think we're going over to Comedy Show and end of March so I think I think we're going to go there yes I TR I drink whatever I'm a be good to all righty good evening everyone I'd like to call the regular meeting of Mayor and Council of the burrow of Glassboro for February 13th 2024 to order Karen could you please read the opening statement pursuant to the open public meetings act I hereby announc that adequate notice of this meeting as required by SED act has been provided by adopting a schedule of regular meetings for the year 2024 which schedule was posted on the burall bulletin board as as well as the burough website and forwarded to both the South Jersey Times And The Sentinel of glester County and filed with the burough clerk on January 6 2024 thank you can we all rise and salute the flag please I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all Karen roll call please mayor Wallace here Mr Brown here mrone pres Mrs garlic here Mr halter yes M Miller here Mrs Spence here Mr milandro here Mr scati Mr Bruner here thank you uh at this time we have a presentation this evening uh so I'll step down from the Das so it is my honor tonight to uh recognize again another group of our young people our young last Bulldogs this evening uh this evening it will be our marching band and our marching band this year uh were the champions of the calc bands um I Haven been in a marching band when I was in high school and attending a a competition like this um I understand how intense it is and the amount of work that goes into and practice that goes into uh what you all have to do and you should very much be congratulated so what I have done is I have written a letter to all of you all of you band members and I I will present each and every one of you but the letter reads this greetings it is my pleasure to recognize you today as a member of the Glassboro High School Marching Band 2023 caval of bands Independence a division state champion winning this competition is no easy task it is through hard work dedication to your craft and pride in yourself and each other that has made you a champion you are a shining star to your school and to glassbar on behalf of myself and the burough of Glassboro congratulations on your 2023 Championship season goal dogs with respect Johnny W thei mayor so I'd like to call you up each individually one by one which is what ually means uh I apologize in advance if I butcher any names uh Brianna alz Christian D so Duna Ace arber conratulations well done rain fower Andrew Holland Jonathan no congratulations well done Atlas Cassidy cop Juliana Moore conratulations pton go congratul Casey o Conor Katie Olen where to go May good job May Madison congratulations well done lady Palmer good work Maya pan P lucky Pino B propo Conor Ritter Alexander Sabina Maxwell Smith concepion Sorano congratulations Lindsay Townsley congratulations done saman trans here we go how bad did I but that up good Jama how you say your last name it's good try TR Leana Wallace that and Ellie Whitaker get there picture please you're in the fr congatulations thank you I try tough all right I didn't work for that to no he did well one name you did well I knew that was aough and I was aware of it too that's I struggle with it i' have never made it yep I'm telling you B people stick together yeah take too fast okay we will continue on with our meeting uh and at this time I'll turn the meeting over to our burrow solicitor thank you mayor we have a number of public hearings this evening beginning with ordinance number 242 an ordinance amending chapter 445 vehicles and traffic by adding a new section to be entitled parking on Library Municipal Park parking lot to be located at 58 North Main Street of council moves for the public portion move the public portion be open second I have a motion and a second all in favor State I I opposed any extensions motion carries the floor is now open to anyone from the public who wishes to come forward and address this proposed ordinance say make a motion to close the public portion and adopt this ordinance as written second I have a motion and a second Caren roll call please Mr Brown yes Mr C yes Miss gar yes Mr halter yes Miss Miller yes M SP yes motion carries uh next we have H public hearing on ordinance 2403 an ordinance amending the wooder and Sewer Manual of the code of the bar of Glassboro G of council moves for a public portion move the public portion be open second I have a motion in a second all in favor State I I opposed extensions motion carries the floor is now open to anyone from the public who wishes to address this proposed ordinance say n I'll make a motion to close the public portion and adopt this ordinance as written second I have a motion and a second Karen roll call please Mr Brown yes Mr C yes Mrs gar yes Mr halter yes Miss Miller yes Mrs fence yes motion carries and our next public hearing is ordinance number 244 an ordinance amending ordinance number 2324 which adopted a Redevelopment plan Amendment to the Third Amendment to the Glassboro Central business district and nearby environs development plan a plan for the revitalization of the East High Street area for the purposes of the Redevelopment of block 40 Lots 1 2 3 4.02 and 13 block 44 Lots 20 and 21 block 44 Lots 22 .03 23 24 25 26 and 26.0 one the project area in the burrow of Glassboro County of Gloucester state of New Jersey count of council moves with a public portion Mo the public portion be open second I have a motion in a second all in favor State I I opposed extensions motion carries floor is now open to anyone from the public who wishes to come forward and address this proposed ordinance St I'll make a motion to close the public portion and adopt this ordinance as written I have a motion and a second Karen roll call please Mr Brown yes Mr yes Mrs scar yes Mr halter yes M Miller four Mrs yes motion carries May and our final public hearing is on ordinance 2405 an ordinance authorizing execution of Second Amendment to lease option agreement between the between Summit City solar LLC and the bar of Glassboro