e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e all here okay let the El Rec with all members present for those who are able I ask you to rise for pled of I ask you to remain standing after the pledge IED to flag the United States of America to stand indivisible andice for all all right like to take a moment to remember members of our B staff extended family and long time res since we lost over the last few weeks Carmine kza age 83 passed away after short illness on April 17th with his family by side Carmine is survived by two devoted Sons Michael and Madison police department Sergeant James cza along with his wife Meredith and three grandsons Carman was predeceased by his wife Diana in 2018 his son Thomas just this past January and an infant daughter many years ago Christina born in Naples Italy to the in 1940 L Tomaso Rina he immigrated United States was his family was 12 years old celebr here in Madison graduated from Madison High School and soon after enlisted in the United States Army serve his country which he was extremely proud of serve in Germany and Libya before honor discharged after his timely Army he Carm married his beloved wife Diana they lived in Madison shortly before sett E to 1969 where they raed Sons he had a career spanning close to 50 years with New Jersey Transit out of the Maplewood Hub let's also remember philis Campell long time Madison resident passed away in April 14th age of 99 she survived by her daughter Judith of Madison and two granddaughters Christine Preston and her husband Michael and The Honorable Samantha Elliot and her husband Matthew one one grandson and five great grandchildren um Phyllis was predeceased by her beloved husband m Matthew Campbell and her two sons Mark and Paul and one granddaughter one great granddaughter phis was born in St 1924 and married her husband Matthew on in 1946 and then after focusing on children she decided to return to school graduate Richmond College now known as College of Staten Island at the age of 54 and she had a long career as a volunteer coordinator and after her husband's death MD's death in 19 91 she moved to New Jersey to be closer to her daughter Judy and and fam right here in Madison and let us also remember Kevin Co a long time Madison resident passed away on April 11th after long illness who his age 46 I remember Kevin from his years work at Madison ynca he leaves behind his devoted parents raymonda and Connie Russo sty his and his step stepfather and Andrew and one one brother Brian and his grandmother Dorthy born in Summit 1977 raised right here in Madison graduated Madison Public Schools very athletic child and teenager before before falling ill at the age of 20 Kevin always kept a positive look on life and had an incredible strong will his life was a test to his strength faith and unwavering hope and I remember that smile he always had despite the challenges he had he was INSP he inspired everyone he met and Sharon Little John long time resident died April 5th age of 72 leaving her husband of 36 years James born in marown 1951 proud graduate M marown High School attending college in St Elizabeth and she met her husband Bob in 1982 when she visited the story work that they became Inseparable married in 1988 and she had a 30-year career with Mars County Social Services and April 9th uh Mike Bronco of Floren Park uh long time Floren park with strong Manis influence died with his family his side born in 1944 to the late Joseph and Mary Bronco raised in chadam worked at an auto body shop for 57 years while owning George's own body for for 36 years where it says he never missed the day this past August the family gathered to celebrate mik Linda's 60th wedding anniversary he was a simple humble man enjoy the little things in life he met the love love his wife Linda and together he raised beautiful family with love laughter and cherish memories he's the father to five children Lisa Michael Jeffrey Kenneth and Scott and the respective spouses along with 10 grandchildren and five great grandchildren so let us take a moment to remember Carmine CA Phyllis Campbell Kev Sharon Little John and Mike brono and let us pass our thoughts onto the families and friends that they leave behind thank you you all right may have a motion for exective minutes of March 25th 2024 second and we already discussed this all in favor I I right uh motion for the regular minutes of March 25th 2024 second any discussion correction and changes we had some minor changes on Min okay all right all in favor I I welcome all I apologize for a slightly late start we had a heavy executive agenda and um so I hate come in here late but sometimes it's hard to avoid but a happy Passover Holiday to all and um got quite a bit going on for few special proclamations so it's great to see such a strong turnout and um a few things that happened last couple weeks on a day that was better suited for tling in front of the in front of a fire with a good Brook we held the annual Little League girls softball parade and it was great to see that despite the uh cold weather and even a few snowflakes coming down that it didn't damp dampen the spirits of the players and volunteers it is always an impressive site when you look at how many are coming down Main Street on the parade and um and rest assured warmer weather is coming and we look forward to another great season it was also a very busy week for um ribbon cuttings at the uh including one at the Indian Kitchen Grill the former beckon Palace uh also dy's comics on Green Village Road who uh had a sea hunged over for I don't know how many years but they're back in Madison it was great to have them return and then a another uh ribbon cutting that dressed for success and as we have members of the Thursday morning Club one of the great stories of the Thursday morning is how they start these programs or help these organizations get going and eventually they grow up and they move out on their own and very successful so uh as we have members of the Thursday morning 12ub thank you for your help with the program for those that are not aware it's a program that provides uh clothing and guidance for uh women that are starting off as in the professional world so they're ready to for the first interview and first job and so it's an amazing program and now they're new space at 300 Madison Avenue and then uh last Wednesday I was part of a panel of Mayors for the Mars County Chamber of Commerce and I was joined by Mayors Bill chwi Mike Stan zillis and Jamie Barber of Wharton M Arlington and Pary respectfully and it was clear from the panel and the reaction of the audience that Madison was by far the best and then uh earlier today and we will be also recognized in a little bit uh Earth Day we uh gathered at Glen Wild Road and accepted a giant check for 4.1 million from representative Mikey Cheryl it was uh through her and Senator Cory Booker's effort that we were able to secure federal funds to support the purchase of the Drew forest and other guest speakers uh at the event included Drew president Dr Hillary link state senator Anthony buo who's working on state funding for the forest Mars County Commissioner Steven shw and we have already received a grant for $5 million from the county open space fund and uh We've made it clear that we'll be coming back for some more and uh and then closing remarks were from the friends with Drew Forest co-chair Judy croll and the friends in the audience here you have done an incredible job raising awareness and Grassroots effort to uh save the forest and then another uh Earth Day event We Gather at 2:00 at DPW to uh honor or kind of dedicate a tree a pin o that had just been planted in recognition of all the members of the Public Works uh in recognition of all the work they do planting and maintaining the trees around our town we have um I think we're like 36 years of um being a tree City and it wouldn't be possible without the work of Public Works um we save quite a bit by having our own uh employees plant the trees and maintain them they will be recognize uh this uh Saturday at during the arbit day celebration as part of green and clean day in Madison and related to that and we'll have this also for Saturday I have a u a proclamation from uh congresswoman Mikey Cheryl recognizing uh Madison um for its Arbor Day recognition as a a tree City 39th year consecutive years Tree City and 17 year as a uh Tree City USA growth award so we appreciate that and two other announcements before I come down for some Pro proclamations um our crossing guard Agnes ulani ulano is celebrating her 20th anniversary on April 20th so if you uh see uh Agnes on her Corner please congratulate her and Fran B bman administrative official in the engineering department is 20th anniversary on April 21st have William espo here come on there you are I missed you be come on up here William that's all right great to have you here yes thank you last year when you were here I was I was REM wasn't able to do in person so be here with you so this is a National Association of letter food drive day and I'll um cover not maybe not all of this but just a a couple of highlights hunger affects one in eight Americans including millions of children seniors and Veterans and it is a something that's recognized by our you our letter carriers through the food drive which is annually held on the second Saturday in May and the Stamp Out Hunger food drive is country's largest one-day food collection providing residents with easy way to donate food for those in need and the food drive is held in 10,000 cities and towns in all 50 states and uh it it is helped by many local volunteer groups such as United ways Salvation Army Catholic Charities National Guard units American Legion Veterans of Foreign Wars Boys and Girls Scouts rotary clubs and AA AARP groups and in it's been going on for 32 years and the food drive has collected about 1.9 billion but that's with a B pounds of food and currently more than 42 million Americans are unsure where the next meal is coming from so the timing of this uh food drive is crucial because the majority of food donations are received during Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday and by Spring many food banks and pantries are depleted so now therefore I Robert H Cony the mayor of burrow Madison on behalf of the governing body to hereby Proclaim May 11 2024 as National Association of letter carriers food drive and encourage residents to support the drive by placing non-p perishable items in or near your mailbox on food drive day further I commend the National Association of letter carriers for initiating this human human humanitarian project that will directly benefit those in theer community thank you so much like to say a few words yes thank you thank you very much well the we could do is put by the n box we'll pick it up and we'll take it to the food drive you just look through your kitchen or your cabinets thank you so again that's May 11th right okay so May 11th BK your [Applause] calendars all right and today as I mentioned is day so we have a couple special people to accept our Earth Day uh Proclamation and uh can I have from Madison Harding troop 6272 Elizabeth and Charlotte and from Troop 6273 I think Stella come on up and anyone else that uh and get those cameras ready all right all right now these Scouts will Girl Scouts will tell you shortly about their project but uh this year's theme for Earth Day is plastic and the hoping helping people understand the impact that plastic has on our environment and it's not a good one and they took an on an incredible project of collecting bottle caps the uh number was incredible and uh now if you go by the museum you can sit on a bench that was those bottle caps were turned into that bench so incredible [Applause] job so whereas since April 2 19 22nd 1970 Earth day has been celebrated annually to confront our most pressing environment issues unite around a shared mission of protecting the environment we live in and provide future generations with cleaner air and water a healthy environment and a safe sustainable future and whereas on the first Earth Day the led to the establishment of the Clean Air Act Clean Water Act and Endangered Species Act and National and the nation's environment Environmental Protection Association I'm my I've been talking too much today whereas Earth Day is a valuable opportunity to renew our commitment by to to preserving and protecting our Earth through community service responsible stewardship and daily practices and whereas Global challenges continue to grow including environmental degradation Global health issues climate change food and water shortages and this year Earth Day theme is PL Planet versus Plastics which advocates for the widespread awareness of human and planetary health risks that come with the