'll mention it again this Saturday um the S fluming house is having the K9 um cookies with and cookies with the cup on um Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. that's a little earlier than our normal um afternoon session so please come on out the police are going to have K9 there one of the canines there to um meet everybody um five Bell Street November 2nd so learn some history with our heroes and um we'd love to see you there so that's another opportunity to interact with our police officers that's great actually than yeah um you're welcome um the upcoming um I try to always mention upcoming um Board of Ed meetings are November 14th for the K through 8 District uh flamington Ron School District 7M at KP case and of course our high school district um is having their Board of Education meeting simultaneous to this meeting right now at the high school so you can look that up after you're done listening to us which I'm sure is more exciting um and um that is um all the um report that I had I do want to piggy back on Tony and um yeah maybe Adrien can clarify a little bit because I don't remember the the the comments about spot zoning I actually marked that down here um and I was going to go back and listen to the tape because I didn't recall that can say with all due respect to all of you I don't want to get into another big zoning discussion I think it's a under all your uh we we we can perceive and we hear things and when I went back and listened that was my perception and it was not every single member so I'll leave it there but I did check with our reports to reports please and we'll get into zoning at some other point when the planning board's ready um and we can all argue while we want yeah I'm not arguing I just I I wanted the same clarification so thank you for that and um yeah and the only other thing is I really would um uh love to get um uh some traction going on the conversations we had last week about um trying to just be more communicative and cl um with Clarity with from our construction and zoning and and um permitting um department and I think that's something that we as a council need to really um uh take some responsibility for and make sure that the website is really clear as to the you know the the the stepbystep things that people need to do because often it's a simple answer to a simple question um I've been looking at a lot of other websites and I know we're going to the league of municipalities soon and there's a lot of um information about that and I really want to try to get a frequeny frequently asked questions list on our website and like I said I started working on that with Moren briefly last year we obviously had a lot of other stuff going on but I really would like to um uh uh ask the mayor to um um help me uh support with that those efforts I think that's a good idea for ask questions I think that's also or help okay any okay we're good right okay so we're uh at the public comments session number one um any number from the public keep it please for three minutes um if you're online please raise your hands on up I see no hands you have any hands so no hands do we have any members of The L yeah hi hi our new sweatshirt good it's actually really cozy and I think everyone should have um uh Tony that's awful and uh many of your neighbors on bonel Street had their sign stolen over the weekend as well so um maybe there might be more going on here than than uh meet the ey which is just terrible um but I come to bring Good Tidings from an incredible weekend of events it's been been kind of a whirlwind um I'm glad you mentioned the Halloween contest it's really for businesses and residents and we do have great prizes and 12 signed up this quickly is great um but there's certainly there's at least a hundred really cool decorated houses in town so I hope other people will sign up um it's been really nice having getting so many compliments about Court Street Park we did very little and we did it really on the cheap but just I think anything yeah any little bit that's seasonal and and is a you know battery operated light um is great so we do have more plans to decorate the park and using it using it for families was I mean I don't have a history with the park I know other people do um but of of of it being being active and full of kids you know or or events it was great um good to see kids running not even KN what yes and as we talk about because we were we started to look at the next two years of when does Halloween fall because that really influenced what you know the fact that Halloween was on a Thursday night we were usually in the street on a Thursday night and this year we decided to go to the park on the weekend which which really changed things because having it's great to be on Main Street at at night but being in a park with kids on a Sunday was a was a whole new Vibe and it was really nice I thought it was I thought it was great it was really nice my my experience and playing in the park as a child was at the jail was the jail and they had windows that open the prisoners would call come over oh my god oh yeah oh yeah so it's very different much been a while um but it was very very easy to operate in and you know and not for nothing but you know we unfortunately when we do close the street it's expensive because we have to bring in garbage cans and we have to close the street and that costs that's police costs and so being able to work in environment that was a little more conducive you know that's me meant for people and events was really great did you think it affected I felt like there were less people than it was more that it was a Sunday that's it was affected because the date of the week people are so busy on the weekends you know whether there's Church there's Sports there's visiting you know so I think that wasn't about the location and also I think the newness of anything we do you know means that people really need to get the information and so