yeah all right [Music] so one of them one of them isain but the other one that's too far that's good just um can we can we just bring that we W Al say Podium just bring the podium back to where was sorry what happens it's all right you could write a memo to him tomorrow morning no thank you thank you all right J that's why I right what no on for good evening welcome to the township council meeting Monday June 24th 2024 this meeting is now called to order Miss Stephan Elli would you lead us in the pledge of allegiance to the podium I pledge allegiance to the of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible liy and justice for all thank you Madame clerk please read the statement of public notice take notice the adequate notice of this meeting has been provided in accordance with njsa 10 col 4-8 and njsa 10 calling 4-10 as follows a notice of the meeting was prominently posted on the bulletin board at the municipal building located at 225 Main Street Little Falls New Jersey on January 4th 2024 a copy of the notice was sent to the nor Jersey Herald the news and the record on the same date additionally a copy of the notice was filed in the off Office of the Township Clerk on said date a link in a telephone number to join the meeting virtually can be accessed on the township website at www. lfj docomo the roll call council member Patel pres council member Murphy pres council member habas pres council member vaner council president scova president if there's no objections from the council I'd like to move uh to get a motion to move the minute a reading of the for the minutes of meeting of May 20th and June 10th so moved moved by councilwoman Patel second second by councilwoman haets please call the rooll for the minutes of May 20th and June 10 council member Patel yes council member Murphy yes for May 20th abstain on June 10th council member haetz yes council president scova yes mayor Damiano thank you council president uh this evening we have a couple of items on the agenda that we need to address and before we do we have one that is not on the agenda that this evening uh it is the swearing in and oath of office being administered to our new team of OEM and Deputy OEM coordinators and for those that don't know uh in town our office of emergency management is instrumental uh when there are major emergencies in town and unfortunately in the past 12 months everybody here knows and is well aware that our office of emergency management was very active with our floods in December as well as January and during that time we had our OEM coordinator Dan G Ando in place who after many years of dedicated service to the township as a police officer uh also served as our OEM coordinator here in town uh and recently resigned in that role to take an additional step back and additional time with his family but with that comes a new Staffing arrangement in our office of emergency management and I'm going to invite our detective Sergeant John monado who is our new OEM coordinator as well as our Deputy o coordinators our fire chief and DPW Foreman Ron stelle our police captain Jason pressing and not with us here this evening is our fire chief Mike berski but I'm going to ask the three of them to join me in the front of the room for their swearing in as we continue to ensure that Little Falls is well prepared for any emergency that we may have and frankly while we hope to never see them in action I'm gonna ask them to join me in here for their swearing in uh in the event of an emergency in the future so guys if you can join me I state your name do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the constitution of the state of New Jersey and that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same and to the governments established in the United States and in this state under the authority of of the people so help me God I do further solemnly swear that I will impartially and justly perform all of the duties State Your Role according to the best of my ability so help me God congratulations now for the signing of your what than you and a correction apparently Mike berski it's Mike bolun that is the additional deput Deputy OEM coordinator uh couldn't even read my own handwriting uh all right now on to the next item this evening is a proclamation to our 10-year business administrator Chuck cuchia who I didn't say this when his family was around because I didn't want it to turn into a competition But Chuck unbeknownst to him is actually the second person under my wife on my favorites list of phone contacts because that's how frequently I have contacted Chuck over my seven and a half years as mayor uh and I want to thank him for everything that he has done this Township has achieved a lot of major goals in the past number of years and one of the most important is it's upgrade to a doublea uh rating here and we want to thank you for not only that that but everything that you have done to to lead this building over the past 10 years here and my seven and a half years as mayor uh Chuck we thank you for everything that you have done and if you would join me up here for the reading of your Proclamation like Bob Barker with this microphone and it reads whereas Charles cuchia has honorably served the residents of the township of little as Township administrator Chief Financial Officer qualified purchasing agent GIF commissioner and safety delegate since May of 2014 and whereas Charles cuchia has always worked closely with the mayor and councel the staff and the residents of the township assisting them with any and all issues that would arise on a daily basis and whereas Charles cuchia has been a respected member of the Township's Administration since his employment with the Township in 2014 and whereas the township wishes to honor his service to Little Falls for the past 10 years service that was provided with the utmost professionalism and competence and whereas Charles