##VIDEO ID:3LFYXaYT_mc## [Music] of [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] e [Music] for [Music] [Music] for [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] for [Music] [Music] [Music] for [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] down n [Music] [Music] [Music] oh [Music] oh [Music] [Music] a [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] your okay you okay everything's fine learn say learn later on [Music] oh [Music] yeah chash [Music] very [Music] take a speak for a second please I will call the re reorganization meeting of the Madison burrow Council to order and I have the statement of open public meetings act in compliance with the open public meetings act adequate notice of the meeting of the council was provided by transmitting a copy of the meeting notice to the Madison eagle and the Mars County Daily Record posting a copy on the bulletin board at the main entrance of burrow Hall and filing a copy in the office of the clerk all on December 13th 2024 copies of said notice were made available to members of the general public and roll call please mayor Conley here miss erlick here Mr landrian here Mr range here Mr harmis here M Hanahan here Mr Forte here ask all please rise for invocation I call up Pastor Carl Howard pres Church of Madison col guard I have Jimmy rojak from the Scout Troop 25 please come forward lead us in the pledge to the flag of the United States of America and to the repic for it stands one nation God indivisible liy and justice for all Spotlight kids to sing the national anthem please can you see by the dawn's early light what so proudly we H at the TW tlight last gleaming who BR stripes and bright stars through the parous fight or the r parts we watch were so gallantly streaming and The Rock red glare the bursting in air gave Pro through the night that our flag was still there oh say just that star spangle yet way for the land of the free [Applause] and the home of the pr [Applause] you may be seated right part of our tradition as we organ reorganized is not to have the mayor sing so don't worry but to uh recognize some of our long time um volunteers are stepping down from the respective uh boards I don't know if there are in attendance right now Kate Bartley from library trustees she served from uh 2 10 I mean 2020 2014 for five years so let us thank Kate I don't see John Morris who has just completed his second stint on the Downtown Development commission serving six years and so we'll recognize him at a future meeting and then uh Frank aanon who served on uh Madison Alliance addressing substance abuse from 2010 through 2014 so thank these three uh volunteers for [Applause] serving we have a couple of special guests here um and I will as I announce them if you want to come up and say a few words please do so Senator state senator antie buo representing Us in [Applause] leg and we have assemblywoman Aura dun [Applause] also do you want to come up and say a couple thank you for all your support and Trent and for us HS conratulations thank you and representing the county we have uh County Sheriff Jim Ganon say happy new year and you and today commissioner and tomorrow commissioner director and tomorrow about six o'clock I believe uh typhoon Seline from neighboring T I also see in the audience council member from chanan burrow Justin Strickland thank Justin thank you [Applause] for anyone else so at this moment I would have a great honor to int introduce congresswoman Mikey Cheryl to come up and say a few words and then go right into our oath of offices thank you so I uh will Echo everyone in wishing you all a really happy and wonderful New Year and I just want to take a moment as we're getting ready to swear people and to thank all the public servants in the room all of our council members our mayor our police officers our Sheriff all the members our commissioners our Senator our assembly woman all of the people that have have really answered the call of duty to serve right now these are tumultuous times they're not easy times to be in public office and to see new people coming to the floor again and again um ready to serve our community here in New Jersey I think is really so moving to me and at no time more moving than when we read the oath of office so without further Ado we will do that okay i' like toh call up Eric range okay so raise your right hand I've gotten this backwards already this year the year is Young um and repeat after me I Eric P range I Eric P range do solemnly swear do solemnly swear that I will Faithfully that I will faithfully impartially impartially and justly and justly perform all the duties perform all the duties of council member of the Bureau of Madison council member of the buau of Madison according to the best of my ability according to the best of my ability I further solemnly swear I further solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the constitution of the state of New Jersey and the constitution of the state of New Jersey and that I will bear true faith and I will bear true faith and Allegiance and allegiance to the same to the same and to the