use of of plastics and whereas each and every one of us can contribute to protecting and preserving the planet we share through individual acts such as using res reusable bags and reducing plastic waste and where as a as a community we can adapt education systems to enhance climate and environmental literacy advocate for climate action at our schools and workplaces and volunteer at local environmental organizations and whereas on Earth Earth Day we should take time to appreciate the planet we live on recognize that many environmental issues we are facing and recommit to doing our part to invest in our planet now therefore I Robert H KY mayor B Madison on behalf of the government body hereby Proclaim April 22nd as Earth Day in Madison all rightone well our project was called um bottle caps to benches and basically we set up drives for bottle caps all over Madison so in schools um at the library at the Y and um we in the end we collected over 250 pounds of bottle caps and um we took those bottle caps to um the recycling Institute in Delaware and they were made into a bench and now that bench is at the Museum of Early Trades and you can go and see [Applause] it thank well done oh well thank you we will enjoy [Applause] these all right if I got members Thursday morning Club come on up here whoever all of you or some of you whoever you want it' be great to have all of you up here hi Mar good to see you there we go all right this is a very special Proclamation um already the Thursday morning Club in Madison has celebrated its 125th anniversary and their history is amazing one and now we get to celebrate the 100th anniversary of one of the uh longtime impacts and positive impacts on Madison and still thriving today 100 years later and this is the 100th birthday of the Madison Community House whereas in the 1920s the Thursday morning Club a nonprofit organization committed to serving the community recognized that they needed their own space to more efficiently provide services and whereas a bequest from Club member Elanor vanderwater provided funds for the purchase of land at 25 cook Avenue and whereas Mary cash another Thursday morning Club member beefed the funds to construct the original community house building because she believed ideas like people need homes and whereas the building was originally called a settlement house because it provided immigrants a place to shower obtain food vouchers assistance finding housing and employment but was also large enough to be used for community recreation Medical Care and other programs and whereas in 1925 a stage was built by The Green Door players and in 19 66 Rose wing with a commercial kitchen and other space was added to the original building with funds donated by Nelly Lennox Rose and whereas Community needs change the use for community house also change the thrift shop we already mentioned Dress for Success Madison Friends of the library Nursery School Scout meetings Athletic Club meetings Youth Employment Services Mars County Legal Aid Society exercise classes theater musical Productions and epic of all used community house and that's probably just a tip of the iceberg I'm sure whereas annually more than 55,000 people use the Madison Community House which continues to be a dynamic social educational cultural hub for residents of Madison and surrounding towns now therefore I Robert H County the mayor of Bar Madison on behalf of the governing body hereby extend congratulations to the Madison Community House on its 100th birthday and we are thankful for the services and provided they that which enhance our community so thank you so much for everything and a big celebration this Sunday right all right get a little photo uh who wants to grab the microphone see I there go I'm the president for about two more weeks and then we're going to have somebody new so it's my last tah um the Thursday morning Club has been great for us too we've um met a lot of friends and we always do some good service so we are really happy to be part of Madison thank you all right there we go pleas take that thank you again for all you do you have truly made a difference for 125 years and 100 Years of community house and enjoy the celebration on Sunday take [Applause] care there seems to be one more Proclamation left uh oh Liz come on down come on down Liz is in charge of putting putting together the agenda for these meetings and you think yeah after all these years she would think she would expect the uh Proclamation for uh Municipal Clerk's week but uh we surprise her every year so let me just uh cover on some of these uh here because we've we've covered it but it the uh office of municipal clerk is the oldest among public servants the the clerk provides professional link between the citizens local governing bodies and the agencies of the government at all levels the municipal clerks have pledged to ever be mindful of neutrality and partiality and rendering equal service to all because they are the keepers of all our information and sharing of all that the clerk serves as information center regarding functions of local government community Municipal clerks continually strive to improve the administration of the Affairs of the office of municipal clerk through participation in educational programs seminars workshops annual meetings of their state county and international professional organizations and whereas it's most appropriate we recognize the accomplishments of the office of municipal clerk Nota notably Elizabeth Osborne kadad Rees Bonnie M and Helen coret now there for our Rob County mayor B us on behalf of the governing body hereby recognize the week of May 5th through May 11th as Municipal Clerk's week and further extend our appreciation to M municipal clerk Elizabeth Osborne and her staff to and to all Municipal clerks for their vital Services they perform and their exemp exemplary dedication to the communities they represent got some flowers for you we uh we'll put them on there all right I just want to say that it is an honor to serve and work for the burough of Madison thank you again thank you Liz we do have a few empty seats now inside for those are out in the hallway and now we go to reports and committees uh Public Safety Council president range thank you mayor from the police department tonight uh on Friday uh April 26th Madison uh police department Command Staff Detectives and school resource officers will be attending Bagels in brainstorming hosted by project Community Pride and held at the Madison YMCA this event is held quarterly and provides constant brainstorming on how Youth and police can better bond together the highly attended event of basketball at the Y where police from Madison and chatton burough play basketball with Town youth stemmed from this collaboration last year last week Chief Misha met with the new school superintendent to discuss ongoing talks on improving school security in all public school buildings and this week will be the quarterly school security meeting where officials from the police department and school administrators collectively brainstorm and Tackle issues concerning school safety this Thursday uh April 25th Chief Misha will be attending the Morris County 200 Club Valor Awards held at B uh but Birchwood Manor Chief Misha will be attending with his fellow County Chiefs as part of the Morris County Chiefs of Police Association executive board from the fire department tonight uh so far this month the fire department has responded to 23 General alarms uh 12 still alarms 25 investigations and 52 medical calls for a total of 112 calls the new Fire Department EMS division is uh off to a great start uh over the last uh two weeks there has been a Madison staffed ambulance on duty 24 hours a day day s days a week for the last two weeks so that's a great great change uh firefighter EMT Pat Gigan has completed the confined space rescue uh Tech program the last four hired firefighters are all rotating through the program to join the Special Operations team of the fire department this team is trained in confined space and trench rescue operations on April 10th the fire department responded to four saddle Road Cedar NS for reported fire on the roof Madison's rapid intervention team stood by as the fire was extinguished the fire department is continuing to attract volunteer firefighters as well at present there are three new volunteer candidates working uh through the application prog uh process if you're interested in joining the fire department please visit rosenet.org MFD and click on the volunteers needed banner and one last note tonight um last week was Public Safety telecommunicators Week um so special thanks to all of our dispatchers that work here in Madison and in the county uh and state 911 centers thank you mayor thank you my name the bur clerk M erck thank you mayor from the tax collector's office residents are reminded that the second quarter of property taxes are due May 1st this is a reminder that the tax collector's office is now located in the finance department on the second floor of heartley Dodge residents can bring their payment to the tax collector's office or they can leave their payment in the Dropbox located in the clerk's office on the first floor please call the tax collector's office if you have any questions or need any additional information turning to the budget tonight we will have the budget hearing and final vote to adopt the 2024 Municipal budget nothing has changed since it was introduced so the numers in tonight's budget resolution 12722 24 are exactly what was introduced back on March 25th I've highlighted this long and thorough budget process before but tonight as we prepare to finally adopt the budget I'd like to point out that the staff started working on this budget last summer and Council has had six public presentations and discussions on the budget all materials and information can be found on the annual budget process page on rosent the budget is presented in multiple formats including a one sheet budget summary the official 86-page state budget document and a newer document created by the state called the userfriendly budget and later in the year the bur will mail out a flyer that includes charts data and an even more simplified budget Council voted to introduce the budget on March 25th and by state law we have to wait at least 28 days before we have a hearing the state established this 28-day waiting period to make sure the public has had an opportunity to review and comment on the budget the 28-day waiting period is for a transparency the governing body and the buau administration take the budget and transparency very seriously all of the Council discussions are recorded and available to view whenever you want and all the reports and schedules that are presented to council are available on rosenet I believe this is an excellent budget that we're adopting for 2024 there are no changes to the municipal Services provided to Residents and we have a robust Capital program including repaving roads new equipment and fully funding the MRC solar carport which will be a source of savings to the burrow this budget includes a 1.75% increase in Municipal property taxes and 5.27% increase in spending I want to thank all the members of the governing body and the public for being engaged in this process and for offering great insights and comments along the way thank you thank you very much Public Works and Engineering Mr landrian thank you mayor uh from the engineer Department the contractors have confirmed crack seiling has has actually commenced today the work includes the following roads Crossgate Alexander Avenue Hamilton Street Westend Avenue Sur Lane bomb bomb Garder Drive East Street branck Drive West Lane East Lane Holden Lane Forest Road Ferndale Road Elmer Street 7 Oak Circle and Court Place the contractor will commence at the East Lane West Lane neighborhood this work will take approximately two weeks and is very weather dependent this work is not very disruptive to traffic floating does not require any road road closures from um Public Works we are they are working with the fire alarm company to update the fire alarm system at the hel building the Masonic lodge because of the age of the building and the Dynamics of the building they will utilize various Technologies the sewer department is working on the roads that will be mil and paved in the spring summer to update the catch basins and work holes the parks department is prepping all fields and this is a busy time for them please help by bringing reusable water bottles to all sporting events all water fountains have been turned on the roads dep the road department is working on tree plantings for the shade tree committee there are about the third way through the through the work if you would like a tree in and around your