again Public public rep should be open second have a motion is second all in favor State I I opposed extensions motion carries the floor is now open to anyone from the public who wishes to come forward and address this proposed ordinance say I'll make a motion to close the public portion and adopt this ordinance as WR second I have a motion in a second Karen roll call please Mr Brown yes Mr CR yes Mrs garet yes Mr halter yes m four Mrs fence yes motion carries uh at this time I'll entertain a motion to approve the minutes of the regular meeting of January 9th 2024 as well as the close executive session of January 9th 2024 motion to approve I have a motion and a second all in favor State I I opposed any extensions motion carries uh Karen can you take us to Communications please yes mayor I have a letter of resignation um from Stacy Ferrero who was who was our director of The Samaritan Center of Glassboro food bank make a motion to accept this letter and thank her for the years of service second I have a motion and a second all in favor State I opposed any extensions motion carries uh I will ask for committee reports now and begin with council president Miller uh mayor I am in receipt of the highway report thank you very much uh councilman Brown thank you mayor i' just like to personally congratulate the 2023 Glassboro High School marching band that was absolutely fantastic their accomplishment and I have nothing to report man thank you thank you very much sir uh councilman cabone yes thank you mayor I also would like to congratulate the 2023 Glassboro High School marching ban on their achievement um it's an excellent achievement I know there's great competition and we stood out and I know as a councilman I'm proud of all the all the band members and all the students of the glass bar that's right thank you very much uh councilwoman garlic um hello mayor I would like to just report on the parking report I just want to mention a couple things that was um there in the report that the seniors went to the academy ofic well to mat house um they do have a trip plann to Italy and then we have our travel basketball season is going great and the track and field tball registration is open and flyers have gone out to all of the schools for any young people interested and that's all I have here thank you very much very nice uh councilman halter yeah good evening Mr Mayor thank you good evening also want to congratulate the glbo high school marching band to a job well done and a season well done I will Echo your words as well mayor I know what that takes directly from doing the marching ban years ago so that is a huge accomplishment to all of them there so uh as far as the water and silver Department goes uh the department is moving forward in uh the lead pipe replacement uh for those of you that are newer to our audience here tonight the state of New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection issued a uh memorandum to all municipalities they have to replace all lead pipes in the in the municipality that are serviced to the residents um we did not have any lead pipes in our Properties or in our properties here but the state of New Jersey also defined lead as galvanized pipe so we've been replacing all galvanized services to the properties and we're moving forward to try to get that done as fast as possible along the Dy drive caror so they've been makings and Bounds at that we've had a few new uh still have one new position available I'm sorry still have a position available and we've had a couple people go through our CDL program which if anybody's not familiar it's much more difficult than it was in Mass L more expensive than it was before so that is all I have to say thank you very much sir and councilwoman Spence thank you mayor I would just also like to congratulate the marching band and looking forward to having them participate in our BAS Memorial Day Parade again this year I'm sure it'll be fantastic as always and um I just want to say that I'm in the seat of the Cod enforcement and Zoning reports for the month and that's it thank you very much uh we have no unfinished business no new business on the agenda this evening so I'll ask for the engineers report please mark yes good evening uh just brief update for the townhouse construction over at or in cam both sections are moving quickly uh homes are going up on those aspects we are starting to issue some tcos getting people into those that's Ming likewise High Street townhouse is on East East High Street all the structures are done uh so got three or four buildings to finish and complete the sale that'll be wrapped up and there'll be in the paving probably sometime the summer dedicated with those aspects the story down here lissos is Right seene driving by making quite a bit of progress they're getting there Haven got the yet but they're in progress on that that'll still take several more months and everybody SE the retail Baker is going there site improvements are under way if we get the weather cooperate progress but slowly getting thank you very much Mark questions for mark thank you very much again Mark and at this time I'll again turn the meting over to our burrow solicitor thank you mayor under our consent agenda we have the following resolutions for approval tonight beginning with resolution 67 resolution of the bar of Glassboro confirming sale of land to Michael menser for burrow owned land known as block 481 lot 7 Truman Avenue for the total sum of $5,000 resolution 68 authorizing shared services agreement between the Gloucester County Improvement Authority the bar of Glass Pearl regarding usage of certain stage units for St Anthony's Italian Festival resolution 69 likewise approving an agreement with the Gloucester County Improvement Authority for use of certain stage unit for the car show resolution 70 similar resolution shared service agreement with gler County Improvement Authority the bar glass for use of certain stage unit 2024 Main Street Music and Arts Festival resolution 71 authorizing submission of a Grant application to