##VIDEO ID:L74_liNfbLo## e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e being here always weird start miss fritsen you ready yes mayor right ahead pursuant to section five chapter 231 Public Law 1975 this is to State for the record that adequate this hased to the public by posting and maintain the regulars on building by mailing annual noce 2025 to the news record and the Star Ledger in December of 2024 and by filing said notice in the office of the Township Clerk Mr D present Mr DeLuca here SLE here Herman here mayor Adams present whereas chapter 231 public gos 1975 commonly known as open public meetings act requires all meetings of public body IES be open to the public and whereas section 7A provides that the governing body has a discretion to permit prohibit or regulate the active participation of the public at any meeting and where desire the governing body to comply with the provision provision this act same time to conduct its business in an orderly and expeditious manner now therefore be resolved by the township committee Township mwood does hereby prohibit except to set forth in a formal agenda active participation in liberations of the governing body by the public and except as otherwise prescribed by law does liit the public to the observations of the actions and discussions the governing body all TR and special meetings so moved second Yesa Miss Engle yes serman yes mayor Adams yes thank you please rise for a salute to the flag Alle to the BL of the United States of America and to the for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all thank you good evening everyone and welcome to the Maplewood Township committee meeting on Tuesday February 4th 2025 happy Black History Month everyone um I'll just give a brief overview of what we are doing tonight we have a for Black History Month we have several appointments to boards and committees tonight uh we have Maxwell Kravitz um being appointed to the Maplewood Arts Council Jesse fryatt being appointed to Recreation advisory committee Karen Karen Stevens and Sam Daly being appointed to the pool advisory committee esma craze and Roxanne that's a tough one I'm not going to try it I don't want to butcher it you can yell it out if you want yeah that bigot attacus to the youth advisory committee um then we have Victor Gallow and ran Shen to the environmental advisory committee then we will go into our Board of Health meeting by the way you can stay all night for the meeting if you like or just for your appointments um but we have our Board of Health meeting after all those and then um after that we have public comment for agenda items only we have several ordinances on for introduction this evening most of them related to Mr deus's Committee of code which is uh zoning ordinance so we'll be doing several ordinances on introduction on many things including site plan exemption um office and business zoning and um I forget what that one is introduction on the C and then we have a finance to um appropriate uh Municipal cap appro appropriation limits um establishing a capit bank so we have a few of those but most of the zoning um tonight so reports from departments we'll have administrative reports Mr worry uh Township attorney Jen cido and Elizabeth fritzen our clerk elected official reports will come next in Committee Member angle Deputy Mayor Herman Committee Member Duca Committee Member daffis and then I go last discussion items we have four on for tonight authorization to apply for sustainable Jersey Grant Mr Duca will read lead that discussion amendments to the eni environmental advisory committee ordinance Miss angle will lead that discussion then we have recognizing firsts during both black history and women's history months and then the joint meeting Capital Improvement assessment options Mr wary will lead that then we will have our consent agenda second public comment on any item and then we will adjourn and since we were all here till 9:30 or so last night for our budget hearing for three and a half hours we're hoping to zip this right along tonight so with that I will um ask Mr Duca to go down to the podium if you will and read our Black History Month Proclamation anyone who would like to join me up here you're more than welcome Andrea would you like to as our cultural fa okay so um I will why don't you introduce yourselves hi everyone good evening my name is Andrea tley I am the manager of arts and culture here Maple Bo Township and tonight I have the honor of reading the proclamation for Black History Month um as you may know this has become a highly controversial Topic in our country right now uh even celebrating Black History Month um the Department of Defense for example has banned all celebration of Black History Month uh in the entire Department it's just um I think it's important for us to stay together and and stick together and to continue to promote the value of diversity and inclusion and Equity uh in our society in our community so um this I think this Proclamation more than any other that we've done over the years is really important so um so I'll read this whereas every February Black History Month is recognized to not only encourage enourage the study of africanamerican life and history but also to act as a reminder that