property please contact the public works department at Ros that.org thank you mayor thank you utilities Mr alen hter got it thanks mayor welcome everybody from the community uh from the water department the water department has replaced 61 water meters that were scheduled to be completed by the former contractor National metering Services kudos to them it's a big undertaking while they're doing their regular tasks uh all week long uh 8 in water main tie-ins were made at Community Place of wet Street for the new affordable housing complex an 8 in water main tie-in was made on vinyl place for the new mosque which is going to be which is under construction right now uh the Water Utility flush the completed 6in main for the construction on Park Avenue at the new tow houses Park Avenue and Elm Street and it's put into service now all the uh ball fields water fountains and bathrooms have been turned on for the season the water main break on Windsor was shut down by the buau it was fixed by the contractor and then flushed by the buau but during the shutdown a valve leak occurred that was dug today and has been repaired from the electric utility the electric department is working at 28 Walnut and 18 Community Place the affordable housing units for the new electric infrastructure service Crews have removed the old lights that were not in operation to install new update overhead lighting on Community Place on April 15th Cruise repaired Street lighting feet pipes that was damaged also on April 15th the crews responded to two power trouble calls at Wayne Boulevard and three Community Place the crew set a new pole at 64 Park Avenue as 1T pole for the new housing site the crew set a new poll at 15 chatau Theory the senior housing for primary service relocation of a transformer due to flooding issues around the existing location the men have removed the temporary construction service at 14 Link in place the department responded today to a not power call due to Wildlife shorting out a cable at binton road that must have hurt the electric Department continues to install new service upgrades around the B Repair power issues markouts street light repairs and daily substation inspections all to serve the residents with quality and reliable service thanks mayor thank you and Community fair is Miss Hanahan thank you mayor uh the Downtown Development commission will hold its next regular meeting on Thursday May 16th at 7:15 it's open to the public and is in the heartley Dodge Memorial Building uh the Madison farm and Artisan Market will be held on Saturdays from May 25th through December 14th in the Prospect Street parking lot from 10: to 3: Madison Green and clean is this coming weekend uh with hopes for Sunshine on Saturday the event will be going from 9: to 2: and will be kicked off with Arbor Day celebration uh as we discussed earlier bottle Hill day is now scheduled for Saturday October 5th the Chamber of Commerce shares that ladies night is scheduled for Thursday March 9th fire extinguisher inspections will take place on Tuesday June 4th from 11:30 to 3:30 and uh the new new 2425 loyalty reward cards will be available on May 1st which can be purchased for $10 at the Madison Pharmacy and the Museum of Early Trades and crafts the card is being sponsored by the M Madison area Y and the Chamber of Commerce annual Awards dinner will be held on June 11th at the Madison Hotel the Madison Community Arts Center uh has many things happening including uh Art Gallery dance music um and uh a Baroque Orchestra of New Jersey will be performing on April 28th New Jersey Jazz Society will be featuring a trombonist on May 5th many many uh activities encourage you to go to Madison arts nj.org mcac and the senior center of the cadams will be holding a pickle ball tournament fundraiser on June 8th in Madison pickle ball courts thank you thank you very much and Health Mr Forte thank you mayor an additional dose of covid vaccine is now being recommended by the CDC for individuals aged 65 and over residents who are interested in receiving the additional dose can obtain free vaccination through the health department please call 90859 33079 for more information the CDC is also reporting that there is a salmonella outbreak linked to the linked to fresh basil from Trader Joe's Trader Joe's has removed the product from its shelves and residents should throw away any infinite herbs brand organic basil that was sold in a 2 and 1/2 oun clamshell style container from Trader Joe's Co and flu activity are low at this time uh and free covid tests are available to Residents in the health department should they need them pet licensing is still ongoing all cats and dogs over 6 months of age should be licensed within the burrow and just a good story about that um because we had licensed Pets the health department staff was recently able to reunite a lost dog with its owner due to information found on the license tag more information can be found at rosenet.org thank you mayor thank you we now move on to the budget hearing this is when the public has an opportunity to ask questions and make comments on the proposed Municipal budget this is only comments or questions on the budget there will be other opportunities to comment on other topics later in the meeting so I open the hearing anyone wishing to comment on the budget the same guidelines are in effect as with all our public comment we ask you to try to keep your comments at three minutes but we uh will'll stop at 4 minutes anyone wishing to comment on the budget please step forward seeing none I close the hearing and uh open the uh up for comments from uh Council comments or questions from councel B Bob okay I guess I'll start it off I wrote something up here you know I went to a gy Jesuit military High School two ideals we learned and that we drilled into our heads was each man is our teach and that we may learn from him and secondly the shortest route to failure is the belief that only you have the right ideas these guidelines have always governed my life in their own way it is my belief that this Council and administration have also followed these same ideals they listen to the residents of the the town they heard what was important to them across the board some requests may have been new or outside the normal budget many of these were funded by the hard work of volunteers who obtained $18 million in Grants and I know Jim outlined these in his last budget presentation this budget also looked for Alternatives when something new came up and the best example I can give is when we wanted to purchase a fire truck ahead of schedule well the answer was let's see if where we are later in the year and maybe we could work that in there was something else that this council did and the administration did that was to adhere to the tradition that has made Madison the successful and financially stable town that it is and that is to plan for the future many of the funds that we have are there because we believe that there may be a time when we need them for example we didn't have to bond during Hurricane Irene or Hurricane Sandy we didn't have to bond during the pandemic that's because we had put the money away these situations were a great source of stress to many towns who had to go out for bonding and who found themselves in the hole we Rec also recognize that there may be significant Future Property Tax appeals this is money that we've also put aside this Administration and Council recogniz that this budget will be carried on the backs of the average citizen working like myself up through the age of 70 and Beyond trying to support a family and save money in some sort of Ira or savings account in order that they can provide for themselves on their savings and Social Security and also pay for the medical benefits going forward much has been said about what Madison deserves this this budget is what Madison deserves it keeps with our tradition it recognizes the needs of each and every citizen regardless of their income and is a budget that I will very proudly vote to approve thank you mayor very well any other comments Eric can't quite compete with Bob's statement but thank you for saying it Bob um and uh councilwoman Erick mentioned it in her comments but I think it's it is is worth repeating that despite needing to raise uh or raising the expenditures by over 5% in this year's budget uh Jim and Ry and others in the administration working um with the council were able to find ways to limit the municipal portion of the tax increase this year to 1.75% and I think that's um something of note and we should continue to remind ourselves that uh there was restraint here um in the impacts that it would have uh financially on our community recognizing that there are lots of things outside of our control um that as we all experience in our day-to-day lives that prices are escalating so um you know I just think that that's the real key takeaway here and being able to do things as uh councilman landrian pointed out you know perhaps Ford funding um the new Fire Apparatus forward funding the uh solar carport at the MRC so these are all strategic things that uh need to be considered and are accomplished in this budget so uh kudos to everyone across the board for for getting us to the Finish Line other comments Rachel um you know the future is uncertain in terms of some of the challenges the bur will be facing in in the coming years perhaps not so distant years and so I think as uh Bob pointed out the fact that we have always planned prudently to uh mitigate the impact of changes and external forces outside the Burrow's control it it will serve Us in good stead uh I want to acknowledge that a couple members here uh councilman range and councilman Hern pis asked you know do we have to do a 2% tax increase can we make it lower and our CFO listened and said let me go back to the drawing board sharpen the pencils and move things around Eric made some suggestions for how to do that Tom you've pushed for that kind of uh sharp thinking and to it's a testament that we can uh do both of these things we can plan prudently for the future and um and we have an Administration that listens to the council's input and comes up with a budget that can uh have it both ways I think that's amazing and I want to thank you Jim Bernett for leading us uh getting us to this point after this many months long process other comments all right will the uh clerk please read the uh resolution Okay resolution 127 2024 be it resolved by the council members of the Bureau of Madison County of Mars that the budget here and before set forth is hereby adopted and shall constitute an appropriation for the purposes stated of the sums herein set forth has Appropriations and authorizes authorization of the amount of 14, 87253 for municipal purposes 732266 50 for open space Recreation farming and historic preservation trust fund Levy and 1 million 6819 83 for the uh minimum Library txt I have a motion mayor I move resolution 12722 24 resolution of the burough of Madison finally adopting the 2024 budget and tax resolution second any further discussion roll call vote please miss erck yes Mr landrian yes Mr range yes Mr harn pis yes Miss onahan yes Mr Forte yes well good job now uh move on to Communications and petitions n receipt mayor and now we move on to our first of two uh invitations for public comment this one is limited to items on our discussion agenda and the resolutions are part of our consent agenda I will uh go through those items right now and uh go through the guidelines for speaking the uh we have a single agenda discussion it's affordable housing legislative legislation update as we uh look look look towards the next round of affordable housing uh in 2025 and these are the resolutions you may comment on resolution 128 uh thank resolution thanking United States Senator Corey Booker for securing Federal funders funding to save the Drew Forest resolution 129 appointing Johnny Albert Rodriguez to the position of Prince lineman at the salary of $657 resolution 130 resolution approving temporary signs for Madison Education Foundation 5K raise uh now through May 5th resolution 131 granting the integrative uh support network permission to display PL signs and ribbons on the public property to prevent mental health awareness month from May 1st through May 31st uh resolution uh 132 awarding contract to MHS Architects Hoboken for professional architectural services resolution 133 is authorized the application of uh provision of subtitle one title 39 uh to 33 green a Green Village Road and 10 uh Kings Road that is Rose Hall Madison Place that enables the uh enforcement of uh parking um regulations there resolution 134 is approving raffle license for the ambul auxiliary of the Madison volunteer ambulance Corps on November 11th resolution 135 is um