governments and to the governments established in the United States established in the United States and in this state and in this State under the authority of the people under the authority of the people so help me God so help me God congratulations thank [Applause] you and i' like to call up Melissa Hanahan as soon as we sign to make that off do we Mike you sign okay raise your right hand and repeat after me I Melissa Hanahan I Melissa Hanahan do solemnly swear do solemnly swear that I will Faithfully that I will Faithfully impartially ially impartially and justly and justly perform all of the duties perform all of the duties of council member of the buau of Madison a council member of the Buu of Madison according to the best of my ability according to the best of my ability I further solemnly swear I further solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the constitution of the state and the constitution of the state of New Jersey and that I will bear true faith and that I will bear true faith and Allegiance and allegiance to the same to the same and to the governments and to the governments established in the United States established in the United States and in this state and in this state under the authority of the people under the authority of the people so help me God so help me God congratulations thank you thank you [Applause] [Music] a I know you've got a crazy schedule so I know you had to skip out shortly but we wanted to uh give you a uh gift from Madison history pictures there is iron work and this is a uh Army Navy we were uh recognized for the effort during the war wow right here gorgeous and we didn't have chance to frame this but uh it says Navy 31 Army 13 yeah yeah thank you mayor as i' said you know the people of New Jersey have maybe had a tough year and they all were real thrilled I think yes to see maybe except at pick atiny Arsenal but everywhere else everyone [Applause] thanks while the seats have not changed we will do an official roll call once again here here Mr landrian here Mr range here Mr harm pus here Hanahan here Mr Forte here welcome all thank you for uh coming out in midafternoon the second day of the year uh before I get to the comments I do want to take a moment to have us remember President Jimmy Carter who truly led by example not only as president but his many decades after and also let us remember those who were senselessly killed on New Year's Eve in New in New Orleans take a moment thank you I want to thank one of our newest residents Pastor Carol Howard of Madison Presbyterian Church for uh her invocation again welcome to Madison and the honor guard from the Madison police department for the presentation of colors and a big thank you to the spotlight kids for singing the National Anthem um they impressed us I see the friends that Drew Forest here they they impressed us so much back in December with the annual Drew Forest Holiday Carol we definitely had to invite them back so thank you for coming back and a welcome to all of you anying in person and those watching from home and a special welcome to the family and friends of Eric range and Melissa Hanahan as you start your new terms Melissa your first full term now and this year it's interesting we are not saying farewell to anyone nor welcoming anyone to new to the table as a council of 24 will take on the challenges of 2025 and I want to thank congresswoman Mikey Cheryl for your comments and doing the honor of the oath of office as I just mentioned I know it is a very busy time of year for you you have to there's some big city about Midway down the coast you need to get to soon so we greatly appreciate you stopping by and and more importantly we appreciate your work on behalf of Madison uh especially with the grants for our passive Home Affordable housing that we will cut the ribbon on sometime later this year and look forward to having you there and of course supporting the purchase of the Drew forest and your work has not only been important to Congressional District 11 but also for our great state working so hard for everyone in our state and also your work on both sides of the aisle doing the best for our country so thank you you yesterday my wife and I joined the common New Year's tradition of ordering Chinese food I can you'll see where this is going in a second but I've noticed an interesting Trend that my for fortune cookies has been e early timely so my fortune cookie yesterday said your words have the power to encourage and Inspire those around you that's a lot of pressure so to start off for inspiration uh burough clerk Liz Osborne had print out the minutes from the 1925 reorganizational meetings so that was 100 years ago and it did the minutes did not provide much inspiration as uh mayor Frank Cook's comments were not captured it only said that his address was received with much Applause more or pressure for my 14th annual uh message chair but I'm going to use the the same theme as last year which was unfinished business in 2024 we saw great progress on this business but also a few major items still on our list in October we cut our ribbon on the accessible