black history is a part of the history of the United States of America and whereas what began as a week recognizing black history championed by Dr Carter G Woodson and Minister Jesse E Morland in 1926 when they founded the association for the study of African-American life and history it is evolved into a month back in 1976 After official recogn recognition by then President Gerald Ford and whereas the association presents a new theme and the theme for 2025 is African-Americans and labor and whereas work whether skilled voluntary or vocational has always been at the heart of African-American history culture and dignity from Henry Blair whose agricultural inventions in the 1830s transformed farming to Marian croak whose video conferencing breakthroughs change how we communicate many of these people we never hear about so that's why it's important to to raise them uh Alice Parker a Marist toown New Jersey native who Le left a lasting Mark in the early 1900s with her invention of natural gas powered central heating system whereas through these industries government or public service the the legacy of African-American labor has been nothing short of transformational be it the struggles of post- civil war sharecroppers or the leadership of Labor figures Like A Philip Randolph African-Americans have fought against exploitation and discrimination while building vital Community institutions and whereas the impact of African-Americans extends Beyond paid labor with shaping social justice movements organizing for labor rights and leaving a mark on cultural and Architectural landmarks notably 2025 marks the 100th anniversary of the Brotherhood of sleeping car Porters and Maids the first African-American Union chartered by the American Federation of Labor the ongoing labor struggles exemplified by uh Randolph A Philip Randolph Bard Rustin congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman and Martin Luther King Jr underscore the vital connection between economic Justice and civil rights in American society now therefore be it proclaimed that I Victor Duca on behalf of Mayor Nancy Adams and the entire Maplewood Township committee highlight these important contributions during Black History Month and encourage the public to further educate themselves on the impact of African-American labor its history and its ongoing role in shaping our nation and the world this is day four of Black History Month and why don't you tell folks what we've done uh for the town and your Division and let them know how they can find out more information thank you um I was not prepared for this but thank you for having me um yes we have many events that just kicked off this past this past weekend um we have an amazing Exhibition at our art center 1978 the gallery this exhibition um will be open throughout the weekends if you'd like to visit from 2: to 4: and we have a whole series of very exciting events so you're welcome to visit our website Maplewood arts and culture and um under festivities you can see black history month and you can see all the programming so it's things that we're doing on on our end of Maplewood arts and culture and also collaborating um with South Orange and other organizations so I'd love to see you there thank you here you go thank you thank you ask everyone to just use Eyes For a Moment of Silence this evening uh community may go orange a week ago last weekend lost suddenly lost Carol Barry Austin um Carol was a very active member of our community um Community coalitional race theirs um her work and the examples that she set forth for all of us to be inclusive accepting of everyone who is UN El and just that we the work of the Community Coalition has been um instrumental in making neighborhood and South orang welcome community that today so i' ask for a moment of silence all right with that we'll move into board and committee appointments we have several tonight um the Maplewood Arts Council Mr daffis thank you mayor uh we do have several board and committee appointments tonight and I'm excited to start with the Maplewood Arts Council I am the governing body liaison to the Maplewood Arts Council and I'm really pleased to have a very enthusiastic young man here with us this evening Mr Maxwell Kravitz he goes by Max uh and we invite him up to the podium to tell us a little bit about who he is and why he's interested in serving on the Arts Council welcome Max thank you Mr daffis for the kind words um hello I'm Max Kravitz I'm a lifelong maple resident and a third generation SoMo resident on both sides of my family so I have like a lot of roots in this community my grandparents Rolland and Es spata were residents of Maplewood for 67 years they were patrons of the Arts and active members of St George's Church and my grandparents on the other side how in Esther Kravitz were South Orange residents who founded one of the longest running performing art schools in the area performers Theater Workshop my parents continue to operate at today and I also work there planning logistics for performances with a focus on audio technology during my time in high school I started engaging with the community more I volunteered at Maple Woodstock spearheaded the creation of beat Fest which takes place at the Woodland and served on the