##VIDEO ID:nlP4ynTuRvo## [Music] council members we ready let's do this last meeting of 2024 good evening everybody this meeting is called to order in accordance with the open public meetings act notice of this meeting was provided to the home News Tribune The Star Ledger and the Highland Park planet on April 18th 2024 and was posted on the burrow website at www.hpb.com and on the bulletin board at burall 221 South fth Avenue Highland Park New Jersey where you find yourselves right now and this has remained continuously posted as required by law fire exits are to the left and to the right of the council's chambers Jared Cano would you please lead us in the pledge of allegiance to the flag of the United States America thank you [Music] jar and roll mayor Foster councilwoman Cana here councilman George here councilman H here council president H here Council Kim Johan here councilman p here bur attorney Shaw yeah and bur administrator H yeah thank you Jennifer um next up is honors honors Awards and presentations and we have a proclamation for the Highland Park minion celebrating their 50th Anniversary uh is anybody here from the minion okay no problem we will uh so I'm just going to read this into the record and I did just want to congratulate the me on their 50th Anniversary they have had a steady presence here in town uh they've had a steady and reliable presence in town and is really a safe space for a lot of our residents so whereas the Highland Park minion has been meeting in Highland Park New Jersey since the early 1970s for prayer study community and community service and whereas the Highland Park minion is a peer-led egalitarian post denominational Innovative volunteer one participatory and inclusive chabora and in whereas the Highland Mar minion welcomes all Jews and those who are interested in Jud M and whereas the Highland Park minion services are filled with joyful participatory prayer and in-depth Torah study with Lively Torah discussions and whereas the Highland Park minion uses the Innovative and popular prayer book sedor and radon which was created by Highland Park minion member and whereas Highland Park minion members rely on each other when they need help and support each other throughout the milestones and visites of life and whereas the hman park minion has a deep commitment to Jewish learning and holds class and study sessions to read learn discuss debate and thoroughly enjoy the rich the richness of Jewish learning and whereas the Highland Park minion and its members have a deep and Lasting commitment to Healing transforming and repairing the world known in Hebrew ASO whereas the H Park minion has for many years collected an Innovative and impactful Sedaka Collective where members pull their resources and decide communally which Charities to support each year and whereas the Highland Park minion regularly supports the Highland Park food pantry and the Highland Park Edison Peace of Mind program and whereas the Highland Park minion remains a vibrant Center of Jewish life and values in Highland Park and whereas the Highland Park minion is celebrating the 50th anniversary of its founding and 50 years of Jewish Community right here in high and I'm speaking on behalf of the mayor I therefore Elsie Foster mayor of the burough of Highland Park middlex County Jersey hereby congratulate the Highland Park minion on its 50th anniversary and extend personal warm wishes to all the members of the Highland Park minion in witness of in witness thereof I here on to set my hand on the 10th day of December 2024 uh let's just give a round of applause to that on Sunday uh we will be uh in attendance at um at the minion to deliver this proclamation in person very exciting and thanks to them for all they do uh next up is the approval of minutes uh could I have a motion to approve minutes as distributed uh for October 29th 2024 work session and the November 12th 2024 regular session motion byc second byoun may I have a motion to approve the October 29th 2024 work session meeting oh I'm sorry and uh as distributed uh roll call please Council woman can yes Council November 12 yes as be councilman H uh yes council president H yes councilwoman Kim Chan yesc yes no thank you Council uh next up is Council reports and um uh I'm going to take the Liberty to to just uh go first U my name is Matthew h i chare the Public Works uh and Public Utilities committee uh obviously I'm not mayor Foster she is excused tonight uh due to a personal obligation uh but as council president uh we pres still preside over the meeting uh and uh so tonight's report I did just want to report out some items uh in the public works uh uh realm where I where I'm am on and then just add a few remarks uh after that uh first up is the Shay Tre advisory committee meeting will meet tomorrow Wednesday December 11th 7:30 p.m. on Zoom please come this is the opportunity where you get to learn about the extensive strategies that the burough takes uh in order to U put together this tree planting schedule both in the fall and the spring uh and you can hear how the sh Tre advisory committee operates it is fascinating uh it's very important to you know we care about trees in this town and it's very important for folks to understand uh the the the the threats and what helps a vibrant tree canopy uh so please come if you're interested um on uh Monday morning uh I spent some time uh with our our DPW um uh for at M orits uh at the Environmental Center to tour the Environmental Center on River Road with r's Cultural Center you might remember that rasis uh leases the property currently uh from the buau in order to hold CommunityWide programming uh they do cultural programming they will dance cultural dance classes uh it's really terrific and I would encourage every every anybody to uh to participate in activities uh I also did want to say that the Environmental Center is a public building and it is it is available to all so if anybody has any has any interest in uh utilizing that space please reach out to us and we can help coordinate that um we do all kinds of environmental activities there we used to have the Earth Day Festival there before we moved it to downtown for the uh for for the street uh spring uh spring fair but it's it's a beautiful building that had really gone um uh uh overlooked for a number of years particularly during the co years so when rais um uh reached out to us to to to really be the stewards of the space it was a it was really a win-win opportunity because they needed space for programming uh and we needed eyes and hearers on the property uh the the building really had been unused for a long time uh there were issues related to boiler the bathroom the roof uh and to have folks there to really store the property and report items and Report out um uh the repairs that need to be made is Indi and it really brings life back to a beautiful beautiful part of the buau and I'll get into even more uh about the about what surrounds that in just a moment but some of the items that we talked about were boiler replacement and AC obviously the roof needs attention so we're going to assess that um and new signage the Environmental Center the last year has involved uh extensive cleanup uh repainting and repairs over at the Environmental Center uh there were files in there it was really a Time castle for a long time uh so now