playground at Dodge field this project was funded through multiple grants and became a reality through the P passion of former councilwoman Deb Cen who is sitting in the back there Deb thank you for your work on that we ALS often say with pride that we are a welcoming Community our new playground reinforces this commitment so that those with disabilities can enjoy playing alongside with their friends and since it's opening we certainly have been welcoming families from other communities at Dodge field another great project in Madison and just before the kickoff of the holiday shopping season and just under the wire we opened the reconstructed cook Avenue parking lot parking lot not only took care of an area long overdue for attention but it demonstrated a few of our commitments including our commitment to safety for pedestrians with the reduced curb cuts and more sidewalks within in the parking lot a commitment to inclusion with more handicapped parking spaces a commitment to sustainability with rain Gardens to recapture some of the rainwater for aquafer recharge and our commitment to be putting our best possible image forward of the beautiful parking lot with plantings that will show their glory in the spring and the historic lamps that will be lighting it very soon and in November we were once again recognized as a midsize sustainable champion and I was recognized with the mayor art and dis leadership award this award as stated recognized my leadership in Madison's success and creating a sustainable future what it really recognizes is the work of the volunteers and staff and I just get the credit so thank you all municipalities across the state look to Madison for ideas and creating a sustainable future as uh councilman Justin is here chadam even said you know we're we're going to try to match Madison but from now we'll just keep uh T taking their lead and following so if we can Inspire others we have done our job you know the the federal commitment for reversing climate change may be diminished in the coming years but Madison will continue to lead the way showing that by Lo working at the local level we can make a differ nationally as we reduce our footprint with or without the wind and our sales from the federal government and of course we have a few items left on our list from last year first and foremost is saving the Drew Forest while also supporting Drew University which is so important to Madison as we approach the holidays we announced an agreement on a term sheet while the final agreement was not wrapped up under our Christmas tree we have made great progress we are working diligently on converting the terms to a contract and while I have no new news to share today I'll rest assured we are making progress progress that wouldn't be possible without friends and that is both with a capital f and lowercase f and in the first quarter we should be going out to bid on a renovation of the East wing of heartly Dodge Memorial fully utilized in this building for the first time since a police and fire department moved out well over a decade ago and just a year ago we closed on the purchase of what was the Masonic Lodge is now the heler center we are working on plans that will restore the building as about to celebrate its 200th anniversary and very appropriate as we had uh Pastor Howard here uh this was the former Presbyterian Church in Madison the renovation will give us a new Senor and community center this is made possible through the generous Grant from Martin hel along with support from Mars County historic preservation I also stated last year that 2025 would be the year that we would see the reconstruct in Waverly Place well we're going to push that a little bit you know coming off of the cook Avenue parking lot project we have pushed this to 20126 so we can avoid uh downtown disruptions in in consecutive years this will give us more time to review and revise the plans to best meet the Town Center for today and for years to come and I can't speak about 20 24 without mentioning drones and hopefully my comments you will hear the word drone as a noun and not a verb just checking you got anyway with all with all the attention and drones over the past six weeks serve as a demonstration of the challenges we face today yes there were sightings of unregistered drones whose purpose is unknown but there are also many sightings of that were man aircraft or legitimate drones both show the challenges that we face today technology moving so quickly whether it's AI or drones or other tools that can be used for good or bad in in order to manage in today's environment we must be diligent by reporting what we see and we must protect all by working with local to Federal officials and in certainly the past six weeks has also shown we must sort through the confusion and frenzy that can be caused by by drones or anything else that happens on social media so with that as we start 2025 we have many great opportunities and many great out challenges but rest assured Madison is ready so happy and healthy New Year to all [Applause] how much Applause is the uh minutes going to reflect