Maplewood youth advisory committee for the past three Summers I have worked as an audio technician at The Morris Museum for the outdoor back deck concert series and at Middle Tennessee State University where I'm currently taking a gap semester from I've been studying music business music business down in Tennessee I have been an active I have been an active member of the Grassroots art scene organizing concerts fundraising for student organizations and running a show on our local College Station wmts all of these experiences really Illustrated to me the importance of creating infrastructure in the arts for artists um I want to join the Maplewood Arts Council to serve our community create more opportunities for young artists to engage and help build up the infrastructure here for artists to flourish uh in Maplewood we have so many great spaces such as the Bergdorf Center for the Performing Arts and the 1978 Arts Center yet when I speak to so many of my young adult friends they have no idea what I'm talking about like they know that we have these spaces in our town um on the council I would like to help create in initiatives to increase awareness of these facilities and connect our young artists with the division of arts and culture I also want to help create plans to upgrade the technology in our facilities so that they can be better utilized by our community I believe that upgrade our Arts infrastructure can not only provide a service to the community but also Drive Revenue to the township to further fund other initiatives in the Arts um that's all I have to say and thank you for your consideration that's a lot thank you Max wait don't go anywhere Max are there any questions for Max no I told you he was enthusiastic right incredible right so uh with that mayor then I wholeheartedly move the appointment of Max cra rits on the Arts Council for a term that will end uh on 1231 2027 second Mr daffis yes Mr DeLuca yes M Engle yes Herman yes mayor Adams yes and I also had a radio show in college wqsu ssco Hanah University yeah all right I even it was back with vinyl so I had to queue it up spottify Spotify oh see that's no fun that was the best part thank you thank you Max and congratulations no it wasn't congratulations all right next we'll move on Miss Herman you have a uh someone for recreation yes yes I do um Jesse fryatt is here he is a junior at Columbia High School who has been actively involved in the community and a leader in his boy out troop he has participated in Maplewood Recreation programming um he can share a little bit of this I believe ski club and a couple of sports as well um he originally applied for the Youth advisory committee and said that he did so because he wanted to give back and make a positive impact on our community which I I really um love seeing um I believe as a youth resident Jessy would bring a valuable perspective to the recreation advisory committee which doesn't currently have a youth voice and so somebody who's especially Taken part in some of our Recreation programming and sports um he really has that wonderful perspective to bring so um with that I would welcome Jesse to come up and introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about yourself and she already told us everything more stuff hit all the points I had um also it's a pretty tough act to follow right um my name is Jesse I'm a junior at Columbia High School I've lived here in my whole life um I've grown up playing soccer I'm currently on the varsity soccer team for Columbia High School um I've basically played at every has to offer and so I feel like I'm to serve this community give back so yeah do you have relative on the planning board by any chance maybe do you have a relative on the planning board I yeah I thought so yes I know thank you um with that I move that we appoint Jesse fryatt to the recreation advisory committee I'll second that one as well okay Mr daffis yes Luca yes angle yes M Herman yes May May Adams yes welcome thank you congrats Jesse deput mayor we stick with you for pool advisory committee yes um so I'm really excited to introduce uh Karen Stevens who was already a Maplewood volunteer because she served for three years as a member of our Recreation advisory committee and she um participated in our new adult learned a swim class and so as a new swimmer I believe that Karine would be um have a really valuable perspective to us on the pool advisory committee which is the one that she um has expressed an interest in joining so I'd like to invite Karen up to share a little bit about yourself and um your experience on and R and pool and and what you hope to bring to the pool committee yeah so so Stevens I've Liv in Maplewood for 12 years um start on the advisory committee so I found that to be a really interesting experience my first but's very um informative in terms of how you can get back um you know in a way that is not to taxing where you can't really dedicate what you need to but also a way that so everybody can participate overwhelming in terms of time um but for the pool advisory I thought that would an inter mentioned I am a new swimmer I've been of visiting and hanging out there for several years and it definitely is a nice place for everybody to gather and together as a community