to have it be an active uh recreational space for CommunityWide programming it's really exciting I really think that this Arrangement is uh is is is is paying off so a lot more um uh exciting news to come from the Environmental Center and then right next to it is you you you'll remember is the Mary Denver native plant Sanctuary uh honoring Mary Denver who stewarded the the native plan Sanctuary for so many years she was an active member in the community she's on the human relations commission and others and to acknowledge her uh in this way is is is is significant um and probably too much recogition even for Mary um but what we do have in mind that the native plant Sanctuary is to uh is is to develop more of a strategy around tree plantings as well as to create a sense of space um including some you know uh fencing that would go along River Road to really demarcate the space to really let you know you know where you are that you're PL Sanctuary um I did want to just thank um all the members of the environmental commission sustainable H Park uh and the U shry advisory committee and particularly um volunteer Andy Warren who was really stepped up to be the new steward of the Native plan Sanctuary uh Andy uh spends a considerable amount of time there uh provides a lot of thought and feedback and it's great to have a partner in hand as we look to further improve Karen Swain who's a member of the shades advisory committee and the um uh and the environmental commission has really been a leader in revitalizing this effort and a special shout out to Susan Edmonds as well and I also want to thank Terry H and Jacob callahead our administrative team uh for helping to kind of shepher through these Visions into a real life plan plan uh so we do look forward to further celebrating this space um and obviously uh Springtime is a really great time to celebrate so look forward to Spring 2025 when we can uh you know really take back that space for the purpose of commity I wanted to point out um you know with the change of weather you know we had we had some very warm wet weather for a long time uh and then we had a significant cold snap which causes our water mans our water infrastructure to to swell uh when we had a series of water braks uh in the last few days fortunately no boil water alerts uh were were part of those but in case you did see uh construction or cruise around I just wanted to point out where those locations were uh so this is all just starting on on December 4th just a few days ago uh at Woodbridge Avenue it was excavation and repair of an 8 in water made with a repair clamp on Seventh uh on South 10th Avenue it was an excavation and repair of a 6in water M with a repair clamp the main is 6 ft deep on December 8th uh on South fth Avenue excavation and repair of a 6in water M for the repair clant on the nth on Mansfield Street excavation repair of a six and quarter main with a clamp again yesterday on Road near Cedar Lane an excavation and repair of a 4in water man with clamp and that would explain if any of you um encountered a Clos Road at un road that was that was the reason and then just today on North Fifth Avenue read us at the library actually ation and repair and repair of a 16in water M uh with a repair clamp so it you know this is illuster of of of of of several things um obviously weather is beyond our control when it comes to how our pipes hold up but our water our water sewer infrastructure is Agent and that is something that is in the purview of the council to address uh you know moving forward so we have some uh you know we we have some significant assessments when it comes to our Capital needs for our infrastructure uh in the next year and this is really just a snapshot of uh you know the extensive work that you know that that goes into maintain our infrastructure I again wanted to thank Terry uh uh DPW the High Park Police Department chief abam for uh making sure that our roadways are safe while the repairs are underway and I also want to thank the middle water company uh for keeping the burrow uh updated uh every step of the way and for being attentive and on the scene so finally I did just want to mention uh a few a few words about my colleague uh Tara canava councilwoman uh and uh um I don't have I I was thinking when I was driving up here of what I was going to say and I worried that writing something down would take away from you know the kind of heartfelt gratitude that uh I think we all feel for you Tara this is your this is going to be your final council meeting this time uh and we have just so enjoyed serving with you uh since since 2020 uh it's it's been a um Whirlwind of four years um the town the world has been through so much in that time and in order to step up and serve when our communities are facing such challenges is really is is beyond admirable it is just it is is it is all inspiring and your ability to the communicate the needs particularly of a low income and ventor Community uh have been particularly guided uh this is the space where several of us work so you have a professional and personal commitment to the work that you do up here um you have devoted your life to improving the lives of others and you've also devoted your life to being a to being on the receiving end of people's issues so you can help with the careful and important casework that's involved in helping those less fortunate uh than us advocate for themselves uh nothing is more important than having an advocate most of us when we're going through life stress don't have that ability to put everything aside and and take the time out to advocate for themselves so when we have folks like house woman can OFA uh really being being that person that people can rely on and go to for support for advice for navig for resource navigation is is is is just essential to have um folks like councilwoman Cana up here on the council practicing what she preaches is also inspiring I've served with Tara since 2009 uh I moved to Highland Park in 2008 and and and immediately uh I sought an appointment onto the public information committee because I was a reporter and I didn't KN I didn't know how to do anything anything else except write and communicate and get the word out about things and so when I showed up for then G then Council woman Gil bro mler uh put together a ragtag group and uh it was there at that first meeting where I met Tera uh and we served in multiple capacities ever since on the human relations Commission on the public information Commission on the human relations commission I said human relations commission Le is on PTO PTO two PTO universal access um our kids are you know are are are staggered in age but we we're all going through the same things at the same time and this is fin terara just a phenomenal journey I really look up to you I really admire the work and the effort that you put in and I really truly admired we should all be inspired by the way that you lead others to comfort and safety and just thank you for your service so with that I'm going to go to other Council reports and I will start with councilman Phil George thank you C council president I'm Phil George I'm Public Safety uh committee leaon from from Council I too wish uh councilwoman can the best of luck and some rest uh for services council member contribution on health of Human Services um was valuable what