##VIDEO ID:hECXZtMBl6E## from Recess so second all in favor all right this is the public portion of the meeting for the consent agenda items is there anyone from the public that has questions or comments and reference to the consent agenda hello let me turn that hold on she's gonna turn your mic on Barber R 200 East M Road the item on um questioning is resolution number 2420 R 179 resolution appointing a municipal housing leaon um could you tell us about that and what it is so by law we are required to appoint a municipal housing lay on the law came State came down and said that so we are appointing Jen Nixon our um business and economic development commissioner director tonight so it's a required position all municipalities have to have it and is it um a paid position then no she won't be there won't be any additional sement for yep so has to do with affordable housing or fair share I did I didn't know what it was in regard to okay thank you you're welcome thank you anyone else seeing none can I get a motion to close the public portion of the consent agenda second all in favor I all right consent agenda resolution 2024 r172 amend contract with Remington and Vernick for Engineering Services for improvement to AC's Park resolution 2024 r173 award excuse me of contract the booth mechanical for Rose a water system improvements for the amount of $453,500 Grant award extension request to the New Jersey Department of Transportation for la- 2023 ma April shade Township East Front Street and Alexander Avenue 03 project resolution 2024 r176 authorized the purchase of an F550 4x4 ambulance remount under hgac Co-op resolution 2024 d-177 authorize the pchas purchase of three Mt TS powerload cop Fasteners under New Jersey Bergen County Co-op resolution 2024 r178 authorize the purchase of two Lucas chest compression systems under New Jersey Bergen County Co-op resolution 2024 R179 resolution appointing a municipal housing liaison pursuant to PL 2024 C Period 2 resolution 2024 d-180 authorized contract for Engineering Services to Remington and verick for Alexander Avenue Water System Improvement project can I get a motion to approve the consent agenda so made second any comments mayor if I may just on uh 2024 174 the amendments to the road closure there is no change as far as us closing the road CH we had to include some additional language for the county so we had amend the original resolution thank you very much for enlightening us on that one all right uh roll call please t m NES yes Mrs Ving yes Mr whis approved mayor schmith approved uh approval of expenditure list current fund bill is $268,990 Utility Fund bill is $427,500 five50 capital fund bill is $2,859 utility Capital $ 73,9 7250 trust fund bill is $2,699 and Grant fund bill is $15,356.00 seeing none can I get a motion to close made second all in favor I I all right staff and professional comments um let me go to my left and start with mayor you're right the Halloween parade on Main Street from fellowship rad to lipincott Avenue will begin at 2:15 p.m. this coming Saturday registration will begin at 1:15 p.m. at the front doors of the main entrance of at steinhauer school and Fellowship Road on Thursday October 17th one week ago there was an election voting machine training session right here in the municipal building it was very informative and I believe if you if you get an opportunity to run through a training session it'll be very helpful when you get to the actual poll I believe they're still doing that on Saturdays at the County office located inside the mortown M Mall there are exactly 12 pardon me 12 days left until Election Day November 5th there have been so many spineless keyboard Warriors putting out misleading and often times positively false and or absolute Lies We As Council and I'm only speaking my opinions I have not discussed this with anyone in Council but we as Council have taken utter beating from misinformation or lied from those spineless keyboard Warriors this is our last council meeting prior to the election and I feel compelled to respond to the latest lie that I read yesterday about me personally and I will now read it in verbatim from the statement my disdain for the certain members of council was cemented when I made a comment regarding the firehouse and Nelson called me and told me I'm not sure if you know how this town is run he then proceeded to make a threat related to my daughter working at the school I was friends with him for 40 plus years and for him to do that set me on the course of helping him and Steve find their way out of office don't ever threaten me or my family or I will go to the ends of the Earth to protect them this is why I've been so vociferous in getting him and anybody who was under his influence out of power not good for the greater good of their Town several things come to mind here when he says they'll never threaten me or my family I will go to the ends of the Earth to protect them is this going to the end of the Earth putting a blatant lie like this out on Facebook politics this is just another attempt to misleadingly defame councel the only thing about his statement that was correct is that I've known him for 40 years everything else is made up and ay thank you all righty Sandy come in after that one hey uh well my comment just to uh of course the elction coming up is is it's our right and privilege to vote so it's very important for all of us to make sure we get to the polls I mean and make sure we cast our our ballot it means a lot to this country to all of us here to defend our democracy and just make sure that you uh you vote I mean it's again it's a right it's a privilege and uh don't take uh take it lightly it means a lot in every single person's vote V does count people don't think they do but it just takes one so if there's one there's more so just make sure that you get out there that's what the