New Jersey Department of Community Affairs local Recreation Improvement grant for New Street dog park upgrade resolution 72 resolution the bar Glasper authorizing execution of 2024 safety contract loster Sal and cumin County Municipal joint Insurance Fund one and resolution 7324 authorizing approval of a 20% or more change order number one for Highway garage roof replacement project in the Barrow they are resolutions on our consent agenda this evening also for the reasons noted under the resolutions on the agenda Council moves for approval roll call vote motion for approve second I have a motion and a second Taran roll call please Mr Brown yes Mr C yes Mrs garc yes Mr halter four M Miller four Mrs Spence yes motion carries and may we have one ordinance on introduction tonight by title only that is ordinance 2407 an ordinance authorizing the transfer of property known as block 52 lot 16.04 also known as 147 South Academy Street and official tax map of the bar glassbook County of Gloucester state of New Jersey to Gloucester County Habitat for Humanity a nonprofit corporation of the state of New Jersey pursuant to njsa 48221 parentheses I believe that's L and that's the ordinance for introduction if Council so moves roll call vote motion to approve I have a motion and a second car roll call please Mr Brown yes Mr C yes M scarl yes Mr hter M Miller four Mrs yes carries uh at this time I'll entertain a motion to open up the public portion Mo the public portion be open second a motion and a second all in favor State I I opposed extensions motion carries the floor is now open to anyone from the public who wishes to come forward and address mayor and councel seeing none I will make a motion to close the public motion and I will second that motion I have a motion and a second uh all those in favor State I I opposed any extensions motion carries uh at this time I'll entertain a motion to approve all duly authorized bills I move second I have a motion and a second all in favor State I I opposed any extensions may I have two exensions 24242 and 24285 very nice any other extensions they've been noted motion still carries uh any closing comments from our B administrator I do mayor thank you I think it's appropriate we're three weeks into our our parking in the downtown and I thought it you know based on your direction i' I'd give a little report on it so again why did we do the parking in the downtown first of all at the direction of Mayor and Council as you all know the downtown Glassboro has been growing rentals have been growing the growth is is just there parking is is a problem not only is the downtown growing it's going to continue to grow by both the uh the town and the university mayor and Council thought it important to create an infrastructure now that will help with parking going in the future what was happening is people were parking in spots they're parking there eight hours parking in the downtown is designed to get in and get out businesses were getting hurt that's why that's why the parking was put in place second Nexus everyone what I'm hearing NE what's nexus's involvement I will tell you that parking is very complicated we started doing this I thought we could do it ourselves and I made the recommendation to Mayor and counsel that we need someone with a level of expertise which Nexus had so Nexus um has helped us implement the parking and they're also helping us enforce the parking another rumor I'd like to squash in regards to the parking is this is a money grab it's it's the furthest thing from a money grab if we wanted this to be a money grab we would have started writing tickets day one January 22 to the best of my knowledge we have not written a single ticket yet I don't even believe we've written a single warning now that's going to change but I wanted to squash any rumors out there that this was a money grab we could have made a lot of money but that was not the intent of this the intent of this is to have people will turn over their parking and feed the businesses so talk about money grab let's talk about the fees first of all throughout Town 30 minutes is free in the downtown if you go into the lot the burrow own lot two hours is free the reason the two hours is free if you have to come in here and you're paying us your tax money or you're paying your water bill we don't want to be charging you on top of that the reason we even have a fee in that lot at all is because because if we had a fee in all of our other lots and not in here where do you think all the cars are going to migrate they would migrate to here so again it's 30 minutes free no matter where you go and it's two hours in this lot the one thing I will say to you is you still have to register so there is a little bit of a learning curve for the app I sit here every day I have seen people come in pay their taxes we don't know how to do it I don't want to do it don't want to do I don't know how to do it we've simplified the process here just bring us your license plate number we'll enter it in for you you'll get a notice if you want it you don't have to worry about it I've volunteered if you forget it I will run out and get your license plate that's how easy we we've we've tried to make this the fees themselves it's a dollar per hour after your first half hour free and then the next two hours are $3 per hour and again it's not a money grab we could have made these higher there's no need to all we're trying to do is turn over the parking places the parking spots this next one overnight I you know I get in work 8:00 sometimes I'm at Angelos at 7 that parking lot is full people who have complained and have talked to me about parking I tell them I'm said if someone parked on your driveway overnight every single night would you be okay with that because you're going to have to pave it you're going to have to maintain it people go no I won't well taxpayers in the town there's people parking on your lot every single night you have to maintain and you have to pay taxes for now we're not oblivious to the fact where are these cars going to