I took away most was uh the Insight that you taught me into various issues that helps me make decisions I didn't know about before um and changed my mind on a few things and um I'll miss you on counil I wish everyone the best for the holiday season my wish is that we're all safe secure and with our loved ones as 2024 winds down a word from uh police department uh drones around the state are news lately middle sex has seen very few if any instance instances of these drone uh overflights uh but they've been in the news lately while it's not illegal to fly a drone in any UNR unrestricted airspace authorities are requesting information regarding these sightings including images and and videos this is a Statewide issue and the FBI is ur the public to report sightings on its tip line the number is 1 800 call FBI that's 800 call FBI for 800 225 5324 that's 800225 5324 photos and videos of the drones are encouraged and can be uploaded at tips.fbi.gov again that's tips.fbi.gov for online reports click submit a tip and then use the other FBI crimes tab If You observe drones impacting critical infrastructure reported by calling the Highland Park Police Department nonemergency number at 732 572 3800 that's 732 572 3800 or if there's a real emergency call 911 current there's no information regarding any specific immediate and credible threats in particular here in Middle sex County but it remains an issue of uh great interest because of the overflights that are occurring uh lately over um secure areas such as the pitini Arsenal um in another note porch Pirates are still an issue although we have not had any reported events for a while them they are usually not active in bad weather but when it clears up and warms up later this week please monitor your devices for delivery um if you get a note on your cell phone or a ping on your tablet uh that the delivery has occurred try to get someone to the door as quickly as you can and please report any ring or Simply Safe door camera suspicious pictures right away to the Highland Park Police Department again the number is 7 32 572 3800 or if it's a real emergency happening right now 911 the Highland Park Police Department and the p and PBA local 64 are sponsoring again toys for tauns through this Friday December 13 with the drop off of rra toys at the police department 222 South 5th Avenue you can go details at the Highland Park Police Department website or call patrol and Triana at 732 572 3800 a great event from last year is being held again this year cocoa coffee and card making with the cop on Wednesday December 18th from 5: to 7 at the community center 220 South 6 Street materials are provided and last year this had a great time and a big turnout and this year should be just as much fun contact for further information officer Bryant fitgerald again 732 572 3800 4273 for more information thank you council president thank you councilman George Council P check okay everything seems to be okay here thank you council president my name is Jason stelck I chair the recreation and arts committee at least for a little while longer um and so within that I have a couple of things or actually a number of things to report the holiday seasons are to kick into uh here um so first off I just very excited to report that some Community Center Renovations have been completed um the center is freshly painted and has brand new flooring it looks great if you haven't checked seen it yet I encourage to go check it out um I just ask you to be a little mindful that not everything is quite back in place just yet so be at the staff while they're unpacking and putting everything back together we have a number of community center events coming up in the holiday season um starting with Tomorrow there's holiday wreath making there's holiday wreath Mak event OFA um so again that's tomorrow Wednesday December 11th at 11: am. um this Saturday December 14th at 11:30 A.M there's a Lions Club holiday party the holiday lunch mus to enjoy while sponsored by the Lions Club um next week on next Tuesday December 17th at 12m there's a holiday lunch in uh the lunch will be Atari TNA um and it'll be featuring visible entertainment by Gordon James I was able to attend that last year not sure make it this one but it is a good time so anyone who is interested in going should certainly look into that and sign up um and then next Wednesday right after uh we have a holiday dance performance that'll be put on by the Edison High School dancing song with uh and they will perform holiday them pieces under the direction of Miss Vicky J that's next Wednesday de um and then lastly in terms of holiday related events there's will be a holiday show with Alena SE music next Thursday December 19th at 11: a.m include uh favorites is Christmas time this year the Most Wonderful Time of the Year White Christmas Alica nly and other winter time um then I have a couple Recreation programming announcements uh registration is now open for the following winter programs Rovers soccer clinics chess classes cable tennis fit men's and women's basketball um registration is currently weight listed for winter youth basketball k through2 clinics winter track and field and well always very quickly waight list the H par us theater company's High School Musical production um I should say High School Musical High School Musical Junior production um and then keep an eye out there's registrations opening up soon for adult indoor soccer adult volleyball and Recreation dance classes um lastly I just wanted to e the comments of my colleagues um take a moment to thank Tara for being absolutely wonderful colleague and a great public servant um I've only had the pleasure of working with you in the past couple years but it's been nothing but um wonderful uh can't say enough good things about you it's a real loss for the council I'm sorry s to see you go um but it has been again it's been an absolute pleasure um and I know that you're going to continue to serve Highland Park in a number of ways and I'm sure we will crossing paths trying to do all that we can to make this town so thank you again for everything and I'll be seeing you for sure and thank youc president that was my rep tonight I'm sorry almost forgot and obviously today we're gonna be voting on The ordinates to off some money for a new community center shuttle which is human important so I justed all my colleagues to V in favor of that and as much needed we have many residents who rely on Services transportation that it will provide so a little for that too thanks again definitely important thank you kasic appreciate the also the the reminder about the upcoming ordinance um that's m Kim Chan thank you council president my name is step and iair finance I first uh just a few kind of announcements and um kind of light saving it for the end of the year report as well too um I like to thank the the chairs and the department heads and also the council members for um for working diligently on the budgets for next year and um thank you again and I look forward to um hearing more about them in seeing them in the action for next year also break control will be meeting next Thursday December 19th here in council chambers at 5:30 um just remember to check the burrow website to um confirm we are meeting and also look um as I mentioned earlier for the end of the year uh Finance report