most important thing is and that that's all I have to say and good luck to everyone if I may add to that it's not only a right and a privilege it's a duty yes it is it's a duty that you have some of us have fought so we have that right and Duty absolutely you're here don't me interrupt it's okay well just to add on to the Halloween other than it'll be a beautiful day looks like it's going to be a nice one and then trick-or-treating on Thursday um just be mindful of the children that are out there walking and kids please don't cross midst Street and go to the corner and just be careful watch out for them I know it's a fun time for them um and to go on with the uh the voting if if you have a mail and ballot please remember to get it in you can either bring it up here and drop it off at The Ballot Box that we have outside they pick it up every day which I would prefer instead of mailing it um but you can mail it as well um and if you um haven't mailed it you should have gotten a notice in the mail because I got one because I didn't drop mine off um and then after they receive it they usually send you a a card saying that they received it and then there's a little sticker that's on there that says I vot it so that's really nice they give you one but they don't give you that when you go to the polls um early voting is still available at the Burlington County College until November 3rd Monday through Saturday from 10: to 8 and Sunday from 10: to 6: and it's in the public library meeting room and um please like everyone else said it's very important to go out and vote so please do and good luck to everyone everybody will be getting a sticker that's what during the training they oh they are going to get a sticker this year oh all right that's cool that's nice that's good I know it's a silly thing but ni people ask so many times dur the years that you know they're they did listen and when you vote you'll be getting because they see it on TV everybody's got their little I voted I know when I came up to to check on Election Day they were saying where'd you get that where'd you get that so now they're all going to get one which is great everybody be happy yeah what a sticker will do right there you go all right I just want to we received a report with some um some call information reference to the fire department I want to just go a few go through a few things and and put out the the report out there in public um uh I just want to start with the IFC has stated that they have had and currently still have issues responding to calls from 6:00 a.m. to 6: p.m. Monday through Friday apologize I got this written all over to a different place here um the the IFC has consistently fought the maple shap fire department's existence but that's fine um understanding that the brave volunteer men and women have other responsibilities that are just that and they are just that volunteers it's greatly appreciated and respecting and respected um but Changing Times have shown and my numbers will reflect that that the purely volunteer IFC cannot handle the number of calls for service May 2nd 2024 the Maple Shade fire department went live uh and taking calls since May 2nd 2024 to the date of this report which was October 10 of 2024 there were 314 calls for service in Maple shet Township um the township developed and recruited a crew of full and part-time and volunteer members This Crew is on duty from 8:00 a.m. to midnight Monday through Friday during those hours 235 calls for service were received just four were not responded to by the Maple Shade fire department this was usually due to multiple calls at the same time during the calls that the IFC is on duty from 12: Midnight to 8:00 a.m. and on weekends 79 calls for service were received of those 79 calls 70 7 were completely missed with no response from the IFC forcing our surrounding towns to cover their calls uh give me one more second here so that that to me is just more evidence that the current system of paid and volunteered firefighters is the only logical answer the solution to continue the solution to continue to protect our homes businesses and families is to keep and expand the current Maple shap fire department that is my opinion on that but I wanted everyone to understand the uh the the amount of calls that have been missed so um and that is all I have to actually yeah I have my note here to go to Ty thank you um I apologize if I um repeat anything Council said but I'm going to go through a couple of the voting information things some are new I'm sorry sorry just some some of this information is new and some is already known uh the sample ballots were mailed out yesterday October 23rd please look for them in the mail in the next few days please please don't throw them away if you look at the label you will find your name but also you'll find your voting district and where to go to vote the two new things this year if your voting location has more than one District an example the firehouse has seven districts you can go to the shortest line and register at any table you don't have to look for the district your District number also please take your sample ballot to the poll when you vote there is a QR code on your ballot that will automatically identify you when you register so make sure you bring your your sample ballot with you it on the on eole book you'll be able to put your QR code on it and it'll register you automatically that will shorten your time registering early voting will start this Saturday October 26th until Sunday November 3rd the hours are Monday to Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. and Sunday from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. there are seven locations in brington County where you can go to vote the two closest locations to Maple Shade are Mount Laurel ran College off of Route 38 and eam Township 535 East Main Street