for for the mayor thankfully there was not Applause meter in in 1925 so we'll say much thank you for and on that note I will ask for a motion for uh council president for 2025 I move that we nominate Rachel Erick council president for 2025 I second that motion unanimous uh Voice vote all favor I okay Rachel a motion for the adoption of the bylaws for 2025 may I move that we adopt the bylaws of 2025 second all in favor I all right I'd like to make the uh following announcements to council standing committees for the year 2025 requiring uh Council confirmation for uh finance and burough clerk chair Rachel Erick Vice chair Eric range Public Works and Engineering chair Eric range Vice chair Melissa Hanahan Public Safety chair Robert landrian Vice chair Rachel Erick utilities chair Tom Howen pus Vice chair Robert landrian Community Affairs chair Melissa Hanan Vice chair John Forte and health chair John Forte Vice chair Thomas AR pus mayor I move the confirmation of the forging appointments second all in favor I I and I'd like to make the uh following appointments to serve in official capacity you all also subject to council confirmation bur attorney Matthew Jobe housing officer Michael pessier zoning officer Denny Dennis Harrington Deputy zoning office Daniel Buckaloo mayor I move confirmation of the foregoing appointments second all in favor I all right the I'd like to make the following appointments not subject to council confirmation environmental commission for three-year term through December 31st 2027 gin Bowen regular member Bridget da regular member two-year term through December 31st 2026 December or Dean Schmidt alternate one and one-year term through December 31 2026 that should be 20 25 CLA witcom chair an Hubert planning board rep and Bridget daily uh Shade Tree Management board rep and also the following associate members poette ccus uh Kate Dugan and Trina Malik and for also for onee term through December 31st Eric range Council leaon and the following to the historic preservation commission four-year term through December 31st 2028 Adrien Novak Class C regular Jill rhods Class C regular Tyler meren Class A and one-year term through December 31 2025 John Forte class Council aison and also to the planning board fouryear term through December 31st 2028 uh Patricia Coy class four member I will ask for a um a motion to appoint Eric range as Council leads on to the the planning board so moved second all in favor I all right like to make the following announce uh appointments requiring Council confirmation uh Board of Education uh is the council aison Robert landrian Chamber of Commerce leison Melissa Hanahan historian Scott spelker Housing Authority lays on Rachel Erick joint meeting Finance Personnel committee Rachel Erick as Finance Personnel committee chair cor to the both to the uh the board I'm new at this job bear with me joint meeting Finance Personnel committee Rachel aake finance and Personnel committee Thomas how pus uh finance and Personnel committee joint Municipal Court Robert landrian and Rachel Erick as members M Museum of Early Trades and crafts as Le aison Eric range Madison Area YMCA Council aison John Forte shared services committee Rob mayor Robert connley Robert landrian councilman Robert landan and councilman John Forte and to whiy River Watershed action committee L on Council uh president Rachel erck I move approval of the forgoing appointments second all in favor I and I'd like to uh request that council president ERI announce the following uh mayor appointments these boards requiring Council confirmation to the Board of Health for a two-year term through December 31st 2026 Patrice Pella and for a one-year term through December 31st 2025 John Forte Council leaon to The Climate action committee a one-year term through December 31st 2025 the following sustainable Madison advisory committee members Peter freed Marielle and Hennessy Jones and Kathleen kav Val Madison environmental commission member Kirsten wallenstein and I will Ser as Council liaison for one-year term through December 31st 2025 to the community garden advisory committee a three-year term through December 31st 2027 Jeffrey Anderson Alysa coim Arlene Lloyd Jennifer marot and Charles Van van buerk to a unexpired three-year term through December 31st 2025 Brent philippy and Kathy s Katie Sutton to a one-year term through December 31st 2025 Thomas har pus as Council liaison can I move the forgoing appointments if I just announced them well I move the forgoing appointments second all in favor I I all right councilman landrian please announce the following mayor appointments complete streets committee one-year term through December 31st 2025 mayor ex officio Robert H Conley Public Safety Council liaison Robert landrian and engineering Council aison Eric range and assistant borrow administer engineer Derek Dennis Harrington director of Public Works Robert Duffy Madison police representative Captain Joseph Longo Board of Education representative Public School representative John eshman Director of Business Development Lisa Ellis sustainable Madison member Kathleen kavali resident