approving raffle for the Shakespeare Theater of New Jersey for September 7th and resolution 136 is approving a raffle license for kns of Columbus for June 1st and resolution 137 is authorizing special event permit to allow use of Sommer Hill Park by voice gods of America Patriots pack troop 7 on April 27th so those are the uh resolutions you may comment on those are also the resolutions be part of the consent agenda or you can comment on the affordable housing discussion if you want to comment on those you step up to lecturn state your name and address write the same on the clipboard um we ask you to try to keep your comments at three minutes but we give you that one minute grace period and we'll stop you at four minutes Christine we missed you earlier today so it's great to see you my name is Christine heer and I'm from Hardwick but formerly Madison um I'm commenting on the resolution thanking Corey Booker I want to thank Corey Booker and Mikey Cheryl and really especially you mayor and Council of Madison it I'm incredibly grateful and Incredibly impressed to see volunteer uh public officials who are working hard not just for short-term the short-term good of their Community but the longterm it's it's something else and I would vote for you all if I could um but I I did bring you a little present um after you speak and give it to the clerk no sorry okay just little um thing I made um you can toss it you can put it in your Drew Forest file but I'm I'm here to emphasize one aspect of the drw forest and it's very timely um and this handout I lived next to the Drew Forest practically in it um it really extended into my yard I had a water feature which meant that birds from the canopies of the forest would come down and I could get pretty good pictures this is just a subset this is just warblers cuz I'm here about warblers cuz they don't live here through the summer like many of our other beautiful birds in our backyards in Madison uh they just travel through um you can see them any day now through maybe mid June most people miss them they're tiny they're they're rapid moving they're often high up but they are here in Madison and the Drew Woods I I did a lot of research on the D website uh someplace like Drew Forest is a really important um stopping stopover habitat warblers like our most of our other birds that visit our backyards migrate from very far south they and what warblers do according to the website is they they don't start flying they do various until about midnight they fly at night they stop four or five hours well Before Dawn in the dark they need to find a resting place they are desperately in need of food to restore the fat reserves used up by flying for hours and hours and hours these tiny birds uh they also have to avoid being PR prayed on they also need water source along with the food so and so they'll come down in the dark Before Dawn and hope that what they've spotted is a good habitat for them if it's not they will take off that morning to look for another one and if that's not good they'll look for another one when they find a place like Drew um and the website says that 25 acres of forest is very important is a very great habitat for stopovers for migrating birds so Drew with its over 50 with its half of it being very um rehabbed in terms of with the deer fencing it's got native plants okay um is an especially excellent habitat and research shows that the quality of habitat that migrating birds stops at actually is correlated with whether they survive the migration it's a per perilous time for these Birds um so but I'm really here I mean I'm here because I really care about um the fact that our Birds our migrating birds have been declining seriously and Drew Forest will help them so I I thank all of you and Mikey Cheryl and Cory Booker for what you're doing and the future world blers would would certainly thank you as well okay thank you thank you thank you anyone else wishing to welcome good to see you again I'm Alan Swanson I'm the chair of the uh lone taka group of the Sierra Club one of the 12 groups uh in newers Jersey and I am also here to comment on the um Drew forest and the the activity today was excellent and if you could just State your address minimally your town my I I 47 Overhill Road um I I it's Summit addressed but I live in New Providence um thank you and uh the the resolution and the activities and the resolution on um Native plants and what you're doing with the affordable housing are a reason why the Lona group and the executive committee um wants me to present the following the L taka group of the New Jersey chapter of the Sierra Club recognizes the outstanding achievements of the Bureau of Madison New Jersey Madison has demonstrated unparalleled leadership in the planning and implementation of actions designed to address the increasing climate CL change crisis facing our region nation and Planet Madison its citizens and their leaders have set an example of what can be accomplished at the local level to encourage citizens to take positive actions to improve our environment the Lona group of the New Jersey chapter of the Sierra Club is honored to have Madison within the group's region the work completed by the citizen volunteers to achieve the current level of accomplishments in Madison is outstanding their dedication and hard work serve as one of the finest examples of the collaboration a collaborative effort of Citizens Community leaders and government their work is being used across the state in numerous communities striving to emulate the example of Madison lanaka Group representing nearly all of Mars and Union counties and a few neighboring communities extends our gratitude for the example your residents and you the leadership have provided New Jersey i' I'd like to make a couple of other comments I have to apologize i' I have had I ey surgery and I'm having a little trouble reading it the Sierra Club is very big on Grassroots efforts they provide the national office provides webinars and and guide books on how to go about developing Grassroots efforts to make a change and what I say to them is come to Madison the Sierra Club is a 501c4 organization we take political position one minute we take political positions we support candidates who represent the planet and the environment and what I say to them when they're looking for the right kinds of people to do that come to Madison and and Everywhere I Go people say to me where's the example of what we can do what we can do to make a difference in our town and I say come to Madison to them everywhere I go in the state I say to the executive committee finally let me say I'm going to jump ahead in honor of uh Earth Day and um Earth versus plastic uh something I do as a distraction is I actually paint believe it or not produce bags that are made of cotton and what I have given clerk Osborne is a packet of about 20 of them and they have the the Madison logo I paint them um and uh it's a great little distraction in my we're we're out of time but thank you so much pass these on to you and I really appreciate very much everything that you do thank you for your comments anyway else to comment on resolutions or agenda items thank you hi uh CLA whitcom 12 Fairwood Road um I wanted to comment on the uh resolution to thank Cory Booker because I'm really glad that this resolution is going forward because the event today was stunning it was like a who's who of elected officials the only person who wasn't there was Cory Booker and so um you know it's really great to honor him there was so many environmental groups um you know the sier club just you name it they're all there there were elected officials from Mountain Lakes parcion um it is like everybody on the aquafer was here in Madison and it was it was a very moving event and um I want to thank you know the Michael pessier and the town organized a topnotch um event it was crisp it was great and um as Judy koll said Thank you to the council for listening and listening and listening to us thank you thank you anyone else wishing to comment on the resolutions or the agenda item seeing none I close this part of the meeting we now uh move on to our agenda discussion Beth mcmanis our planner uh on uh affordable housing issues is going to give us an update where we are and where we're going thank you very much mayor as you said my name is Beth mcmanis I'm the bur's affordable housing planner next so today I have uh two topics that I'm going to share with the burrow uh the first one is simply an update of our third round housing plan and so this slide here represents a a very brief overview of what's including included in the plan and it identifies our three affordable housing obligations that are set forth in our adopted third round plan the first one is on the right the blue circle on the right is the rehabilitation obligation this is 21 units and it is an estimate of the number of deficient housing units in the burrow that are occupied by low and moderate income houses and that's that satisfaction is ongoing through participation in a County rehabilit program plus a supplementary Municipal program that is available for renter households as is required by the law the second component of the obligation is referred to as a prior round obligation and that is the affordable housing obligation from 1987 through 1999 that is 86 housing units and then the third round obligation uh which is the uh the center and the left circle is that figure is 500 housing units and that is for the time period from 1999 through 2025 and what's really important to understand about that 500 unit obligation is that the burrow received what's referred to as a vacant land adjustment and that is a uh recognition set forth in the applicable affordable housing rules that says communities like Madison simply don't have enough vacant and developable land to meet meet that obligation to provide the 500 housing units plus additional market rate housing to support those and so the burrow went through the specified process and adjusted the number down to two broke it down into two figures the first is the 147 unit RDP that's a realistic development potential and that is a reflection of the amount of vacant and developable land that was available during the third round it's ultimately an academic exercise but that is the downward adjusted number that the burrow must meet through variety of mechanisms the remaining obligation the 147 minus 500 or 353 units that is the unmet need and that obligation need not be met in the same way with a one for one account in the sense that one unit to satisfy each one unit of unmet need rather municipalities need to make an adequate effort through typically Zone Provisions to satisfy that obligation to create opportunities where they arise and so the Burrow's third round plan sets forth each of these three components and how they were satisfied next and so ultimately the the headline with the third round I want to be clear about is and that is that the Zoning for the uh for the prior round obligation the Zoning for the third round obligation is all in place all of those zoning changes were done in 2021 or earlier but in addition to zoning changes to meet that obligation the burrow also relied heavily on existing affordable housing units Surplus units that had been developed previously that we could Ed to satisfy a portion of that third round obligation and for the the outstanding obligation that which we didn't have Surplus units the buau primarily relied upon amendments to existing zoning in order order to create the opportunity for affordable housing uh or the uh the most prominent project of course is the 100% affordable housing project on Walnut and Community Place the old Civic Center site that that site of course will hold about 43 affordable units and I would say that is as I said it's the most prominent uh in the community in addition in order to make sure that we're always capturing opportunities for affordable housing where they arise the B also adopted a mandatory set asde ordinance and that simply requires that if a developer gets approval for let's say a new apartment building where it's not permitted it requires that that developer provide affordable housing so if they are able to achieve approval through the zoning board for example it simply indicates that the developer must create affordable housing so that the burrow is always doing everything it can to meet that obligation which is going to grow next and so what we have on this is this slide is simply our affordable housing map that is included in our housing plan so this is an adopted map and I think what this shows is that the burrow has selected sites that's all of the uh the letters and numbers identified on the map either sites or zoning changes the burough selected sites that are largely