in Marlton the complete list is on our website at www.map shade.com the last day to apply for a mailin ballot is October 29th 7 days prior to the election you can apply in person to the county clerk's office until 3 p.m. the day before the election if you mail your your ballot back to the county it must be postmarked by November 5th election day lastly please visit the State website vote. nj.gov go there's a vast amount of information like am I registered dropbox locations which we have one right in the front of our building track my ballot election results and frequently ask questions so please plan your vote and happy election day thank you voter registration is has passed has passed yes all righty thank you Ty sure uh we're going to do some old business here operations thanks uh on Friday October 11th our DPW administrative staff along with some of our First Responders participated in staff professional development day the morning provided training in ethics safety and wellness along with a session on leadership and team building between 8:00 a.m and 11:30 a.m. the staff was challenged in different ways including critical thinking group thinking and team building techniques including the attempt to building a 3ft tower out of 20 sticks of spaghetti 3 ft of tape string and a marshmallow wow yes um nobody got a three-foot tower uh but we did have one group that was able to build it was probably about a foot and a half on the table that it stood everybody said they cheated but they came on I was the final room well they argued well for their position they did um that afternoon we got right then about 11:45 we hopped the bus thanks to the school district uh and we had a team building activity over at Laura Lanes uh where staff was encouraged to team up with those typically not part of their everyday routine and I would like to thank the employees for their participation their questions and interactions I'll just throughout the day uh it wasn't something that they were fully looking forward to uh but once they got in they they realized what we were doing and and what the the benefits of it were so uh and I want to thank you all for trusting me enough to do the day today um and if anybody questions because we were questioned when we walked in as a group I guess these are my tax dollars paying for this it was a grant that fully funded this it's a safety Grant um that we get through our joint Insurance Fund so we decided to use the month figured it was a good day to use it that way the GIF thought it was a great idea and they were all on board so our insurance what we do what we save Insurance across the board but the state is what helps pay for that day so well I'd like to take a moment for thanking you for putting that together that is uh as far as I can remember that is unheard of here in this building so it really was a great day just just another statement to show that um you the the the diversity and the the challenges everything you've brought to our employees to make them better employees so thank you very much it it was a good day they had what candy and pens and little uh you know Feelgood stuff so it was it was everything that I'd hoped it would be but thank you thank you um colins Lane lighting project is underway uh so they've started that trenches have been dug and refilled and already inspected Food Bank enhancement project begins on Monday so that has all been cleaned out again both of these projects are being funded by grants uh the improvements to AC's Park are out to bid and will be received and opened on November 14th those improvements are including uh drainage repairs some new site features such as some benches tables some concrete pads and the basketball court is going to be resurfaced and redone uh the project is being funded that project is being funded by a $250,000 grant that we had received uh elephant in uh in the area obviously lately the last couple days has been the DCA has released New Jersey municipality's round four fair share housing obligations um and the township is required to adopt a resolution on her before January 31st 2025 committing itself to a number the township has been working closely over the past several months with our affordable housing attorney in anticipation of this announcement I'm going to be meeting e will be on that call on Monday with Michael seran our and our subcommittee uh to discuss this number in more detail as mentioned earlier we've spoken about it the loss of Woods Edge which is the arbor unit uh that's impacted Our obligation number but Mr seran is currently recommending that we discuss it further with our planner and consider an alternative calculation based on specific factors so after Monday I'll be able to share some some more information about that and I believe I gave you all did I give you all the um the the letter from him so you all have that in front just to I believe right I think you emailed it Emil it yeah okay so yeah so um so do we have the ability to appeal that so they can look at our situation since we do here yeah and we've been working go ahead you can agree with the number or you can contest the number but you have to tell them what you think your number is in the validation for correct so we'll have to have and we've had the planner been the planner's been working on some things they did a vacant land assessment for us so these are all going to be things things that we have you know that we'll consider but we had to wait until we got that this number that is in there is that in addition to what we currently have or is that that's in addition additional units is what they're saying um again you know our arguments which have been the whole way you know through the whole thing um have been we don't have a lot of land to build um fair share doesn't always want to hear that they want to see creativity and what are you going to