um I've been working on that with some stats and different things that we're not really to read our uh report at the re or like we did in past year so um please Le on the lookout for that that's on the bur website and I also want to um echo my council members um remarks for council member Cana and we were actually running mates well those who don't who didn't know that and I think your um your voice and that you had on Council one of the things that because it was a vacancy and we had the opportunity to talk about that when council member welit passed away that was was stood out from the other um members at that time was where you actually lived in town which was the Triangle and we didn't have much of and even now still we don't have much of the residents that come out from that area and neighborhood so we really appreciate your input um about your area and your District that you live in which is uh very important and I look forward to working with you still um as volunteer on many of the committee commissions and um you will be missed and uh I'm sure you'll enjoy having some free Tuesday nights back with your with your family so um thank you again and also season greetings and happy and healthy prosperous 2025 to all of our residents and that's my thank you C woman wa can wait I you're triangle adjacent but but but does can't we claim you as the Southside though I'm sou very close though I know I was like I'm right there on the border we're very tury around here this is I a southsider obviously I love all North Side councilman ha hi everybody my name is Matt Hae and I chair the economic development committee um I just wanted to quickly say um we went uh earlier uh last week to the downtown New Jersey conference in up in monair with r Economic Development assistant it's an annual event um where all downtowns get together in New Jersey to talk about all the exciting things that are going on hand discussions about best practices and and for me the exciting part was so much of the things that that were were put out there as cutting edges as as best practices to follower things that we're already doing and so it was really nice to sort of feel like oh yeah we did that back then we did that two years ago we did so and obviously lots of work to do but the big topics were walkability housing density alternative transportation creative public space use in downtowns Road diets bike lanes and of course affordable housing those are all things that are um sort of on our plate and things that we've been working on and so it was it was good to sort of get that type of um uh feedback um as well um you'll notice on the consent agenda that there's a resolution authorizing an agreement with something called um Placer AI um this is a really really exciting and interesting um uh piece of technology that is allow us to better understand who comes to work and shop in Highland Park it's a it's a mechanism for um figuring out where people are coming and why they're coming to Highland Park and how long they're staying so if we get a if the software helps us understand that that all of a sudden there's a lot of people coming to Highland Park from Princeton or something like that we can figure out why and we can figure out how to go get even more of them so it's a it's a great tracking to we're looking forward to to working with Main Street and and this is through the neighborhood preservation program um project so it's a really great uh addition to our Arsenal to to help Economic Development so um I wanted to thank everybody who came out for the tree lighting um especially to Old St Nick I mean Phil George Who uh um played the role of of Santa with um from what I understand um Great Gusto so thank you very much for for that um uh there are a bunch of other uh events coming up um uh we have a night owl markets around the 14th of of uh December from 4 to 8 then again on the 21st and again on the 22nd um also from 4 to 8 they're great places to go out and get your um holiday uh uh gift giving um uh events so so please do check those out um and again on the 26 will be the Hanukkah manora lighting um and sou G um lunch Fest so please um come to that um please again uh do everything we can just get out and and Shop local um so I I wrote my uh words for for Tara down because if I were just speaking them I probably wouldn't get through them so I'm just going to go a little bit uh down them um tonight we're saying goodbye to my friend and our colleague ter Cana um and I as I said earlier I I hope um uh that we're going to miss you far more than you're going to miss us um your voice has been so unbelievably indispensable to this Council in so many ways lots of people can calculate the value of a pilot or do the math of a financial arrangement for more affordable housing the through your life and your job as a social worker you can tell us how unaffordable even affordable housing can be how much of uh or how much more time effort money it takes for someone without a car um to get to a supermarket when it's out of town and make those advocacy remarks for people um that we learn from that I learn from we can talk about any issue affordable housing food stamps electric bills water bills universal access the food pantry those damn scooters cannabis whatever the issue is and you have always been the one that explains how these issues affect people who have the least Among Us never let us forget that no matter what the MTH says the equation is useless if it doesn't include people who struggle and make ends meet every single day there is no one greater in Highland Park who is a champion for our police our and our First Responders and no one who's faster to say thank you to them for all the work that they do there's no one more willing to help make sure people have having a really really bad day know that tomorrow is closer than they think and no one is more willing to get in there and roll their sleeves and help those folks I once had a US senator sadly tell me that the best that you can do a politics to remember where you drew the line yesterday he never met Tara Tara always knows where the lines are and make sure that she and we don't ever cross them she's always honest she's always Fair she always listens she always always tells you where she stands and why I have no doubt that someday and maybe many many many days GNA get calls or texts from Tera explaining how I miss something or how I can make something even better never in anger but always with a simple heartfelt belief that we can make the world a better place Tera Highland Park is a better place because of you and I wanted to just thank you so much for being such a great colge and so much for being of service time we're going to miss you thank you oh boy Waterworks are going um I just I did want to mention walkability housing density and Road diets could just easily have been lifted from a Highland Park Council agenda at any moment uh I thank you um Tara I I just I you're up next but I did just want to say that you know I I I don't worry about missing your voice we will fight together as a state uh moving forward I know that you know T and I the state has we advocate for protections for those more vulnerable than us uh and um we look forward to that we're continuing so without further Ado Council I'll be out there too I'll be out there we know we know Ty chair