concentrated within our downtown or within uh either a non-residential district or an existing multif family District as opposed to uh our single family zones which the best efforts were made to keep new development and new intensity out of those areas but like I said uh this is simply an update to our third round plan that plan was adopted and it was actually approved by the court and at this time we and most other communities in the state are starting to look toward that fourth round OB allegation because next we have a very significant Amendment to the New Jersey fair housing act that was passed not too long ago and so the headline for the fourth round if you will is that it's two things one COA has been abolished that's the Council on affordable housing that state agency has officially been eliminated through this law and the second is that the court process for securing obl Municipal affordable housing obligations approvals of our housing plans has been formalized now the change is a very significant departure from what we see listed or printed on our fair housing act however the change is not that different in practice because the Council on affordable housing has really not been functioning for for more than a decade at this point and municipalities including Madison have already worked through a court process to receive approval of our housing plan but while they those two uh very significant issues are not that new there are a number of additional process changes set forth in this law um while the Council on affordable housing which was a state uh a part of the state agency Department of Community Affairs has been abolished I will say that the Department of Community Affairs or DCA will continue of uh a lesser role in affordable housing in that they will be in charge of monitoring and regulating Municipal affordable housing trust funds other items to know is that while the court process has been formalized and so it sets forth new rules for municipalities how they would interact with the courts how our plans will be approved it also sets forth new rules for developers and gives them not only guidance for how to uh how to participate in a municipal housing plan approval process but also it gives them additional opportunities to uh to to uh set forth uh their interest in properties and to uh either assist or potentially disrupt the municipality's approval process additionally while we have this new court process which has really been focused around the creation of a program referred to as the affordable housing dispute program often referred to as the program uh we also have uh continued participation in Superior court and so for those objections those plans that are unable to uh to receive approval through the program due to objections from developers or other interested parties uh those those municipalities will still go through the court process more similar to what we see today with Superior Court judges and so that that's another layer of uh of the process that has been set forth in the new Fair Housing Act in the third round most of our efforts were focused along around uh excuse me securing a settlement agreement either uh in this case with fair housing fair share housing center and in many other communities they secured settlement agreements with multiple developers and that was done in order to uh more quickly Advance the process and get through to the point of receiving an approval of a housing element and fair share plan in this case in the fourth round I expect there will still be settlement agreements but I also expect significantly less Reliance on them because we no longer need to secure a settlement agreement for example with fair share housing center in order to uh secure benefit of uh immunity from Builders remedy litigation or to provide uh Clarity in the steps in the process uh since now we have the Fair Housing Act which sets forth clearly when a municipality and how a municipality can obtain uh immunity from Builder remedy litigation and also uh provides additional Clarity in the steps in the process as compared to the third round and so these process changes this slide provides a very brief overview of them um but as I said I think the headline is we're no longer going to uh even wish to work with the Council on affordable housing since that agency has been abolished and instead we have a a series of steps laid out in the ACT to secure uh our plan approval from the courts there are a number of significant deadlines and while these might seem rather far away I can assure you all that they're going to creep up on us rather quickly the first deadline is October 20th and that is actually for the Department of Community Affairs while I said that they yes they've been abolished as COA they'll be regulating our affordable housing trust funds one of the other roles that they do have is they're going to set forth Municipal affordable housing obligations they will take the methodology the information in the fair housing act and calculate an affordable housing obligation for every single municipality however that obligation is not binding upon municipalities My Hope Is that it's done well it's done accurately and towns can rely upon it but I think it's worth noting that it's not binding instead by January 31st of next year municipalities have to adopt a resolution that states this is what we believe our affordable housing obligation to be and while we were as as you may recall we were a vacant land adjustment community in the third round I want to be clear that that vacant land adjustment is not part of the January 31st resolution it's just simply what is our total fourth round obligation there is an opportunity for objectors to state that they find that the municipality has inaccurately calculated affordable housing obligation they have to do so by February 28th so they have about a month to do so and then the program the affordable housing dispute program has about a month in order to resolve that affordable housing obligation uh objection and if there's no objection the uh obligation would be set forth uh by March 1st and so with hope we'll know by March 1st what our what our affordable housing obligation is and so this is the first tranch so to speak of deadlines I will say what follows is of course submission of a housing element and fair share plan and that is by June 30th of 2025 next and so very briefly what Our obligation will be composed of is a recalculated rehabilitation obligation again that's the number of substandard units in the burrow occupied by low and moderate inome households it's simp an estimate not a literal count that number will be recalculated part of what the Department of Community Affairs releases we also will have our prior round and our third round obligations again at 86 and 500 respectively those numbers will not change our fourth round obligation of course that will uh be committed to by the municipality by uh not later than uh end of January next year I expect that Madison will continue to be a vacant land adjustment community meaning that we will have an RDP that must be satisfied and we will have an unmet need for which we must make efforts to create opportunities for more specifically for our RDP that's our realistic development potential we have to fully satisfy with projects that are certain projects that we know will happen because the zoning is adequate in terms of an economic incentive and or because we have an agreement with a developer to const construct the units there's much more Nuance than that but that's the the overview of of the RDP and its required certainty we will also be able to use any existing affordable housing units that are unnecessary for a prior round or third round obligations and then the two most common methods for satisfying an RDP is through inclusionary zoning that's a mix of market rate and affordable units typically at a 20% satisfi So 20% of the total units are affordable and then the other option is a 100% affordable housing project similar to what the burrow is uh currently has under construction at the old Civic Center site our unmet need uh as I said we need not satisfy every unit of the unmet need however this new Fair Housing Act has a a new twist to it with the unmet need and that is that municipality must satisfy 25% of the unmet need on sites that are uh likely to develop or redevelop I will say that if we are unable to identify 25% or sites equivalent to 25% we have the opportunity to tell the court why it is that that's not possible but the expectation I Su will be that municipalities get to 25% in addition to that the the same mechanisms that are most common for RDP are also most common for unmet need that's inclusionary housing as well as 100% affordable housing although I will say with unmet need inclusion Area Housing is far more common than 100% next and of course for meeting our RDP we also will continue to have access to bonus credits these are uh incentive credits if you will that you can use to meet up to 25% of your RDP for types of affordable housing that the state wants to uh incentivize such as special needs housing market to Affordable which is conversion of a market rate unit to an affordable unit again 100% affordable housing sites sites within a half mile of Transit uh senior units to a to a limited extent there are uh couple of rules applicable to senior housing and uh also Redevelopment of commercial sites under certain scenarios can generate bonus credits and so I would expect that Madison will do its best to take advantage of every bonus credit that may be available to it but again that's only available for the RDP next and so in summary um for the fourth round we know we're going to have an increased affordable housing obligation every town is going to get a fourth round I expect that we're still going to be that vacant land adjustment Community uh we will meet our RDP with certain projects we will satisfy our unmet need through uh zoning and perhaps other mechanisms but at a minimum we'll need to find ways to meet 25% of that unmet need and in terms of timing um we will have to commit to to Our obligation by January 31st and ultimately submit a housing plan that satisfies that obligation by June 30th of next year and so we have a little bit more than a year to uh to really wrap all of this process up and as I said at the beginning I think that sounds like a long time but it's going to go very quickly uh and the last thing I want to say about this new Fair Housing Act is there are a thousand questions I have there are probably 3,000 questions all of you have and it is just simply too early to be able to answer even half of those questions and so I think a lot more information is going to come we know the Judiciary is going to have to issue rules on how the program works that will certainly answer hopefully a lot of our questions but uh we're at the beginning stages of this and more information should be available and I'll be certain to share that with the council thank you great um I pretty much have been living this for quite a while and still as I've said it makes my head spin but as you laid it out certainly clarifies it a lot but also creates those thousands of questions uh and um you know M Madison has been trying to take the lead well for one we have always taken the lead and providing affordable housing as a moral not legal obligation but we also trying to take a lead right now and to try to make sure um whether it's through amendments to this law or through interpretation that it it does exactly what it uh is intended to do deliver high quality affordable housing without um poor planning and uh poor development other questions or comments from the council Eric and I know we don't want to get too bogged down in hypotheticals but since the 20% inclusion area is one of the key metrics of or key strategies [Music] in in meeting Our obligation I just think it's important that should the number of affordable housing units that we're uh required to build in the next round was 250 the 20% number would be 1,50 total housing units need to be built in m to get us if it's all inclusionary we do no no 100% affordable projects Etc so that is 1,50 new housing units that need to be built in our little couple of square miles here to meet a 250 affordable housing obligation and that's over the next 10 years um so the round goes from 2025 to 2035 so I just think the the impact and that 250 number is a little hypothetical it could be more it could be less um but the this is a a huge impact to our community that's coming down the pike for sure and was that hypothetic example that would be a 20 to 25% growth in number of households in Madison exactly other comments or questions Rachel I I just want to say that I'm heartened somewhat by or very heartened by the great