go well you can still park there but there's going to be an $8 overnight fee to park there I will tell you right now that is not being enforced and that will be getting enforced in the future it will be getting enforced again we've tried to give everyone ample time to get acclimated to this parking what happens to the money that's another great one so what we'd like to do with this and mayor I hope you don't mind this this this is the mayor's at the mayor's Direction he had come to me and said how can we how can we fix parking not only in the downtown but in neighborhoods well it's real hard to fix it in the neighborhoods between 2 and 6 o'clock in the morning because we can't have code enforcement people going out doing it strange things can happen at night if we do turn a profit on this it is Mayor and council's intent to use this money to hire two select special they're called special police officers who can go in the neighborhoods and enforce the parking in the neighborhoods that's really why this parking was done and again today is what February 13th we started January 22nd not one ticket has been issued not saying that's not going to change it is going to change but this is not a money grab we wanted everyone to get acclimated so what's going on like so you did this is everyone not going downtown anymore and obviously that's a concern of ours because if our intent is to turn the spark parking spots over and generate more people downtown we don't want to keep people away so week two we started this the week of January 22nd that's basically become our Baseline week two we saw 4.1% more people register than week one and when I say register you could register to park but you still don't have to pay because you have 30 minutes free week two week three we saw 1% increase over week over week one now a little bit down from week two but again I'm in the community every day I hear it I hear it at the diner people know that we're not enforcing we know they know we're not enforcing so that's why I think you see you're seeing it decline once we start issuing some warnings I think you're going to see it pick back up Saturdays are our busiest days followed by Fridays again we're concerned with people going downtown this past Friday was our highest Friday since we started with people registering 20% of the register users are using the 30 minute free so what we saw is when we first did this people didn't know how to do it it was like 8% 9% 10% it grew every day and now 20% of the people registering for parking are putting the 30 minutes in and getting it free Rowan Boulevard which some of you may know it's it's it's a big hurdle for us to control not only from parking from parties from popups everything that's going on here we figured that the majority of this parking would be there and 67% of people registering for parking are registering there I'm going to knock on wood since we've done this we haven't had any problems on row and Boulevard now not to say this week something won't happen but that's another sign in the right direction our busiest time of day and this this surprised me cuz I thought it would be in the evening is between 12: and 6:00 p.m. that's when we see the most cars registering there a couple more things and I'll be done mayor I promise take your time the busiest lot is South poor Street Lot which is behind us and that makes sense to us too that's the coffee shop people running in getting 30 minutes getting out and the other thing you know we we were asked a lot of times a lot of people don't have smartphones don't know how to do it so we bought four kiosks and quite frankly the kiosk are expensive and Nexus actually advised us against it a kiosk cost $5,000 we put four of them in only 10% of the people who are registering for parking are going to the kiosk but when I brought it to Mayor and councel their concern was we got to take care of all the people so the kiosk not only takes credit cards but it takes quarters you could put eight quarters in there and you got two hours you could put four quarters in there you have an hour so all in all that's that's an update on parking again 30 minutes free a dollar an hour it's not a money grab we have not issued a ticket so contrary to what you may be hearing it was to control the growth of the town and to create an infrastructure that will further control the support of the growth in the downtown that's all I have mayor thank you red very nice uh my closing comments just to uh follow up with what uh our burough administrator has said is that uh instituting this parking um was no easy task um took months months and months and months to plan this and roll this out and through the entire process our Administration staff all those involved in implementing this parking should be commended and up to and including going above and beyond for all of our residents to make sure that everybody is as comfortable as we could possibly make this transition uh like Ed had said uh we nobody's been given tickets yet we want to make sure we have staff that's going out with people actually walking out and walking them through these apps you don't see this when parking is implemented in other municipalities because I've done my research it's rolled out and you just got to figure it out so kudos to our Administration and all the staff that have worked very hard to try to make this transition uh necessary transition um as painless as possible I'd like to thank the residents and all involved working with it for your patience and tolerance we'll get through this together uh I'd like to thank all those that have showed up this evening to participate or just to be here and and take it all in thank you we encourage you to continue to come and with that I'll entertain ation to adjourn we have a motion and a second all in favor State I I opposed any extensions motion carries this meeting is now adjourned thank you very much everyone the next regular meeting will be February 27th 2024 6: p.m. you know what I'm going to do I'm going to do a pump fake next time and just go and not