for the Health and Human Services um Community Food Pantry is open on the 2 and 4th Thursday from 9:00 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. and again from 6:00 p.m. to 700 p.m. Saturdays following the Thursday from 9:30 a.m. to 10: a.m. the Highland Park gives a food pantry is every Tuesday and Wednesday at the s 6 16 center from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Sanitary products and bikers are also welcome as donations and needed the Mental Health commission reminds you that if you or someone you know is in crisis please reach out for help call the lifeline at 988 or text home h m to 741741 both are 24 hours 7 days a week and free and confidential on a personal note I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to the residents who entrusted me with the opportunity to serve on the council I'm also deeply thankful to my fellow council members who mentorship and guidance have been invaluable and to the exceptional staff in the Bur your dedication is truly inspiring special thanks to Terry and Jennifer your unwavering support and for Patiently answering my many questions over the years sorry I called you so much um sorry I also cannot forget my family whose unwavering support and encouragement have been with me every step of this journey it has been an honor to serve this incredible community and I look forward to continuing my involvement as a volunteer thank you all it has truly been a pleasure council members would you please join councilwoman can down a quick picture just to stand here jar can I call on you again thank you so much jar we are colleagues up here and we work we work very very well together and I think that's really important for to understand so when we lose a colleague and we welcome a new one it's very important maintain those those relationships uh and so can we know that we're actually not losing colle every single day okay uh B administrator report Terry thanks council president I I just wanted to do a quick followup from our work session last month last week um we talked about the upper rare and road diet and some of the latest uh thinking from the Department of Transportation as to how that might be configured I had promised to get some material up on my website I'm still working on that so I just wanted to put it out there uh here in this forum that that we will be presenting those materials that we discussed at the meeting last night I mean last week and it will make its way onto our website part of my challenge is there I don't currently have a page for it so I have to kind of figure out where it sits and and get it put in there but we will have that up there with a minute that's all I wanted to thank you B administrator B attorney do you have thank you uh we will foro the mayor's report uh tonight and we'll move right uh over to um item 10 on your agenda public participation so this portion of the meeting is 21 minutes in total three minutes per speaker limited to items on this agenda the next public evening portion will be an open an open question answer period uh but this is this is related specifically to the agenda comments for members of the public attending the meeting in person will be heard first followed by members of the public attending the meeting via Zoom have anybody in person hion I'm one of the p park residents who objects to recreational c pop shops here in town the THC in today's marijuana is much more potent and dangerous than it ever was in the 1970s I ask that council members please vote no on resolution 1224 276 please do not renew the license for Pasha the mayor's teen advisory committee is a great idea but ordinance in for six uh locations in h cour for recreational marijuana of which three of these are open is not a great idea it puts every team in Highland Park at further risk Also regarding teenagers in Highland Park one of the pot shops has quote teamed up with the team Center for a toy drive a toy drive is a great idea but this comes off as a markeet employ to get people into the pot shop and give teens a favorable opinion of marijuana sales donations are being collected and wrapped at the pot shop and for more information contact a tender more appropriate would be for donations and wrapping to be at the teen center or the community center and for more information contact someone from the town there are many businesses in town that do not promote recreational drug use any of those would be more appropriate to team up with the team Center the safe walking and cycling committee is another great idea what is not a great idea is to put Highland Park pedestrians and cyclists more at risk due to drivers impaired by very marijuana for residents who share these concerns about council's choices for six recreational marijuana stores consumption lounges and an unlimited number of marijuana dispatch offices in our town please know that we do have an active lawsuit on this issue and you're free to contact me for more information at MB TT verizon.net I'm sorry m v o t CEO n verizon.net thank you so much thank you Mary would you pleas my name is Colin Tyler I'm at 142 um I also want to address the issue of item 12 L 1224 276 resolution authorizing renewal of a business license for on your life L to operate personally use can bus the to the an's website and look at their mission statement what you will find is this this uh sentence at Anja we are practical dreamers who would like to help normalize plant and this is a very important issue the effort to bring marijuana into our town and integrate Our Town including our children this is very danger this what they want they want normalize plant in I want to read a quote from um Nora Vol from The Who a Director of National Institute of drug abuse as you normalize marijuana and make it more accessible you are increasing the risk of young people to be exposed to marijuana and to consume it regularly those consequences are likely to be much more costly economically than the revenue you're get your gain adolescence are twice as likely to become addicted to marijuana and adults about 20% of adolescent users developable use disorder versus about 9% of adults exposure to marijuana during rapid periods of brain growth and maturation is particularly War and also like to the Facebook page Facebook page say let's spread some holiday cheer at an we're teaming up with a high par team Center for a toy drive and we'd love for you to join us here's how you can get involved now through December 16th Bo unwrapped toy donations in our waiting room no purchase needed December 16th 9 to 11 swing by help us donations with the high par this is wrong this is very very wrong the last person who should be associating with our tees as a role model as nuar group is a hotop this is so wrong please Rec consider the council my question is how did this happen who responsible for this partnership between the team Center and a PO shop was it the council's initiative was a conscious initiative I would really appreciate an answer to this how did this happen it's got to stop everybody and you know I try to get tera's name written in to vote her in she could have stayed here you didn't vote for her okay on your uh your agenda about pay Dennis Street it's a great job it took too long to start it took too long iny to do it and but it's done what kind of holes you put some kind of