cuchia will retire from service to the township on June 30th 2024 and we wish him all the best in his retirement and now therefore I James bord Damiano mayor of the township of Little Falls New Jersey do hereby Proclaim in the township of Little Falls Sunday June 30th 2024 as Charles cooch day CH congratulations I wish you well on your retirement and and we also have a plaque that's being presented to you this evening it reads almost identical to the proclamation so I'll save you the earache of hearing it all again but again thank you for all of the roles that you filled over these years it is not only uh one set of big shoes to fill but it is many shoes to fill uh and we thank you for everything that you've done so here you are thank you ch um I just I'd just like to say that mayor Damiano I've worked for a lot of Mayors in 47 years and mayor Damiano is one of the most conscientious Mayors he's got the community at heart and it's been wonderful working for him Council as well they've they've done wonderful things with their legislative agenda and keeping the town moving and a special note to Anthony scobo as council president because without his ability to get consensus none of this moves ahead on the council side so thank you Anthony I appreciate that and council members thank you and thank you mayor for the opportunity I appreciate it thank you for and now I'm going to ask Ali stefanelli to join me here at the front of the room because this evening she deserves some recognition and for those of you that don't know we're here tonight to honor one of our student athletes Little Falls resident in Pake Valley Regional High School senior Alexandra Ally to her friends Stephan Elli alli's left the Mark during her time at PV both in the classroom and on the field this fall her hard work has earned her a spot attending Lehi University on the field Ally was a star athlete for the basketball volleyball and track and field teams she received several Awards including the pay County coaches association student athlete award njsiaa student athlete award All County honorable mentions player of the weak accolades and she also received the superintendent scholarship alli's been a model student athlete on and off the field and tonight we honor her and wish her well as she gets ready to start her college career in the fall Ally congratulations bring family run for political office and counc that's all I have this evening before we get to our actually I do have one more item not on the agenda uh as a report and update to the municipality and that is that we received notice from New Jersey American water as of today of a number of reports of water issues throughout Town affecting a number of residents they've assured us that all of the water meets all drinking standards but unfortunately due to algae blooms at uh some of the locations where we get our drinking water from uh the Water may have an odor and a slight taste uh different from our typical uh water being delivered to our homes again they have assured us that it meets all drinking standards it is safe to drink uh but if residents notice this know that they are very well aware of it they are working on it they are indicating that it could take up to about a week to have this issue uh resolved so know that they are working on it but uh unfortunately we may have to deal with that for for some period of time again know that it is safe it is uh there are no issues other than the potential odor or taste that may be impacted uh so that's all that I have council president with respect to the topics this evening mayor thank you for the update on on the water situation to our residents any update on the light in the center of town act getting activated yeah actually our contractor is intending to return to town uh this week starting Wednesday the 20 believe it's the 24 uh 26th uh they are scheduled to return unfortunately what most of the delay was related to that project was actually due to psng not our contractor the box was installed where the electric will be run uh the first crew came out for psng within a couple of days of the contractor installing it and installed the actual electric meter uh that meter unfortunately sat there for you know three or four months without actual electric being run to it uh that has now been accomplished the contractor has now spoken to the uh company that deals with our our traffic lights HBC they will be returning to town this Wednesday to get the new lights powered up at that point the old lights can then be powered down they can then be removed and the sidewalks can be completed so starting this Wednesday we are going to see some activity down there in the middle of Maine and Stevens which will finally bring us towards the conclusion of the bulk of the major work associated with our streetscape in sections two three and four which are the sections between uh Maple LA and Union so that is being worked on we will be beginning additional streetcape work picking up almost at the intersection of Main Street and Stevens very soon uh this summer while school is out it's Our intention to get the section of Stevens a between Main Street all the way up to Walnut completed with the streetscape we are going to be meeting with the contractor hopefully this week uh to nail that down and the timing as well as the the work start date uh which again we're hoping to have completed this summer while school is out so fingers crossed will be able to reach that uh that goal and hit that Target and that will be moving along as well so just as this one wraps up the next one will be starting almost in the same spot but know that it is for a great good in that the streetcape will be completed with the traffic light I'm sorry the street lights as well as the new sidewalk and the new uh decorative concrete so that will be underway very soon thank you mayor does the council have any questions comments for the