Paul daily resident Doug Willis downtown devel vment commission three-year term through December 31st 2027 Jim Hollenbeck Merchant landlord and owner Christine kakowski Merchant landlord and owner Suzanne whorn at large representative Board of Education rep oneyear term through through December 31st 2025 Melissa Hanahan Council liaison Library trustees 5-year term through December 31st 2029 Linda soya trustee oneyear term through December 31st 2025 Moren burn as alternative to the mayor I move approval of the foregoing appointments second just for a clarification the Board of Education rep is by title that will the name will be filled in after the reorganization all in favor I will uh Mr range please announce the following appointments for the local emergency planning Council for 2025 mayor Robert H Conley Council liaison Robert landrian and Rachel Erick administrator Raymond M Cody assistant burough administrator and CFO James Bernett assistant burough engineer Dennis Harrington construction official Russ Brown director of Public Works Robert Duffy electric utility superintendent Vince Patty fire chief Kyle Wickman Health officer Megan Avalon auxiliary police Sam Samuel demarzo uh sewer superintendent uh Chris manik OEM coordinator police chief John mitcha OEM Deputy coordinator and public information officer Captain Joseph Longo OEM assistant coordinator Mike shagu and public information Michael pisser and school resource officer Frank G I'm sorry Peter G Frank and secretary Christy Keele for the Madison Alliance addressing substance abuse for three-year terms through December 31st 2027 Lisa Ellis resident representative Diane Figi and at large member Adam rits at large member and audre Toro coordinator DN AI one-year term through December 31st 2025 John ffor Council liaison to the municipal audit committee a three-year term through December 3 1st 2027 David Luber regular member and for one-year term through December 31st 2025 Rachel erlick Council liaison I move approval of the foregoing appointments second all in favor I I right will uh Mr Al pus please make the following uh announc thank you mayor open space Recreation and historic preservation advisory committee 3-year term through December 31st 2027 asri Bailey regular unexpired three-year term through December 31st 2026 Karine Murphy regular one-year term through December 31st 2025 Debbie Manon Parks advisory committee rep George limbach planning board rep Mitchell horn Recreation committee rep Brian Monahan shade tree and management board representative Karen Bowen environmental commissioner rep Tyler meren historic preservation committee rep mayor Robert Conley ex officio and Melissa Hunan is the council leaon for the parks advisory committee one-ear term through December 31st 2025 Rebecca Bertrand Thomas crims Debbie Manon Dan O'Brien John Taylor Jeffrey Thomas and Carrie Tierney and Eric range is the council Lea own patrio celebrations committee very important committee oneyear term through December 31st 2025 Ron debias James Mouse Peter R Fleming Senor Thomas Granado Wayne Henderson Ann Lawless Thomas mattius Michael piano Victor schoemaker Joseph Nester and Robert landrian is the Council of the Aon thank you I move the approval of the foregoing appointments second all in favor I I on a hand will you please make theeen appointments thank you mayor Recreation advisory committee one-year term through December 31st 2025 Stephanie Burke Little League Baseball rep Robert Welter softball Nino Coello football rep Zack Ellis ex officio Recreation director Megan G field hockey rep Edward hushan ice hockey rep Christopher Holland basketball rep Bob maano soccer club rep Tom py wrestling rep Aaron tranda girls lacrosse Brian DWI boys lacrosse Shan pul Ada PPC rep Mitchell horn at large Board of Education rep and Tom her and pis Council liaison for the Safety Committee one-year terms through December 31st 2025 burrow administrator burough engineer CFO electric utility superintendent fire chief Health officer Madison chadam joint meeting superintendent police chief Personnel director Recreation director director of Public Works and Robert landan as Council liaison for the shade tree management board 5-year term through December 31st 2029 Nancy Bruce regular George limbach regular Robert trinen regular Robin trinen regular unexpired 5-year term through December 31st 2026 Bridget daily alt one unexpired 5-year term through December 31st 2025 Elizabeth Fontaine alt 2 with a one-year term through December 31st 2025 Eric range is Council liaison I move the approval of the foregoing appointments second all in favor I Mr Forte please make the announcement of the following appointments thank you mayor for the sustainable Madison advisory committee three-year term through December 31st 2027 Kathleen kavali chair regular member Pam Hogan regular member one-year term through December 31st 2025 Board of Education representative and then Dean Schmidt environmental commission representative Robert Duffy director of Public Works Eric P range Council liaison to the utilities advisory committee three-year term through December 31st 