holes in over behind the Charlie Brown parking lot some kind of big I don't know if there drainage something Mary Forest works all maybe she'll be she's listening but so kind so I the drainage something but it's great the weather was right the striping happened the crosswalks almost immediately the only thing Bruce Scot or CM missed or wasn't allowed to repair is a curving where a neighbor with a wheelchair van power wheelchair often Parks when there's no parking at the accessible apartment at [Music] 1339 um the curing has been broken it wasn't fixed in 07 wasn't fixed in 99 wasn't fixed in 2011 and it's right next to a sinkhole and I only noticed it this week putting out I think it was the trash I keep filling it and it keeps growing now the grass is there so you don't see it the lawn mower doesn't see it people who get out I see them go because it's six seven in in 5 in whatever it is and you talked about the warming breaks please next time you have tree trimmers can you ask them it's probably not possible to be more cautious dropping the huge branches and especially the trunk when you sit in your house and they're cutting down a a tree near you and the window Shake in the window Shake and then the house shakes what is it doing to your piping below okay that was that was your part I've got the sinkhole and C yeah I've got lots of photos of brok curving uh you're on notice if somebody let you know the it's not my property it's see you later thank you thank you for pro administrator is there anybody on Zoom tonight oh sorry oh I'm sorry sorry please your name into the microphone for the record my name is a lot of Dr people Dr people and I didn't intend to speak ACC people a lot of people can't and marijuana go up in an entry Lev drug that people who begin with marijuana don't and I think that making it easily accessible to to people at any age especially younger people is not not happiness I don't know what promted shs seen few of them I just want to my espe marijana to something else lives you get marijuana any place you want places thank you very much that's it sir my name is Eric lean I live haris Avenue like good dog crew over there I hadn't plan on saying anything tonight T meing was the first I've heard about this marijuana shop license I say a parent of teenagers who saw the negative effects of marijuana on my children's friends which was fairly profound and frankly didn't contribute anything to the wellbeing as far as I can tell really added their attraction personal problems I'm kind of surprised that this uh this store was granted a a license in the past if I understand this is a renewable uh it's not consideration for the first time it never should have been passed begin with I'm kind of surprised that a city council would license such a thing and um I just urge you to to vote against uh renewing its license it has F shops have no place in a fine town like High Park I've seen the detrimental effects of promoting drug use among children and frankly that's what these kind of shs are all about really really should V against that thank you anybody else in person sure you question we'll have another we'll have another public particip session Terry is there anybody there are seven attendees online but no hands up okay thank you um thank you for thank you everybody for your comments um M we thank you for raising the issue about the broken curve that out um and yes it's been long overo that that that road work um the uh the contractor actually is is still in town and is addressing any kind of last minut and items have come out they did work over on Harbor Street as well uh so really appreciate that so we'll raise that up um uh just regarding uh uh the team Center that was uh that was Andre's initiative uh just like they they do for to to donate these of Thanksgiving uh any retail uh um location in town is free to support local local causes Department that was their own initiative uh I don't think I can really speak to everything else but uh we just as the council we want to appreciate you coming and raising your concerns um El so seeing no one further may I have a motion to close public participation so by Council Ken by counc Council Ken yes counc George yesc yes yes yesc yes okay item number 11 on your agenda uh these are ORD that require a second reading meaning that they have been introduced at a previous meeting for a first hearing and public uh and public feedback uh so ordinance U 11a ordinance number 24-29 um Capital ordinance providing for the purchase of a community shuttle bus this sounds familiar appropriating $200,000 therefore authorized in and by the bur of Highland Park in the county of middlex the state of New Jersey Santio please report on ordinance number 22098 Capital ordinance providing for the purchase of a community shuttle bus opting 200,000 therefore authorized in and by the bur of p park in the county of MC state of New Jersey has been duly advertised for consideration of passage on Final reading by title and affidavit the publication are on file thank you uh public hearing it's now time for the public hearing on this ordinance so if you would like to speak on this ordinance please come to the microphone or raise your hand again or Second Avenue how many seats and is the shuttle which is terrific idea wish we had 10 down we going have a shuttle for or two in from R Livingston when mayor Merill was here um is it accessible does it have a wheelchair LIF should I leave thank you we'll answer yeah we'll answer questions at the end of this of this portion sir know you earlier raised up some point about the needed upgrades in the city's water system illustrate with examples of some repairs have made on water meain Etc I I don't know what it's going to take to pay for all that I imagine the final price tag the properly upgrade system is going to be quite High sir can we really spend $200,000 on a bus when we have pressing concerns the actual parameters of we can't get our arms around just yet you know I wonder about what kind of cash reserves we have and and what the ability is to absor this kind of expenditure when we we don't know what's going to be required maybe even not very far down the road it's it's not a purchase I would suggest making I mean you have a lot more background information I got I'm just saying someone who hasn't heard about the bus before and doesn't know the city budget and what the projections are and what the needs going to be for the water system huge you know a lot of money for the bus anybody on Zoom um Council would you uh like to provide some context on this expenditure this is a it provides a vital service to a number of our residents who rely on it for transportation to for shopping for various Essentials uh for medical appointments and to attend events it's something that's you know very heavily utilized our current shuttle broke down a couple of months ago and um we've heard like sort of an outpouring of uh you know requests for to get uh something up and running as stud as possible um and uh certainly that's been a priority I know the mayor has looked aggressively and trying to find uh various more cost effective Solutions in terms of uh maybe entering into some sort of shared service agreement with neighboring towns that may have excess capacity in terms to their sh towns have good deal number of these kinds of vehicles