mayor seeing none we'll move on to council member reports councilwoman Patel the floor is yours thank you council president um just want to start off by saying thank you to Mr Kusha for all of your service to the township um enjoy your retirement wish I was retiring as well um just a few things for the public health committee there's two events going on the first one is a free eye screening and that's going to be July 1 um from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. at 900 Clifton Avenue in Clifton if anyone wants to register they can reach out to me it's up on our uh Town calendar they just have to call 973 3 470 5773 and then the second event that the Clifton Health Department is hosting is the central role of sleep and promoting well-being that's going to occur on Tuesday July 23rd at 12:00 pm that's going to be held at the main Memorial Library room a and if they want to register for this event you can again reach out to me directly or reach out to LEL at the Clifton health department at 973 3 470 5773 that's all I have council president thank you councilwoman Patel councilwoman habz thank you council president um again also thank you and congratulations um Mr cuchia it has been a pleasure working with you and you will be missed but please enjoy your retirement and we know that you're only a phone call away even if you don't want to be um also congratulations uh tonight to our new OEM coordinators as well as ali stefanelli um I've had the pleasure of knowing Ally basically since her birth um in her family and she's just a wonderful wonderful student and good kid and she deserves the acoat um this weekend the council and I attended the uh library summer kickoff Carnival uh it was lots of fun the library really did a great job there was a petting zoo there were Inflatables hot dogs ice cream uh all the kids had a really great time and they're going to do some summer reading at the same time so it was really great um also this weekend I coordinated with the library for the first ever International yoga day summer suus uh on the lawn yoga unfortunately the weather didn't cooperate and the heat got the best of us so the event had to be moved inside the library but it had a great turnout and we plan on working with the library to bring more outdoor uh yoga events to town uh this week we also had the grand reopening at Wilmore Park uh the playground looks phenomenal it had a great turnout again thank you to the mayor uh for having me work on this project from start to finish thank you to the recreation department our DPW Department uh the rest of my council members our Police Department everyone for attending uh thank you to FTC kids for the donation of their communication board uh they were there on site teaching everyone how to use it and thank you to the cream R for serving ice cream to all um I hope everyone enjoys our park for your to come um also just wanted to make a note and remind everyone that our playgrounds are open from dawn to dusk for everyone's safet day um that's all I have thank you councilman hav councilman Murphy thank you council president I would also like to uh publicly thank Mr cucha for uh your years of service to our Township um you'll definitely be missed and uh hope you really enjoy your retirement uh on June 4th the domestic violence prevention committee had the uh opportunity to partner with the Bay County PR computer's office and put on a presentation for the graduating class of P Valley High School uh the presentation was awesome and uh I think it really got through the students right before they move on to college and and enjoy graduation and and move on to the next steps in life so I think it was a really really good opportunity uh for the committee and for the prosecutor's office to partner up and uh put on a really good uh showing for the uh seniors um I'd also like to thank jelle Dila from the prosecutor's office for her time and effort uh to do the presentation uh she did a fantastic job and just want to thank her for that um we'll also be doing another DME to donate uh for the committee in July or August so I'll keep everybody posted on that date once we have it nailed down that's all I have council president thank you thank you councilman Murphy uh Chief you have anything this evening well tonight's the night of plaque so uh I don't want to be long-winded about it but um this is a plaque on behalf of the men and women a little false for to Mr coocha in his retirement and reads as follows with our greatest appreciation we're we hereby honor chak cuchia in sincere appreciation and recognition for your dedicated years of service to the Little Falls Police Department um been around here for a couple years now and we've gone through times where at the end of the year we've run out of printer paper um you know I'm happy to say that that's not happened since Mr coocha has been at the helm on the town side and it's just things like that and uh planning and budgeting that he's put this department in such a better place uh for the public safety of this Township and and really that um that's you know appreciated from the chief perspective so we'd like to present this to him if I may yes absolutely Chief I give you the box and uh we wish him all the best in his retirement and we look forward to working with Mr quatron so that's all I have to report thank you Chief junior Police Academy okay underway this week junior Police Academy is underway this week um so uh week long PT there's going to be some field Tri uh field trips and that's for uh school age children so uh I think we did announce when the applications were out so that is underway this week so if you see them running uh or out and about in the community that's what that's what it's for with Junior Police C thank you Chief uh on the calendars there's an ice cream social for the senior advisory that has been tabled um we'll take a look at that and maybe