2027 Alan Sawyer regular James ly regular one-year term through December 31st 2025 Thomas haralan pus Council liaison for the Zoning Board of adjustment four-year term through December 31st 2028 Adrien Novak regular unexpired four-year term through December 31st 2025 Matthew suco regular unexpired 2-year term through December 31st 2025 nishon maub bani alternate number one 2-year term through December 31st 2026 Deborah Cohen Al number two I move approval of the foregoing appointments second all in favor I hi hi before we go to I do have to make a correction in the mayor's appointments environmental commission that do not require um Council approval uh colet Colette cresus should have been apped to uh as alternate number two unexpired uh term through December 31st 2025 and Steven stalker as a associate member I move on to Communications any Communications none received mayor thank and now we move on to invitations for uh public comment anyone in the public wishing to comment you please step forward we ask that you try to keep your comments to three minutes but we do give you a one minute grace period in the spirit of the new year or we did it last year too and then we will cut you off at four minutes anyone wishing to comment please step forward seeing none I close this part of the meeting we now move on to the consent agenda resolutions will the clerk please read the statement consent agenda resolutions will be enacted with a single motion any resolution requiring expenditure supported by a certification of availability of funds any resolution requiring discussion will be removed from the consent agenda all resolutions will be reflected in full in the minutes mayor I move adoption of resolutions r1225 through r 39 2025 second any discussion thank you mayor I have a question or comment about resolution 12 2025 this is a resolution that sets interest rates on delinquent taxes this might have been here the last couple of years it's not something new Jim but I didn't notice it so shame on me for not bringing it up before um what it says for the public that doesn't have a copy of this is that uh any delinquent taxes in the burrow of Madison shall be buil at 8% annually on the first $1,500 and then any amount in excess of that a $1,500 the interest rate will jump to 18% annually so my comment and observation is just maybe this lacks a little sensitivity as to why somebody's not paying their taxes we all know that there's some issues nationally maybe locally too I'm not sure what the situation and it does doesn't say here and there probably some more detail that it starts on day one or after 30 days so I think it's it's a little excessive personally for people in our own town because I know that we make money when we have money in the bank from collecting our taxes but we don't make this much so to be asking the residents to pay this much and it could be coming from commercial tenants too I don't know if we can separate that out but uh I just think that it's something that doesn't seem very consistent with us being sensitive like I said or cognizant of the reasons that people are a little late paying their taxes I don't know what the rate is but it's folk could probably fill in some details but stat uh statur along from the state you have to charge as we give the reminder that you have the grace period at each quarter and if you miss that grace period we can't even wave it because it is by State Statute the other is we are floating the money because very little of this money stays with us most of us going to the board of education and then to the county so in a way for the delinquent taxpayer the rest of taxpayers of Madison are floating the loan because we have sent that money on sure but in all fairness may we we have money because we have a reserve for uncollected taxes that's taxes collected from us to keep it in reserve I just think the amount is a lot and I don't know when it starts said after the first period I'm not really sure what that detail means mayor there's a 10-day grace period for each quarterly property tax payment that's not paid on time so people have 10 extra days to make their payment which I due February 1st May 1st August 1st November 1st this resolution just mirrors the state requirement it's a sagittary requirement imposed on towns to charge these these figures so the the discussion really should be at the state legisl not here and the state wants to have a scheme that's uniform for all 564 towns so they don't want individual towns setting different rates per town so they standardize it by adopting an or a state statute that mandates these charges at these interest points oh so this is a state so so yeah I didn't that's that was a question that yep so this is a formality that we have this resolution but it is required by okay mayor thanks for answering that and clarifying it any other discussion roll call vote please M erck yes Mr landrian yes Mr range yes Mr harn pudus yes M Hanahan yes Mr Forte yes Mr Forte mayor I move to adjourn all in favor hi hi thank you all thank you all for coming out the great start to a new year [Applause] [Music] [Music]