planning practices Madison has put in place so far we've been focused on Smart development focusing new development downtown where we would like to have density uh more foot traffic more you know customers to our stores and restaurants more people using Transit and shy it away from developing the outskirts of town where it doesn't make so much sense to add density but there's going to have to be a renewed commitment to the principles of smart development in terms of easing congestion thinking about ways that we can still have a high quality of life in a livable town as our density is required to increase in the next 10 years and that is something that I'm personally really focused on how can we reduce car traffic how can we make sure that the quality of life stays high for the people that have come here um for all the great things Madison has to offer so we on Council will be challenged the administration um you know councils in the future will be challenged uh so that's kind of what I had in mind when I alluded to external forces that we're going to be facing in the coming years but I think we have a great track record so far and we're just going to have to redouble our commitment to good planning practices thank you any other comments or questions thank you very much Beth for carving out the time and uh doing excellent presentation thank you very much and we'll have these slides available on rosenet for people in the audience want to follow it up we now move on for ordinance for hearing will the clerk please read the statement the ordinance schedule for hearing was introduced by title and pass the first reading at the regular meeting of the council held on April the 8th 2024 was posted and filed according to law and copies were made available to the general public requesting SE I call up ordinance 12224 for second reading ask the clerk to read set ordinance by title ordinance 12 2024 ordinance of the burough of Madison amending chapter 166 6 section 35 of the buau code entitled streets and sidewalks regarding determination of hazardous conditions anyone wishing I open the hearing for anyone wishing to comment on ordinance 1224 anyone wishing to comment on it please step forward seeing none I close the hearing mayor I move ordinance 12-22 second any counc discussion roll call vote Please Mr ER yes Mr landrian yes Mr range yes Mr harmis yes M Hanahan yes Mr Forte yes I declare ordinance 12- 2024 adopted and finally passed and ask the clerk to publish notice there of News newspaper and file the ordinance accordance with the law we now move on to our second of uh invitation for public comment this is when you may comment on any topic again same guidelines are in place step up to lecturn state your name and address write the same on the clipboard uh try to keep your comments to three minutes uh but uh uh we will give you that one minute grace and uh stop you at four minutes and as is practice we will hold any uh comments or uh answer the questions to the uh end after we close the comment period anyone wishing to comment please step forward good evening mayor and Council my name is Gretchen Sinha and I'm a resident of Madison at 19 Crescent Road I'm here today representing the Garden Club of Madison who's also a member one of 200 clubs Across America a member of the Garden Club of America um dear mayor Conley and members of the board the Garden Club of Madison is happy to support the proposed native plant ordinance as Avid gardeners we recognize the importance and beauty of native native plants and we incorporate them in our own Gardens we are aware that the biodiversity of our planet is in crisis the planning of natives is becoming increasingly vital not only not only for our own Gardens but also for the local environment as we all begin to experience the effects of climate change and seasonal shifts it is noteworthy that the benefits of native plants as described in the proposed ordinance are fully recognized by The Garden Club of America of which I stated we're a member these benefits are summarized on gca's website as follows native plant root systems help stabilize and control erosion moderate floods reduce runoff during heavy rains filter water reduce water needed for landscape maintenance and sequester carbon native plants do all this and more because they have evolved over thousands of years alongside the native bees birds and wildlife they're complex relationship with fauna is extremely specialized and it cannot be substituted with exotic non-native plants a significant number of North American Native species including insects caterpillars birds and other animals are at risk of extinction because they cannot eat non-native plants in addition to habitat loss the use of invasive species climate change and pesticide use are contributing to their steep decline to help support Wildlife many more native plants need to be planted in varying Bloom times shapes and colors we are hopeful the proposed native plant ordinance will be implemented by The Bureau and Council and we look forward to working together to promote the appropriate use of native vegetation on Municipal properties so I'm here today to support the ordinance on behalf of the Garden Club of Madison and its 84 members strong thank you thank you Gretchen and that ordinance is up for introduction and next item on the on the agenda good evening everyone um I'm Jocelyn cahun of bar barnesdale in Madison I was here to also comment on ordinance 13 2024 concerning the native plants um I support having an ordinance to encourage the native plantings and I offer some relevant observations some of you may know that I moov plants from the Civic Center train to the train station in 20122 before the building was demolished the native plants moved included many purple cone flowers some from our garden originally and blackeyed Susans the non-natives were stelladoro Dees ciles liir OPI great pin and the DPW move the aelas all these plants grew very well at the Civic Center even though the deer wandered through often I saw them when I was gardening at the train station however some plants have done well the caniles by the cafe are fine the row of aelas on the east side is fine some have not fared so well because in addition to the bees and the birds that love them so does a large rabbit so sadly only two of the 25 sorry two of the 15 cone flowers planted on the east side have any green leaves visible and may not flower this year the rabbit mowed down the others the blackeyed Susans behind the patio are growing but were half eaten Last Summer the rabbit grazes on the day lies in the gray pin and demolish two wood asers I planted last fall as a test don't plant rasters in contrast on the west side but near the Mullins bench the 12 cone flowers and other plants are doing just fine so the fauna does make a difference I try to deter the nibbling by regularly spraying deer out on the susceptible plants and this did allow the great pyin to bloom and they look lovely now keep in mind that some of the native plants can be sort of invasive the milk weed spreads by fluffy seeds like dandelions and thistles so beware uh cut off the pods if you want to limit spread so my suggestions when implementing an ordinance such as this are when choosing the native plants not only look at soil conditions sun exposure water availability but resident Wildlife Also may require a survey Define what is native different Native Plant sites offer different lists as to what is native for New Jersey start with a few of a native plant if they do well plant more don't spend a lot of money on a huge number if they're going to get eaten uh you'll need watering obviously during the first month when it's very hot and regular waiting almost year round a fence may be needed on selected plantings that in certain areas also consider adopting uh adopting a program of adopt a garden which may help volunteers uh help with the maintenance and the watering and lastly keep a record of what grows but also what does not grow so that the same mistake is not made thank you thank you very much Jocelyn and thank you for your care at the train station hello um I'm Lydia Chambers and I live at 87 milberg Road in Harding New Jersey I'm a member of the Madison the Garden Club of Madison and as such um I'm serving currently in a two-year term as um the vice chair of native plants for the Garden Club of America and in this in this role I work on um Pro promoting native plants Nationwide and um I just wanted to talk a little bit about it I wanted to wish you all happy native plant month because actually April is native plant month in 45 States across the United States already this year um and we're working on getting all 50 five states have passed permanent uh legislation to make Native Plant month um you know in effect every single year so New Jersey is one of those States so we our governor has already and our legislature has already voted on the importance of native plants and the importance of reminding the public of native about native plants so um this year so we have the Garden Club of America has representatives in all 50 states working to pass these proclamations resolutions or legislation to promote native plants and it's why are they doing this they're really doing this because it's important to the Garden Club of America has acknowledged that there is an incredible biodiversity crisis as you can see from the lack of insects the lack of birds and um and we know we're losing a lot of habitat so it's very important to them and they're putting a lot of their effort Nationwide on this on this initiative and um the Senate has also so the United States Senate has passed a proclamation has passed a um resolution it was declaring that April is native plant month uh for the United States and the house is considering it they haven't completed that for who knows why um so every why is everyone doing this it's all about raising awareness and getting people to think about nature and getting people to learn and think about how it works and also understanding that you can everybody can make a difference you can make a difference towards improving the environment and natural habitats on your own in your own yard or in town um so I want to say um I was inspired to encourage this ordinance by what Mikey Cheryl is doing because she's doing a building na native habitats at Federal facilities bill it's a bipartisan bill and I thought why why doesn't New Jersey do that and then of course why doesn't Madison do that and there are other towns doing it um mendum is one of one of the towns it's it's a rare bipartisan um topic um trying to do something simple to improve the environment that everybody can um everybody can actually do so that's it thank you very much thank you lyia anyone else wishing to comment please step forward see okay uh bark lab 62 Kings Road good evening everyone and members of our community I stand before you today with a heart filled with gratitude and a voice echoing the sentiments of unity and Justice thank you to each resident each business and every individual who has supported us your supportting present are the pillars that uphold us in our pursuit of fairness the recent decision by the Bureau of Madison to divide our Union into two separate bargaining units has left us deeply saddened the PBA and the S SOA have always stood together negotiating as one unified Force our history our contracts they all reflected our Unity as a single bargaining unit why this sudden Separation The Reason remains a mystery the assumption is the blatant attempt to bankrupt the PBA into a contract rest assured we have been financially prepared for this day in the PBA we are not merely we are not merely colleagues we are a family a family Bound by shared purpose unwavering dedication and a commitment to serving and protecting our community because of what you have put us through the sense of closeness and kinship Among Us has never been stronger and our connection to the residence of Madison has never been more profound Madison is not just a town it is a unique Community distinguished by its values its spirit and its way of doing things we operate in our own distinctive manner setting us apart from neighboring towns our form of government is a burrow structure where the council is responsible for the burrow yet it feels like you have allowed it to become a city-like government form where you have delegated the executive authorities to an administrator that is not how this government was structured although this reflects her Evolution and growth as a municipality does not reflect how the go governing body was intended to be run I encourage you mayor and Council to speak to the surrounding governing bodies and ask if our Burrows being governed the correct way as we look towards the future of the PBA we