um so that's it question because the park is owned by the county did you um and if you do intend it sounds like you intend to using use it and decorate it more often how does that um coordination work and is there any issues problems they were very supportive so supportive um we didn't we we will need to uh plan ahead because uh they're very happy to wave I believe they're happy to wave I really shouldn't speak for them should but um they were willing to wave the fees but we have to get in front in that case if they're wave if we're asking for fee waivers we have to get out earlier on the dates so that it's a it's a it's a fair trade you know we're the county seat we do a lot for the county they do some stuff for us and we wave all their taxes I I agree I just want to kind of hear it from the user how the experience I think that well we we've talked about it on a higher level I'm I sit on the cultural and Heritage um commission and you know everyone's really everyone is excited for us to do more with the park that that I don't think there's anyone who has any concerns about it but it's just a matter of process so I think we may we may make like a a longer term out agreement on how we use it um it's just Logistics and kind of planning the calendar year the County Commissioners and I spoken about this and they're very supportive of the bureau having a bigger presence in that Park and they also have made it very clear as you know as a member of the cultural heritage commission that they also want to see a more robust use of the historic Courthouse itself for activities and events and uh which is great for downtown lemington and they've been so collaborative uh you know Natalie is a great executive director it's it's things are really working well and in fact they won preservation New Jersey's uh best project award for the courthouse which is really nice is that recent yeah they they just found out great yeah and that's why coming to yes so I have lunch with somebody from preservation New Jersey today and she said oh yeah I'll beat your Courthouse soon and the courthouse is starting to be rented at a much at a lower price so that we can bring more groups in there's a lot of of different New Jersey groups whove asked um the film commission has asked some tourism groups have asked to have meetings and conferences there so I think we'll start to see that and the other thing that's really kind of cool is that the like right now art venture has a show called scenes scenes from or of hund and we were able to combine schedules so that they're open when we're open um their opening is this Friday yeah so this Friday we have First Fridays on Main Street and the courthouse will be open and not everybody's been in to see the renovations and not everyone has will go to see this uh this art show if it was someplace else so we're really excited this means that you know the businesses can do their own thing in their shops but there is one really Grand attraction destination that will be open for people to go in and see it's one of the issues about having like people available to be dosent there to have it open more often for shows like this show yes and that that is something that was discussed at our last meeting is can they can we get a dosent program so that the building can be open with information guides summer SEC summer the county um is launching they've been working on putting together a muse for their five museums and the county owned buildings and the two municipal ones that County owns that are all I think rev War they've created a Dos program where they're training volunteers um because that's the biggest complaint everybody has is we can't find people in our own little group to have these things open more and so they're actually kicking off training I believe in November but culture and Heritage might want to take a look at what somerset's doing because it's a really it's it's really good it sounds like it's a really good idea well that's that's it's great that there's a model we'll go check it out it's a it's a good model this has like a really good model so um I did want to tell so like we're we are not lacking in cultural events in fact we kind of have a rich richness of cultural events that are become annual events um and we're really excited about that so this weekend we have the um so last weekend was a whole lot of of fun activity and what we really learned was we we tried to have a very adult witch walk and it turned out that the adults brought their families and their pets with them so you know we had had a a costume contest that was for adults and we intentionally said adult costume cont contest hoping that adults would come and they we were there were just so many kids we couldn't really just do it that way so I think Flemington is a family place and no matter what we try to do our even our adults who come and drink adult beverages bring their children with them and it's just like that so you know we're you think about it there's not a lot around here for families to do jointly right true one and two is there's not a lot of things around here for kids to do so if I see an outing I absolutely see them wanting to bring the kids in the whole bit to even just socialize with other kids and they get together with their friends so I think we do it really well too you know what I mean like I think I think we just do good we're we're good in that lane of family events so um so just to to not take to too much more time so this weekend we do have first Friday it's a Day of the Dead theme because it's November 1st um we have the fine Artisan show we're 5 to8 um the next first Friday happens to be the tree lighting so we're going to uh go four to six not to get in the way of the tree lighting um and then next year we're going to try to figure out what we do bet on Main Street yes this is the main street only event it's um crafts AC activities and food sampling in our businesses with the theme so uh it's