do and what are you going as far as you know Redevelopment they should take into consideration townships that are already built out that there's nothing there that they can't keep adding to us I mean the townships that have a lot of open space where they're building building building and all the years we were positive we were way over our number for years correct doesn't count for nothing does it unfortunately no so so yeah so I'll have that we'll have that meeting on Monday we'll have some more information of what what there's how they feel that we should go um and then I can bring that back to all of you uh Wednesday October 16th I attended the municipal excess liability joint insurance fund by monthly meeting one of our topics on the agenda which you have in front of you um was the uh emerging issue that has the potential of bankrupting bankrupting many New Jersey municipalities and severely impacting counties authorities and the state alike recently if you haven't heard a jury awarded a $21.5 million damage against the burrow of haddenfield um because flooding damaged four houses during a 2019 micr mic burst we had that Micro Burst storm uh there were no injuries between the four homes damaged it they totaled $700,000 that was between the four homes and they got awarded $21.5 million judgment against them uh it is the largest award ever against the New Jersey municipality under title 59 no surprise haddenfield is appealing um it is possible to it is impossible to project that these liabilities or what kind of liabilities were have during Hurricane or other major weather event and if this case becomes precedent no insurer is going to provide excess coverage to government entities and that's really what the concern is um with what I gave you today is just an article um about the the issue and then the letter that the municipal excess liability fund has sent to the governor's office to say hey we need to discuss this more um it really puts us in a uh it puts public entities like us local municipalities in a in a position where we will have to fund those types of um of Damages so uh since this case two other cases have settled um but again it's just it's an issue that is everybody is is on high alert over so we're going to continue to follow it and um see what happens but definitely do not want to make um the local governments or the government in general as the last resort of flood insurance for uh for these properties so yeah 21.5 is a tough nut to swallow and more more than our whole budget yeah I think what somebody said was thank goodness we're in Burlington County C County but when it comes across the state it's going to affect all of our um all of our you know our premiums so um I know we've talked a little bit about it uh everybody's kind of mentioned but there are a lot of events in town this weekend Lauren has done a fabulous job organizing the Halloween parade as mentioned that starts at 2:15 um on Main Street starting at steinhauer school but there's also a costume contest registration for that is at 1:15 at the entrance of the school next Thursday up here in our Administration administrative offices we're going to again host the trick-or treat for our smallest ghosts and goblins so if we've got little grandkids kids uh you know that maybe you can't get out our residents that work you know at night time and have their kids at home during the day bring them up our offices will all be decorated and our staff will be handing out candy to everybody so residents can come up between 10: and 3: on Thursday uh and then just finally the bedc bedc is excited to announce two upcoming events first we invite and have invited all of our business owners to our second annual business appreciation reception on Monday November 25th invitations have been mailed and emailed to those on our list that we have and we look forward to seeing everybody it was a great event last year so looking to build on that again this year and also we want everyone to join us for small Biz bash and a popup Market on small business Saturday November 30th the popup Market will run from 9:00 to 1: uh right on Wallace Avenue behind the gazebo we're asking for Maple Shade Crafters makers Artisans they're welcome to come and set up a table along the Avenue there behind the Gazebo showcasing their products there is no registration fee for Maple Shade businesses small businesses for that want to do the popup Market um and then the small Biz bash will be all day it's a fantastic opportunity to kick off the holiday season we're going to feature some shopping discounts incentive incentives to support our local businesses so we don't want anybody to miss out on that there'll be more information but it's up on our web page you can find it also Facebook as been announcing it we have some Jen how many businesses are we up to now 17 that are participating that day so that will offer some sort of discount some sort of incentive um our committee that's working on it they'll be we have bags that we ordered shopping bags that residents can go and pick up in the local businesses um and again you shop in a business you'll get a discount so it'll be a great day for uh that date is November 30th oh the popup Market same day it's the same day same day yep November 30th and what time is that from the popup Market is from 9:00 to 1 okay thank you so but the events obviously the shopping is all day whatever the business's hours are so that's all I have I'm looking forward to uh Thursday I'm so excited I have an ugly costume I'm already wearing it there we go there we go um has there been a site plan meeting since our last uh there has not the next site plan meeting is November 6th the day after election day right here and there are three items on it already Okay cool uh new business start with that so yes sure trans Axel has requested that uh they tie into our