envision a path that Embraces fairness respect and opportunity for all the current challenges the lack of incentives the non-competitive positions they do not Define us we aspire to move forward to invest in our agency's future to cultivate strong leaders and to provide a supportive environment for growth and Excellence I want to express my appreciation for the dedication and effort you put into addressing housing energy and sustainability issues your commitment is truly commendable while I admire the work being done in these areas I would like to bring your attention to the importance of also focusing on the well-being of the employees here in Madison as the individuals who contribute to the success and vibrancy of our town it is essential that their voices and concerns are heard and addressed we are the number one place to live but why can't we be the number one place to work I encourage you to submit a survey to these employees and release the survey to the residents in this town in light of transparency and accountability let the public see how each employee feels employed here at the burrow our plea is not just for ourselves but for every employee who contributes to the safy and wellbeing of this town we ask for acknowledgement appreciation and fair treatment it is not about money it is about recognition about valuing the dedication and hard work of every individual who serves this community with pride and integrity we must address the gaps the shortcomings the oversights that undermine the foundation of our agency let us come together let us listen let us understand the concerns and aspirations of every employee only through genuine dialogue and mutual respect can we Forge a path towards a better more inclusive workplace the positions here in Madison with no incentives for these young men and women who serve within the burrow to stay employed and grow into strong leaders and role models for the community as the burrow experiences growth and Redevelopment it is crucial that we invest in the future of our agency by nurturing and developing strong leaders and decision makers within our ranks the current lack of incentives and investment in our Personnel could lead to a detrimental situation where we may have to Outsource our leadership positions partment time thank you Vincent to landro 62 Kings Road I'm going to start off for sergeant glab let off which would not be in the best interest of the residents of our city is essential that we recognize and value value the Irreplaceable knowledge and experience of our Command Staff and provide them with the support they need to excel in their roles I urge you to reconsider the recent decisions to eliminate a captain's position downsizing command structure not offering Equitable pay along with no future promotions these actions are not condu conducive to the growth and sustainability of urgency a fair and Equitable contract along with competitive compensation package is not just a necessity but a must if we are to secure the future of our agency ensure the safety and wellbeing of the residents we serve I implore you to take immediate action and invest in the future of our agency by supporting and empowering our Personnel become the strong leaders and role models that our community deserves to the leaders and decision makers of this town I extend an invitation to engage to collaborate and to work towards a common goal of empowerment and unity our doors are open our voices are ready to be heard and our commitment to our residents and our duty remains at wavering in honor of public telecommunicators week I want to take a moment to extend my appreciation to the communication staff of the Madison police department it is essential to recognize their dedicated efforts and commitments to their roles however I would like to bring to your attention an important aspect that was overlooked in the recent appreciation post at the governing body posted in social media it is crucial to acknowledge and thank the communication staff for their hard work and dedication especially considering the challenges they have faced while working short-handed for the past year they have shown remarkable resilience and professionalism in managing their responsibilities despite the shortage of Staff they must deal with is important to Express gratitude for their efforts in doing more with less and for their continued dedication to serving the community furthermore I would like to highlight the contributions of the PBA members who have taken on additional responsibilities to cover shifts and duties that remain unfilled due to Staffing shortages that plague the Communication Center because we can't offer competitive pay to attract quality candidates you eliminated police positions for communications positions and every time fill that seat with a police position that is one less officer protecting and serving it is essential to acknowledge the sacrifices and efforts made by these men and women to maintain operational efficiency because we cannot recruit and retain for vacancies I urge you to consider the impact of Staffing shortages on a morale and Effectiveness and to explore ways to address these challenges proactively your recognition and support are crucial in fostering a positive work environment and ensuring the well-being of the dedicated individuals who serve our community as we navigate through mediation and arbitration these next few weeks I hold on to the hope that a resolution can be reached that understanding and fairness will prevail that one of you will ultimately break to Rose City silence and show these men and women that you as council do have a say in decisions involving this town We Stand United determined to uphold our responsibilities to serve with compassion and dedication and to seek the respect and appreciation that every employee deserves in closing I make a promise half of dedic dedicated men and women of the PBA we will continue to care for residents to fulfill our duties and to advocate for fairness and respect let us strive for a better future a future where every employee is valued appreciated and treated with dignity they deserve thank you and may our Collective efforts lead us towards a bright tomorrow for all let the May council meeting be nothing more than the passing of a resolution ratifying the contract thank you evening my name is Kevin Marfa je New Jersey said my name is Kevin mfka I'm currently employed as a police officer in the township of botin prior to my employment there I was an officer in the Madison police department I was hired in the start of 2015 at a salary of just over $40,000 and I resigned from the agency in the end of December 2015 after just under a year of employment when I was first hired there in the mass Police Department I thought that I hit a home run I'd be working in a beautiful town and one of the nicest Public Safety complexes in moris County with a great group of men and women though as the months went by even as a young 21-year-old and I was a rookie patrolman I could see that the attrition issues the turnover rate and the ear term War within the agency were not caused by the employees of the police department but instead the administrator Ray mcody the same administrator who spearheaded negotiations against the PBA for the terrible 2014 contract which took the department from a 9-year contract to a 15-year contract lowering starting pay from $48,990 to $484 an $8,000 loss to officers who were starting off with this agency to try and stop bleeding Ray Cody tried to come up with an agreement between new officers in the town as a monetary intimidation factor to not leave the department this was outside of the signed 2014 collective bargaining agreement with the PBA after I resigned I was advised that I owed the burrow $5,000 as per this agreement even though Bo and Township had reimbursed the burrow for any cost that they incurred through my training so when I told them I would not be paying the penalty what did Ray Cody do well he sued me here's the entire file documentation that I kept from this lawsuit that took two and a half years out of my life as a young man right Ray Cody spearheaded the lawsuit against a 21y old kid making $40,000 just to make a point and try and scare other officers from leaving this agency well I didn't scare it easily and I decided I would stand up for myself and other officers I worked with in court against the burrow during the initial lawsuit I rang up a cost of just under $122,000 in legal fees the case took a few months but my lawyers and I ended up winning the case against the burrow and Superior Court the burrow and raay wouldn't stop there though and they appealed the rule and back to court I went for almost another year during the appeals process I incurred an additional cost of $14,500 in legal fees so in total I owed my lawyer 2,000 or $26,500 a whole lot more than the 5,000 that the bur was coming after me but we still won and for me it was out of spite and in the words of the appeals judge directly from the docket clearly seeking to compel disordinate of a $5,000 lumpsum payment from a 21-year-old police officer to reduce his gross yearly earnings to $ 36566 is not reasonable it reflects an attempt to recoup over three paychecks or 6 weeks of his net compensated earnings furthermore the $5,000 lump sump penalty currently payable is clearly disproportionate to a net $5,000 retention stien that was payable over 5 years from now ruling in favor of mar hefra on this issue now here I stand almost 9 years later after my employment with the bur and what has changed absolutely nothing I was here months ago trying to negotiate with theba as well we uh cuz they were negotiating with the same administrator and the mayor as they did back in 2014 when I was here and here we are again with the S SOI in the same position I honestly don't understand how the burough Council cannot clearly see the main issue here seems to be administrator Ray Cody and his overbearing need to complete control of the bur of Madison and his inability to maybe retire and gave up his $1,264 th000 or $264 salary the bir would rather spend taxpayer dollars on legal fees of their own to sue a 21-year-old kid and former police officer and overpay administrator's position instead of honestly negotiating a fair contract with the Madison PBA and SOI if I was a lot of more time I could go on all night but at the end of the day these officers put their lives on the line day in and day out to protect every person in this building and the members of the Madison residents they've earned their thre to be compensated appropriately for doing so and to not negotiate in good faith yeah you should all be ashamed of yourselves honestly so thank you for your time [Applause] [Applause] good evening I appreciate the Applause we always the guideline here is since not everyone receives Applause and we certainly don't want to boo anyone we encourage people not to applaud at all I know sometimes we get overwhelmed but uh let's move on next next speaker thank you good evening Wayne Shivers 6 Lana I'm here today as a concerned taxpayer and a member of this community it pains me to witness the current situation unfolding within our town regarding the treatment and compensation of the dedicated men and women who serve in our Police Department as a taxpayer I struggle to comprehend the reasons behind the decisions that have led to the to the devaluation of our Law Enforcement Officers these individuals who work Tire tirelessly to ensure our safety and well-being are the backbone of our community they are the reason we can sleep soundly at night knowing that they are on duty protecting us with unwavering dedication it baffles me why why there is a reluctance to acknowledge the invaluable contribution of these officers and compensate them fairly in comparison to their counterparts in neighboring communities they are not just employees they are the essence of what makes our town a safe and welcoming place to live the notion of nickel and diming these essential assets is not only disrespectful but also detrimental to the fabric of our community the revolving door of officers leaving for better opportunities elsewhere speaks volumes about the lack of recognition and appreciation they receive here why must we continue to be a stepping stone for officers who seek respect and fair treatment elsewhere the unnecessary expedent on litigation and a strain of going through such disputes could be avoided if we simply chose to value and compensate these men and women appropriately we have the capability to do so to acknowledge their worth and to ensure that they feel respected and supported in their roles I urge you to break the silence to address the concerns raised about the treatment of our law enforcement officers and to take proactive steps