Day of the Dead but people are doing all different kinds of things it's only right yeah is there are there signs out we haven't we haven't put signs out we're all we're all just starting to I I have to say we're having very good conversations lately with our shop owners with our property owners there's a lot more communication the answer is that there's not there signs out at this point are there going to be signs out there will be I promise are you do like even in the Dead Winter January February I think we will I think it's great if you do because there's not a lot to do won't have a lot of competition and first Friday it it you know just like we found the Sip and stroll it's a little bit of like if you invite us we'll come you know what I mean like we just have to have something that's regular and then people can kind of find their you know come come know that there's something to do on the first Friday or the third Thursday so pattern that you and and it's you know it's like I I can't come this month but I'll put on my calendar for next month it gives people a wide birth yeah so okay then um we do have we did our entire holiday schedule is planned we're going to do the trolley two days cuz that was a big hit and um the shops of Flemington is planning like a whole Santa Village thing so one day we will the the trolley will go to the shops of Flemington to Main Street and stangle yeah yes and they are they're paying for half of it which was very generous of them yes they have new management and they're awesome um May wrap it up yes I just wanted to say that there is a grant that the that just opened um um this October it's a grant that can cover up to $50,000 of closing costs to purchase for a small business to purchase a retail building or a building that can be used for retail on Main in a downtown in a main street so that's pretty awesome and basically you have until next October to buy something but Clos cost can be you know commercial closing cost can be 30 to 40 to $50,000 it's NJ Eda and you just have to have the right tax certificate for a business to be able to buy the building and get your cost reimbursed um it's all on the NJ Eda but it just finally opened in October so you have to apply for the grant prior to closing I really I really didn't read the detail tells that carefully um and Kathy Guzman who lives around here and U is our small business rep is happy to talk to anybody about it um and it is right on their website and then the other thing is there is this Nea grant for $10,000 only 400 in county and there's six awards for $10,000 each and it's a Arts Grant focused on uh doing some activity around the 250th so there's three technical assistant dates one's tomorrow at 2 p.m. there's one in November there's one in December and um basically the application deadline is January 10th so it kind of comes up quickly um and the project has to be completed by June 30th 2026 Robin I'm G to just interject something quick I was at the um the africanamerican museum in Montgomery at this big event which was amazing it was a reenact in Montgomery yeah in Montgomery Township okay it was yeah it was it was really well attended but it was excellent right um and they're interested I want to connect you with with the Ed because they are working with everyone around New Jersey to be um to be a part of their their celebration so I'll get you her information and I'll meeting with you too I think it'll be really really productive and these people are amazing they are really amazing um they've had Grand schore including a melon gr so um the you met Caroline I mean she's gotten all these Grands might be a good idea for you to meet with them and with Caroline and then talk about other Grand you guys can get for um the event so Carol excellent grant writer we planning to apply for this grant we can talk about what it should be um but they're probably gonna apply for it as well yeah well no actually this no no no through yeah through the count through the um through their counties yes yes I don't know how many counties got this Anya Grant but yeah so a couple did but six6 $10,000 grants for this specific purpose is awesome I I'll connect you and we do have businesses that are also interested in applying for their own nonprofit you have to be a nonprofit you can't be a municipality but it's it's really exciting yes all right you much just remind me I'll connect you with with her she's amazing sounds good anybody online um from the public she comment no seeing none um couple of minutes you consent agend one item resolution 244 resolution only Grove into the NJ State fireman Association can have a motion please okay any Parker was first not okay councilwoman Englehart yes councilwoman farara yes councilman Le yes uh councilman Parker yes and Council vice president Ros yes for introduction hearings regular agenda item number two resolution 20241 145 resolution authorizing the hiring of David M Castro as a Flemington burough police officer U Can I have a motion please move is there a second anle har second any discussion call please Council mangart yes councilwoman Pasar yes councilman L yes councilman Parker yes and Council vice president Rosetti yes resolution 20241 146 resolution appointing jge Sanchez to to a full-time library assistant Technical Services Aton Public Library have a motion please second second seconded any discussion roll call please councilwoman anglehart yesc farara yes councilman L yes councilman Parker yes and Council vice president yes the next two resolutions are uh for the I bank loan relating to Main Street this is for the lead pipe and galvanized pipe Replacements uh to get funding for that um I will tell you that on our monthly phone call yes I do two two monthly phone calls now with the state of New Jersey it is my Jo and pleasure um so on that ibank monthly call uh they did confirm to us verbally that we are eligible for 100% loan forgiveness but they will not put it in writing