sewer they sent a letter that transax would like to connect to Maple Shade sewer system where we are now on an aging septic system your sewer line ends on the corner of our property in paper Street the extent of the letter um I did speak to Dennis Yoder um and he said that he is 100% in favor of of this um he said that a normal day flow is not the issue and that the EPA is pushing the some pump ISU some pump issues that we have so and he just said you know he'd want them to post a you know their esro so that everything can be reviewed but he has 100% behind this for that tie in if council is willing to uh agree to that yeah I know that have septic issues I used to rent the building directly beside them I know that and that was 20 years ago so um anyone have an issue with that I know we're we're charging additional fees over top of what a normal resident would absolutely it's a commercial fee it's out and then it's an out of town so they get a set is that going to set a precedent because we've had other U places in camenson that have tried to do this I think the personally I think the advantage here is beyond it being commercial everything's already there it's owned to their property okay our line ends own their property right down um what's the name of the street there I say Maple but it's not map it's yeah the street 73 there um so to me street no the High Street this it would be Maple I know is it Maple is it Maple that's the last street right John isn't that Maple food Maple Maple okay maple um yeah our system ends right at their corner at their property so uh and and the fact that Dennis doesn't have an issue with it uh the fact that you know we'll be charging decent amount to to do that and a a higher rate because they're out of town so and it's not that much not like not thought yeah there's no easements or anything that or attached to anybody else because we've had that problem before corre the years corre and I thought about it due to the gentleman on park that's trying to the houses and sentiments sure that we're covered that there's a good reason why we can do this as opposed to the other correct it's a case by case review andn is very good going to be going into it yeah I just want to make sure I I asked I think no absolutely thank you so at that point how do you want what do we need to proceed here what do you just that I can uh authorize Dennis to reach out we'll get an escrow set up for them to start the review um he's going to need them to show the how how they're going to be connecting and all their proposed flows before anything so but at least we can start the review of that and it can yes okay so yes so the four of us I yes okay very good that uh next is block 35 lot one uh this is I have copies for you all this is a request um from that property owner it's a paper street that we have there it was never developed um they've been maintaining it so I did have our uh tax assessor look at some things there and um it's it's a little bit more complicated than just let's uh let's say yes that the that the resident can buy the street we have a what they call a Gore that is there there's additionally there are two municipal lots that are off of that paper Street um that would be landlocked if we were to sell any portion of this or to vacate that street um so there are other options that I think that we need to we need to evaluate and really and research and look into um but again it's uh when speaking with the assessor's office they looked at the aerial maps um the residents along that area are already using portions of that paper Street anyway um there's a gravel driveway at the other end uh which is right off of McCrae Lane uh that that property owner is using it to access the garage on his property um and again there are other potential uses that for the township owned Lots there uh they would be landlocked if the street was vacated so again I don't think that this is just a cut and dry let's vacate or let's you know sell this um and then we have the gore that is adjoining that paper street so um the G is for water else correct yes so um you know if we could find a builder possibly for our two lots you could pave the street that's an option and you know and they can deal with it that way they can you know and they can carve out a little piece for the residents or the owners that are property owners that are currently using that area there um the there be a drainage we don't even know if there's a sewer drainage there a great we don't know if there's telephone poles anything that was supposed to be put there so on the opposite side of the gore the two lots um we''ve own them do we know why and then just what's this the the two lots that are there they look what's it about 100 by 125 total both them be Municipal lots are yeah the um it's block 30 lot 4.01 and 4.02 are both the municipal Lots right so are they what what is the condition of them right now like are they just trees they can they can be buildable they are buildable Lots okay so mhm interesting so you know in in this this case I'm thinking that it's not my opinion is it's probably does not it's not in the best interest of the municipality to offer those that paper Street or to offer those residents to purchase that property and off the gore do we know is there um sewer running off of that like connecting somewhere we do not know we do not know there might there it's a very good possibility that be logical but I just okay so we have to look a little further into this to see we do need to dig a little bit further but I wanted you to have all the information so um right I'm going to ask Water and Sewer to go obviously the utilities to go out and just double check and then the assessor's office is doing some more information um as well so would it be an option and I'm just throwing it out here would it be an option that we could split that