towards rectifying the disparities that exist let us come together as a community that values and respects those who dedicate their lives to keeping us safe thank you for taking the time to consider my concerns I hope that you can work together towards a positive resolution that upholds the integrity and importance of our Police Department dep thank you thank you Jim finel for Jan Street I come here as a representative of DPW I'm the shops Le for the Bureau of Madison DPW for the last 12 plus years and about negotiating committee 20 years prior uh at the last Contra last uh monthly meeting uh Mr Jacobi said that all the the other unions agreed to a contract and we did not DPW did not agree to a contract which you should all know you passed an ordinance sorry resolution imposing the contract of the DPW so we did not come to an agreement uh and then uh then Mr zobe had I guess lost his mind when he was saying how he repeatedly said they had an arbitrator ready to negotiate with the police said it four or five times then amazingly enough that's the arbitrator that was awarded to to the to the discrepancy between the SOA and the burough of Madison so the burrow got what they wanted there the other question I have to ask because it just baffles me to stand here and watch this is how when you come up here a public comment the mayor turns into a time clock and you six people sit there and say absolutely nothing whose idea was that there's no no response you can't say anything you can't ask anything you just let people sit here and waste their time talking to you yet you don't even pay attention it just doesn't make sense at all you're appointed here you're elected by by the public and yet when someone comes up here and says something none of you have anything to say not a question to ask not any kind of clarity at all I ran for Council twice if this is what it was to sit here and not be able to say what I want to say I'm glad I didn't make it thank you very much good evening May Council police work's very dangerous we don't there's no white picket around matter oh name and address oh sorry Gerald Manton one Highland Avenue Madison um it's extremely dangerous I had to stand here and read o the officers kill line of duty which I did in 1991 in Washington DC at the national law enforcements Memorial I'd be here for 36 hours without a break in the last 10 days seven police officers were killed that doesn't exclude me it can't happen in Madison does not exclude that there's an officer right here his first year he's lucky he's standing here if he didn't hesitate one extra second to get out of the car to return a driver's license to a driver at the intersection of Brook Lake and Maine we'd have a police funeral he'd be on the wall one second a split second that car came by and took that police car door right off I watched that video 100 times I had a council woman watched that video it could happen the governor of New York went to a funeral I don't know if you saw it type it in when you get a chance the relationship with that governor and and the NYPD is not good because NYPD PBA I want to meet the guy was detailed to stand outside and turn the Govern away what kind of relationship is that is that a good relationship with police that was horrible then I watched that and said are we hitting for that is our relationship between Council and the police department over a simple negotiation are we in that are we in that stage because if we are we got to get out of it tomorrow there's a mediation I'm requesting that Council encourage the burrow to get into that meeting and make a settlement this is no big thing I learned a lot from coming to C meetings last two meetings this is a well-run town I haven't been to a meeting in a long time just like all other taxpayers they come here when there's a concern but this is every everything that ran ran perfect the budget thank you Jim Beret to Drew Forest I'm I I worked at Drew I walked at Forest in 1980s a security officer I'm glad it was saved the work that got put into that amazing $9 million already housing I was a housing commissioner we have the best housing around why can't we get into a meeting with one captain two lieutenants one lucky to be alive 20 years ago and five sergeants I know the money's there it's not even about the money it's just about fairness and a fair contract and let I encourage and petition the council speak up don't say you're not getting involved don't say and I just have one last question and I known Matt chobe for years and and I like Matt he's a police supporter okay in other areas and he is here but I urge him or ask him now is there any ordinance or state law that says a council member can't talk to bur employee I direct that question to Matt as a taxpayer and either you can email me or answer tonight but I urge you to talk to these police officers and let's get it done tomorrow thanks for your time thank you anyone else wishing to comment seeing none I close this part of the meeting and again uh thank you for the comments and uh I'll ask uh Matt just outline two things one the uh next steps as we uh go into tomorrow but the other is to clarify the um confusion around the captain position which is not being eliminated it's just whether it's yeah um I had good luck with Brian kronic uh he worked very effectively with uh the Milburn um uh in Milburn dealing with them he came out and did it and it takes away the pressure of the timeline when you file for arbitration with the Public imployment Relation commission so I I I presented it when we met back in the fall uh to Thea's Council and then I followed up with five emails and then after no response I wrote a letter said if you're not going to respond I have to file for arbitration no response so I filed for arbitration and luck as luck would have it guess who got appointed Brian kronic the same person that I offered to have come out and do it voluntarily um second the Cap's position is not being eliminated that's just a fallacy in um New Jersey Law police departments are par paramilitary structures the reason why they're separated and many many towns have separate units this town has had separate units there PBA which is the police officers you have the S SOA which are the superior officers and typically captains and Chiefs are not in the S SOA because they often in the absence of the chief the captain is the acting chief he is the chief la enforcement officer whenever the chief isn't here the captain actually is also the head of the internal affairs unit just so everyone knows Internal Affairs what do they do they investigate allegations of wrongdoing by police officers so if a citizen makes a complaint if uh a fellow police officer makes a complaint the internal affairs officer in this case the captain does the investigation and makes recommendations for discipline and so the reason that they're not in the same unit is it's very difficult to discip one of your fellow union members and so there's two ways of doing it we can do it voluntarily or you can file what's known as a unit clarification petition with perk and they'll remove the person we're asking for that title to be removed from this barg unit not abolishing the title Captain Longo is here Captain Longo is going to stay captain Longo is remaining the internal affairs uh officer but it's not appropriate for that individual to be in the same bargain it with the very people that he could be investigating and supervising in so I think that that clarifies it tomorrow we're hopeful that um uh it's productive and if it's not there's a very tight time frame uh with perk the decision has to issue by middle of June so if we don't have a u a resolution by tomorrow at 4 p.m. uh we're going to be having dates and probably be going to hearing within the next two weeks so that's where we are mat and just for some of the other questions about uh some of you were here for the first time tonight or previous meeting the comment period is is just that a comment period and the the council whether they are sitting at this table or out about in the town are always listening and always forming their opinions based on what they hear in these meetings and from our residents so it's it's not to uh shut down conversation or discussion but it is to really give the public a chance to share their thoughts and for the council to listen so I appreciate again everyone coming out tonight to uh support Madison police and as just been outlined we will be um uh proceeding with process tomorrow and uh it was brought out already that hopefully uh we'll have a resolution with a uh contract in it coming soon so thank you all and now we move on to U introduction ordinances statement ordinance is scheduled for first reading have a hearing date set for May the 13th 2024 all will be published in the Madison e post on the bulletin board available members of public requesting cies and I I just ask if you try try to be quiet as you go walk out the door and go down the stairs still have some business to do here I call up uh or ordinance for first reading ask the bur clerk to Res ordinance by title ordinance 13- 2024 ordinance of the bur of Madison establishing chapter 28 of the burough code to establish the burrow of Madison landscape ordinance promoting the use of appropriate native vegetation on Municipal property mayor I move ordinance 13-22 24 second Council discussion I think our uh speakers that during comment period outlined this very well and just again it's a only affs burough property but I I think our speakers also said if you're planning to plant do some research be very helpful any other comments both them please M erck yes Mr landeron yes Mr range yes Mr Harold and pus yes Hanan yes Mr Forte yes ordinance 14- 2024 ordinance of the burrow of Madison amending chapter 94 of the Madison burrow code entitled electric utility to update the electric connection fee schedule mayor I would like to move ordinance 14 2024 second Council discussion so just for clarification we are asking the commercial people in the bur so this is a an annual uh process this uh ordinance in the next couple ones so that when there is a new connection so whether you're business or resident if you have a connection this doesn't affect you but for all the residents and businesses you have been paying into the the Capital Improvements into our uh utilities whether it is uh sewer water or electric and so this is an opportunity for a completely new connection to to pay their share so for example a subdivision there's one connection there and one new connection the sub subdivision pays the extra connection pays the connection fee but not the original one right any other comments or questions roll call vote please miss erck yes Mr landrian yes Mr range yes Mr har and yes M Hanan yes Mr Forte yes ordinance 15- 2024 ordinance the bur of Madison amending chapter 190 of the Madison bur code entitled water to update the water connection fee schedule mayor I would like to move ordinance 15 2024 second any Council discussion which is consistent with the last one roll call vote please M erck yes Mr landrian yes Mr range yes Mr harus yes hand yes Mr Forte yes an ordinance 16 2024 ordinance of the bur of medicine amending chapter 155 of the Madison bur code entitled sewer to update the sewer connection fee schedule mayor I would like to move ordinance 16 2024 second any Council discussion roll call vote please mck yes Mr landrian yes Mr range yes Mr harus yes Mr H Miss Hanahan excuse me Forte yes now we move on to consent agenda resolutions I skip yes I had a feeling I put that check mark too fast so ordinance 16- 2024 mayor I would like to move ordinance 16 2024 no second we did we just need the St consent state wasth sorry okay I did ask you TR take two either way will the clerk please read the statement on the consent agenda the consent agenda resolutions will be enacted with a single motion any resolution requiring expenditure is 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 there I'd like to move the consent agenda resolutions 128 through uh 137 second any counil discussion or any that need to be pulled okay roll call vote please M erck yes Mr landan yes Mr range yes Mr har utus yes M Hanahan yes Mr for yes there's no unfinished business approval of vouchers will please read the voucher totals from the current fund 4,389 n468 from The General Capital fund $ 38,7 7451 from the electric operating fund $1,949 61 and from the Electric Capital fund $ 78,2 156 from the water operating fund $521 16.50 and from the trust $ 37,2 7255 the total is 4,671 42160 mayor I moove approval of the do second any discussion call vote please mrck yes Mr landan yes Mr range yes Mr harn pus yes Hanahan yes Mr Forte yes and there is no new business Forte may I move to adjourn all in favor I I thank you all