uh we just have one fortunately those uh efforts did not bear fruit um so we're s the situation of not being able to provide this important service to our residents any longer or um making this you know significant investment which certainly is you know a sizeable amount of money but it's something that I think is totally manageable in terms of our financial capacity at the moment so I think that is all the cont cly as indicated that Sol I would encourage my colleagues to vote Yes councilman um Pro administrator do we have details on the capacity of the shutle we're looking for a 15 person spe we're looking at 15 passenger excuse me and with a wheelchair AA accessible with thank you administrator uh this is an essential service in the community transportation and Transit investment uh particularly for those without automobile um or seniors is essential in any functioning envirment Community uh we do feel that this is and this is this is somewhat of an emergency expenditure the old shuttle uh did break down and we've been looking at shared service opportunities with neighboring towns but this is an expense that we are going to have to that that we will have to budget for for and it will not take away from our ability to uh address our water sewer infrastructure and certainly our roads unfortunately $200,000 is not a lot of money for for for for a shuttle and I know that's counterintuitive uh but it but but it is true um and particularly you know several of us went to the uh Med municipalities conference and uh um a couple weeks ago and what that does is allows municipalities to you know see what types of equipment they can use uh to give folks new ideas and and and looking at and looking at a lot of these vehicles you know Fleet you know you know addressing the needs in our Fleet particularly with police and fire and Recreation um it is an expense and one that we will very responsibly for moving forward so thank you but thank you for that concern uh anybody else on [Music] zo no seeing no one may I have a motion to close the public hearing on ordinance number 24 2098 so moved second moved by councilwoman K Vera second by councilwoman Kim Shan R call please councilwoman Cana on behalf of our disabled residents and our elderly residents I vote Yes councilman George yes councilman H yes council president H yes councilwoman pan I just wanted to make a few comments as um as well that the water sewer budget as I care finan to a budget a separate budget that um we vote on annually and also um I know when I first came on Council um we were talking about the bus and how we patched and patched and patched and patched a long time um the the current bus that we have and um I think it is time as uh it broke down and Stranded some of our team so that was a real wake up call that we really needed um a new shuttle bus and also uh we will I know we have the old bus that um we may get some money in return for that so I'm not sure how much it you know it may come out not even but maybe it will be one 19999 but let's see um so I vote Yes yes we're just to at this point to uh Com or yes just my colle for the additional cont again once again Jo your your important perspective that you bring to this Council so thank you yes okay now for the good part may I have a motion to adopt or reject ordinance 24209 roll call please oh move by Council second by Council roll counc yes Council yes counc yes council president yes yes yes all right item 12 on your agenda is consent agenda items and resolutions um Council uh does anybody uh would any of you like to uh pull any anything off of the consent agenda uh 487 vote seeing none may I have a motion to adopt or reject the following consent agenda items 12 a through 12f so move moveed by councilman George seconded by counc councilwoman can yes councilman George yes Council h yesc president yesc K TR yes counc yes all right resolutions requiring a separate reading uh item 13A on your agenda is item 12 24278 that's a resolution to adopt budget transfers motion approved by Council George seconded by councilwoman roll call please councilwoman yes Council George yes council yesc president yesc yes counc yes and may I have a motion to adopt or reject resolution 1224 278 resolution to approve budget transfers oh I did that I'm sorry I apologize it was so good we wanted to do it next up on the agenda is item 14 on your uh in your agenda packet and that's appointments um so we have the historical commission uh Darius uh somebody who I've worked with for a long time and uh is related to um uh uh member of the historical commission as well it's a great group uh we look forward to serving with them the mayor's teen advisory committee Elisa foger so freed H jurisic Mason Tren L Shana Goan Ethan Ross May CA ardin Lee Lily Solomon Andrew Hume reaal Noah Meyer Jackie Lynn and then appointments to the safe walking and cycling committee k mo and Chris may I have a motion to confirm so move mve by councilman B George seconded by councilwoman Cana roll call please councilwoman can yes and thank you for all our volunteers especially all these amazing teams councilman George yes councilman H yes council president her yes and just regarding the teen advisory committee I think that this is such an important initiative and if you if you have young persons uh in the schools who would like to serve in this capacity please reach out to mayor uh e Foster hpb.com uh it is an incredibly rewarding experience and it also instills a s of civics and an understanding of how government works which now more than ever is more important than any time that I believe that I've certainly been alive so yes absolutely Council kiman yes counc just special welcome to Darius Shia who has been already uh serving as a volunteer on this commission for a number of months that has been a significant contributor so very excited to have him officially on board um and then just a little shout out to CH who I know is another fellow parent of young kids in town I know schools also know she's G to be a dedicated with that I vote Yes just agreed to bring on some amazing volunteers into our EV uh item number 15 in your agenda packet second public participation this is 3 minutes per speaker on any topic uh subject to a 900 PM conclusion so I think we have some time uh comments from members of the public attending the meeting in person will be heard first followed by members of public attending the meeting via Zoom hi Josh how are you 141 graduate the council president on Monto signing this week very happy about that I had everything to do with it um I also want to uh acknowledge and thank Council for her service to the community it's always been a pleasure working with you and had issues to had to come over to you with you were very receptive and helpful and uh be Miss and thank you very much for uh your years service to the community and thankk you thank you very much now that I understand that took the initiative to contact te Center was their idea however it seems to me that the C certainly could appreciate that our three poot shops that that have opened in town are not the regular business they're not the dollar store they're not the laund Met they require special attention due to the products that they sell and the effect that those products had would have on our teams especially forming a relationship with the