bring that program back as we start to expand the programs for the seniors uh we are going to uh work uh along I'm going to work along side councilman Patel and bringing some educational programs concerning Health as far as recreational programs and social programs so we look forward to doing that and in the fall to pick that up again uh Mr cucha thank you for your endeavors to this Township as the chief alluded um you were involved with the township when it was a very difficult a challenging Financial U time in this Township uh of course that doesn't really get recognized as much because those that pay the bills aren't always looked at in a good light um someone who pays his bills in the business and like in family members they're always looked at like sort of the bad guy or the bad person because they have to be responsible for making sure the checks don't bounce and we say that but I mean that really honestly because government doesn't shut down we're 77 here 24 hours a day and that's something I think most people don't realize even myself sitting here since 2016 the activities and what goes on doesn't shut off and your true Testament to the township your daughter could have gone anywhere to live but she decided probably on the notion of her father's recommendation to park herself in the township of little fs and you could have asked her or you could have advised her to live in any Township because you have connections and friends and uh public servants in many towns but she's living in Little Falls not only has she Liv in Little Falls she bought a home and she put I passed it the other day a high degree of economics in it so I think she's going to be here for quite some time so thank you for believing in us uh with your own family members and thank you for what you have done for this Township and I thank you for our friendship from 2016 have a motion to open the meeting to the public for agenda items only so move move by councilman Murphy second by councilwoman habets um voice for all those in favor I all those oppose motion carries Madam clerk anyone wishing to address the township Council may do so through the council president it is preferred if you give her name and address for the record comments are to be limited to to 3 minutes however if appropriate you may be granted additional time in this whole discretion of the council president members of the public who have joined the meeting virtually and desire to provide comment shall raise their virtual hand in the zoom application the meeting moderator will cue the members of the public that wish to provide comment and the council president will recognize them in order members of the public who have joined the meeting by calling in must press star six to mute and unmute themselves in Star 9 to raise their hand members of the public who have joined the meeting via the zoom application must click reactions icon and then the raise hand icon once the process is complete we will return to the regular order of business the floor is now open Melissa is there anyone that would like to speak in our chat room seeing no one come before this governing body have a motion to close a public comment sove moveed by Council Patel second by Council Habs voice all those in favor all those opposed motion carries C mtion to approve the consent agenda so moved moved by Council Patel second second by councilwoman Habs Madam clerk this is a roll call please call the RO for the consent agenda council member Patel I think I'm doing this correctly but I'm gonna question on the consent agenda yes can we peac meal our votes uh you have an objection or uh you have a question or do I was just gonna do it so it could be properly recorded so yes for a through e no on F and then yes G through L Madame Clair can councilman Patel vote that way or do we have to take each one no that she can vote that way okay so for the record one more time Council Mel so we have it correct yes a through e no on F and yes G through l no f n yes G through L okay thank you madam clerk do you have that recorded yes I do okay um okay please call the r council member Murphy yes a through e no F yes G through R council member haetz yes council president scova yes um the resolution to confirm appointment of Vincent control because for True to vote that fails Madam clerk can you for the record yes okay have have a motion to open the meeting to the public so moved uh this is for General matters um Madam clerk please read the public comment anyone wishing to address the township Council may do so through the council president it is preferred if you give your name and address for the record comments are to be limited to 3 minutes however if appropriate you may be granted additional time in the sole discretion of the council president members of the public who have joined the meeting virtually and desire to provide comment shall raise their virtual hand in the zoom application the meeting moderator will cue the members of the public that wish to provide comment and the council president will recognize them in order members of the public would join the meeting by calling and must press star six to mute and unmute themselves and star9 to raise their hand members of the public who have joined the meeting via the zoom application must click the reactions icon and then the raise hand icon once the process is complete we will return to the regular order of business the floor is now open for public comment is there anyone in the chat that like to speak see no one else come before us have a motion to close the public comment so moved mooved by councilman Murphy second by councilman habetz this is a voice vote all those in favor I all those opposed motion carries Kevin motion to adjourn this meeting some move mooved by councilman Murphy second by councilman habetz does a Voice vote all those in favor I all those oppos this uh motion carries this meeting is now Clos post