until closing so which will be in in January uh so can I have a motion I'm sorry so resolution 2024 147 resolution of the bu of Flemington in the county of H New Jersey determination the determining the form and other details of its note relating to the water Bank construction financing program of the New Jersey infrastructure Bank to be issued in a principal amount of up to $1.4 million in providing for the issuance and sale of such note to the New Jersey infrastructure bank and authorizing the exe execution and delivery of such not to the Bur Flemington in favor of the New Jersey infrastructure Bank while pursuant to the water Bank construction financing program of the New Jersey infrastructure Bank like I said it's a really long state of New Jersey Way saying they're going to help us pay for replacing all our c p ankle W move thank you is there a second Parker would definitely any discussion roll call please councilwoman in yes Council woman forar yes councilman L yes councilman Parker yes Council vice president retti yes the partner resolution this is says we're going to pay so resolution 2024 148 resolution of the Dr lington declaring it official intent to reimburse expenditures for project cost from the proceeds of debt obligations in connection with its participation in New Jersey water Bank have a motion please is there a second okay second any discussion roll call please councilwoman anart yes councilwoman fararo yes councilman L yes councilman Parker yes and Council vice president Rosetti yes resolution 2024 149 resolution authorizing the payment of vacation and sick hours to Deborah Moore who just retired from the library uh can I have a motion to approve is there a second Lial second any discussion this is earn time she earned and retired uh roll call please councilwoman angelart yes councilwoman farara yes councilman 11 yes council president uh councilman Parker yes and Council vice president rosti thank you we have two chapter 159 those are funds that were unanticipated that we received uh and so the law they chapter 159 F lines resolution 2024 150 resolution approving a chapter 159 Lan communities Grant Bill is on the line if anybody has any questions I have a motion to approve one is there a second L second any discuss question or questions do we know exactly bill can you tell everybody what it's for GNA ask sure the clean communities Grant is for um you could use it to basically beautify the town clean stuff up um you know buy the outdoor um recycling bins or or waste uh containers for Parks stuff like that um used it a lot for the mulch program um could it be used for like Street um garbage can spell or just Parks um no it could be for you mean like uh putting along Main Street or something or even just throughout the burrow because we we have trash problems again yeah I mean as long as it's you know the the you know sturdy kinds that have you know useful five years or something like the stone or cement or everyone's sure okay great that's a good question for Mike Campion and Mike um usually looks for the looks for ways to spend that money that really benefit um taxpayers in stretch that money like I said I will reach out to Mike then my assessment ask him ask him how he woulde prefer to use it and then been idea yeah okay uh resolution 2024 151 resolution approving chapter 159 alcohol education Rehabilitation oh did I not do a roll call no I'm so sorry roll call on R call counc engart yes Council fararo yes councilman L yes councilman Parker yes and Council vice president Ros okay now you could do the next one okay I'm not going to read I'm alcohol education Rehabilitation and enforcement Grant I have a motion to to uh to adop that is there a second 11 second uh any questions for Bill on this one so yeah what exactly is this so this one is strictly used for the court to um try DWI cases it uh pays for the prosecutor and the judge's time uh because that's U above and beyond the regular Court sessions so that's all that really could be used for is court stuff he wait minute it is I'm I'm shocked so alcohol and drug abuse or whatever the case maybe is not a part of the court system Cas so this is for Education bill for no it's for for trying the cases when so for instance when someone gets a DWI charge I guess they get uh penalties and fines a part part of that goes into this fund and then we get it which then could be used for paying the judge to try the next case or whatever because typically it offsets our cost our court costs to pay the judge for specific UI got it that's okay got it all right anybody else other questions no roll call please Council anglehart yes councilman fororo yes councilman L yes councilman ER yes and Council vice president ret yes hey uh we don't have a work session tonight um they asked Mike about where he guys looking for a banner system for us and Stu where we left off yes okay um and now we're up to public comments session number two if anybody has any comments if Robert forgot anything she did not she she's tired um I did I a cup of half T at for and I'm up until two in the morning um all right seeing nobody online we're up to payment of bills I don't have don't have I'm sorry authorizing the payment of bills in the amount of 3,770 327.50 go A and B councilwoman angelart yes councilwoman fararo yes councilman lit yes councilman Parker yes Council vice president yes we have a brief executive session so I don't really want to take a break if we could just clear the room and we have an exec session for uh under executive session tonight is negoti Square public safy vations displacements have a motion to go to Executive session move second second yes she does wait I do I didn't sign it's like two you can sign top okay one okay all right uh we're back and open anything for the good of the order I have a motion to adjourn second thank you I told you car this is gonna go on forever tonight still doesn't feel good good night good night hi hi night good night