pot shop and the teens is such a bad idea so dangerous and tonight that you're putting teams on your advisory committee and Laing them for their attention and you know in participating in local government so hypocritical that you would put the same teams at danger by treating clot shops the same way you would any other business in town they are exceptional to Highland Park they they form a near oppressive danger to our teens in ESP speci um I want to read something from something called smart approaches to marijuana marijuana company's Target Youth and we see this in Facebook post by marijuana company specifically Target young people through various needs including advertisements on social media youth who are exposed to marijuana marketing on social medeia are five times more likely to use marijuana company market and profit from products that resemble sweets and come in packages and flavors that appeal to youth marijuana use is harmful to developing brains and associated with poor mental health outcomes I frequent use is associated with the greatest risk I don't see how this girl in the May that Council on the May can turn their head away from the real pres risk that these pot shops present to our team teams in town um if we look at the Canada ordinances p in brwi park and Edison New brwi has three h park has six ordinances Edison has three class six delivery service locations license in New BR no limit in High Park consumption Alles prohibited in new PR yes in Highland Park number of residents 50,000 in Browns 15,000 here 100,000 in Edison commercial free po zones none in h park that's why we have two of them right in downtown next to all retail businesses and even the one ja accessible time it's disgrace hi I'm Leora wer 1337 um I invited a friend to come tonight to the council meeting and she told me that she couldn't because of the florescent lights so I thought i' mentioned that that some I just read a book by a bber called rainbow I encourage everyone to read it it's all about electrical pollution and how in the last 150 years um various electricity has been very difficult especially for certain people some people have to actually leave New York City they have to leave cities in general um so this is just she's living at high she has to turn off the wifi in her house but lights like if you have incandescent lights that you don't have that issue so I when she comes to my house she comes to a room that I have that has just want to make everyone aware of that issue thank thank you for that fascinating more second I think years ago Nancy mber M her planning planning attorney she used to cook under these lights I don't know I hope you change them and they're not flood lights anymore from the 70s why not use da BS or something um not the circular ones the LEDs was followed by she can't do it has to be incandescent that's the only on okay well so okay for me um oh the um sinkhole and the broken curve on the dead end of Denison is maybe 25t in from the dead sign so it's not too far porch Pirates I wish I they I have what do I do I have an old dead analog television 25 by 25 in roughly pushed it out it's on the front porch to not sealing it what am I going to do if I drop it push it down steps this is going to break that whatever last do we like other towns yet have a sticker we can buy pay DPW 10 five bucks 10 bucks and get how do people get rid of appliances I guess you buy something new from the store and the people take it away theives the but I old television why not have DBW come and pick it up they're big and strong pay them the I can mail a check I can't do any of this computer okay so course Pirates have missed my hidden TV on The Preserve okay I hear the map has been absolutely changed The Preserve record eological Memorial Bill H's preserve is on the map as conservation Recreation you got to take this make this go away this is your land use development Land Development Zing 230 d134 residential this has been on the book since 1986 at least we're fighing to save R's Ecological Reserve councilman Phil Ruben came up to me and said well look this is cluster zoning included that'll save some of the land no you don't P roads and lights and things on a preserve put down the flood zone and th if you need more aage and that was my other question what is your developable aage and I hope you remove The Preserve for your numbers that you might have to put in for the uh affordable housing in January or thereabouts don't include that you're never going to get rid of me you include that I'm going to be here helping you and I've got words out messes Letters Out to the oldtimers thank you Lo for that um is there anybody else no one un sorry happy New Year everybody thank you Lois and I just actually I did just want to respond uh quickly um regarding um so we can get back to you on on a number of these items uh the um regarding our affordable housing calculations that that excludes open space related to schools Rel to preserved open space that was not part of the calculation uh Highland Park's fourth round numbers are modest and uh we should have no problem to go either above Beyond than um uh so thank you for raising that and and also thank you for keeping an eye out on on on inconsistencies in the code too it's uh we take action when when there's something to we appreciate thank you um uh thank you uh uh for for for mentioning the fluorescent lights and that the lighting can make folks uncomfortable for attending meetings I think we're all you know this this building obviously is uh something of a time chel um so we're always looking for ways to upgrade efficiency um and you know looking for to make it space So that's something that we certainly be able to into and appreciate raising that particular is not um Lois did you have a I'm sorry I didn't I didn't quite get it um you mentioned electronic pickup uh you you you're wishing porch Pirates would come take your old television right do I have to put the bo best of Lu uh if uh uh no but if you would like to uh electronics recycling I can we can I can I think after the meeting we can talk about give for all for anybody at home there is information available on the BR website hp.com um obviously but not everybody has access to the website so yeah thank you but yeah it is I mean that's you know it's fair game when it's on when it's on the curve right um all right well seeing no one else uh with their hands raised may I have a motion to close public participation move second by councilman George seconded by councilwoman Cana at roll call please councilwoman can yes councilman George yes councilman yes Council yes yes um I'm thinking that we do not need a reassess is that correct all right not an affirmative uh and could I have a motion to return please [Music] all right moved by councilman George seconded by councilman Cana roll call please all in favor I I next scheduled meeting is Tuesday January 7th 2025 at 7M right here in this room it's our reorganization meeting it's a time to celebrate and it's a time to embrace what all the wonderful things that it is to be uh you know in in the bur I also do want to say that we will be transitioning um councilwoman seie Kim Chan will be our council president pres it's been an honor to serve you and we look forward to serving under her leadership as well and with that I call this meeting a journ