paper Street and leave the side facing is it Greenwood or Glenwood um that the resident has asked about if they were to acquire that land we would still have the access off of McCrae to get to those two lots add to the G we'd have to split the paper street though so obviously there would be you know there would be a bunch involved in that too the assessor did say it's a 60 foot wide paper street so it's it is very wide it is very wide it's unusually right yeah vated it's split and one half goes to the adjoining land owners on either side thing that folks don't realize so especially here if it's 60t wide that becomes accessible oh absolutely it's added to their Val absolutely right yeah assume that that's W 60 foot that's pretty big so you now that's saying if we were to you're saying if that's if we were to just let them give it to them what if they were to purchase it could they purchase both sides of if you I don't know what's what's optional what's possible here like instead of them instead of the township just saying okay we're not going to use it you can have it because you've been maintaining it for whatever 35 years is it possible we could you know cut it off at the back of that property and say that value is X you have to buy and I don't obviously don't know what the value of it is but that's a question for I don't know if we can I mean because there is there is another property adjoining it so you're saying give them vacate the street and give them both sides of the street or sell them well see I I wouldn't thinking given I was thinking selling but so my thought was if you came straight across the gore across those back properties and kind of cut that street right there um this is you're saying make the gore into Street this is this is the property that wants it no this is the where's that no that's it's the property on it's the proper oh okay oh okay so saying if we were to basically leave that accessible for our lots and the gore and sell them that not give it to them and obviously you have to offer it to the people beside them too but I wasn't thinking giving it to they selling it I thought it was here here is the house that's questioned so my thought was can we just split the street right here Sandy leave that as the but and then yeah but they still have there's no access to those two and this Gore is what we're concerned about not having access to off so say vacated a portion of the P Street correct correct basically across the back of their property lines these probably same right with the Gore just bring it straight over we were to I guess you're saying like if we were to do 10 ft on one side and 10 feet on the other side I don't know if we can do that though I don't think you can vacate just a portion you can vacate a portion but the question I'd like to know on the other side that lot three where's their access yeah it comes off a green one and then they only get half of the lot like it would beut it wouldn't go all the way to their lot they don't want you to have right oh yes it has to be sold right right right so that that was just the thought I don't know if any of that's I think we should I I think just start I think that we should do some more investigating see exactly what's back there see if I mean I've never seen a Gore before what is that at right next to their house they've been a gly SW for drainage M MH cuz God knows you have look at 1 two three four five six seven eight properties sit up against that door plus the street so I'm sure it gets a off the water and that's something we can ask the resident that's inquiring also what goes on with all that it's Beachwood have not Greenwood have okay so I that's fine he's Onre it's a paper green right that is Beach correct yeah so I just like I said throwing it out there is imp possible because I don't want to lose obviously if we have two buildable Lots as the township it'd be silly to landlock them and I don't believe that the resident that was asking for that property was thinking that he would have all the way back to McCrae either so all right so let me get utilities to do some digging over there and really see what's back there see what we have as far as utilities what we have as far as drainage back there and um in the meantime can we put those two lots up for sale it's got some money coming think once we know what we're doing with the with the street we oh yeah of course we certainly could but those kind of things to we want to do all in one you know we don't want to have separate lands over and over land options so yeah so so that's it so you have all that information if we sell that we're going to need that for through we can't sell it to him and then no what I'm saying is if if they have a street access if that's physically a street but I mean you have other streets that are short that's because this is the cck right right I'm just throwing it up there so this doesn't work it doesn't work we can open we can actually open up the street right you'd have the whoever bought that whatever Builder bought that would have to pave that make that a streight right down to the gore and then or at least get that sewer off the gore and then they'd have access to those two sites off of this way let me ask look into it yeah let's ask we'll look into it uh next you've both you've both you've all been presented with um two membership applications for the bedc um so if you would please take a look at those and review them um along with the other information that's there and then let us know let Jen or I know and then we can put the resolution on for November 7th fantastic anything else that's all I have nice no need to go back into our recess correct all right so I'm going to be looking for a motion to adjourn to our next Township council meeting which is scheduled for November 7th at 6:30 p.m. so move second all in favor hi have a lovely evening