but this past summer actually learning and for the first time being in the deep end yond just it's also place can learn things that are integral for safety as well hanging out with so I definitely want to help and um offer whatever I can in terms of making sure that that remains a place for the community to gather and also R and hope we welcome more new swimmers old and young thank you thank you um well we are very excited to have your perspective on the pool committee um and I move that we appoint Karine Stevens to the pool advisory committee I'll second Mr daas yes DeLuca yes SLE yes Herman yes mayor Adams yes congratulations K one more we have advisory yeah m b and I have another one for I I'm just I can't keep going here um I am really excited to introduce Sam Daly Sam is a junior in high school and a longtime uh member of the Maplewood pool and he is also active in his Boy Scout Troop and in fact is working on an Eagle Scout project to benefit the pool and helping to expand like um uh make a little a teen area and so I really think that again like in Recreation it's so important to have our youth voices and to have their perspective and so I'm really excited that Sam is interested in joining the pool committee um before I joined the township committee I was a member of the pool committee and we have never had had in probably the last decade a youth member so um I'm really really excited to um to add Sam to that board so Sam if you would come up and tell us a little bit about your experience going to the pool and what you hope to bring to the pool um as a youth member I'm I'm Sam uh I said I'm a 17y old currently working on ego project uh or sorry planning on working with e project project with the pool um I've been to the pool for the past 12 years uh I learned how to swim at the pool I have a lot of great memories from the pool and I think it's just a really great place where the community can get together and swim um and you know go to the snack bar and I kind of hoping that um as part of the pool advisory I can do my part to make the pool even better than it already is which will be hard but um but also get teenagers who are kind of a um what's say a good word um it's it's definitely an area that we're trying to reach yeah I know we've talked about that because I remember a lot of my friends uh and I have like really good memories from going to the pool and it be really um's the word um a lot of it oh my God okay take your time okay it's really a great place to kind of um make memories get exercise swim uh and just hang out and I think uh if we can draw more people to the pool um you know more people get that experience that's um that's a really good point because that's something that we've been talking in the committee about how do we get more families to keep coming to the pool as their kids get older so really excited to have that perspective um and have Sam join the pool committee so with that I would like to move that we appoint Sam Daly to the Maplewood pool advisory committee second it daish yesca yes single yes Thurman yes mayor Adams yes thank you very much Committee Member angle you have two appointments to youth advisory committee yeah except um Deputy Mayor Herman's doing such a good job and she is with me on the um youth advisory committee so you want to take those two as well miss her I'll just keep going she's got bios she's got bios so so I'm really excited about um to introduce you to Esme crias she is a 10th grader at Columbia High School and Esme actually interned here in Maple town hall for our very own town clerk Liz fritsen so um she when when Esme applied for the Youth advisory committee she said she wanted to be involved in local government because she believes it's important for youth especially girls to have a voice and to be able to speak up about their ideas and so um so I'm really I was inspired by reading um her words about wanting to be that voice and um and give them a voice in government so Esme if you would like to come up and share a little bit about your experience interning I think that you did a summer program in politics you're very interested in learning about town government and and joining the youth advisory committee so yeah I'm Esme craze I'm a 10th grader at Columbia High School I did an internship with Miss fritson over the summer and it was a really great experience and she encouraged me to apply to youth advisory committee and so I took her advice and I applied um I also did a summer camp at Georgetown uh for like it was a law Academy and I also had a great experience I really enjoyed it and I thought this would be just um another great experience um but I also I absolutely love Maplewood I've lived here my whole life and I want to be on the youth advisory committee to improve it even more and to really make it just an even better place to live and it's already great but um I also want my peers to feel the same way I want to Ure that they feel that they have a great time living in Maple and they feel satisfied while living here and so I want to make sure that they you know they feel like their needs are prioritized and their opinions and their ideas matter and their voices are heard and I want them to feel I want to be the voice for them I want them to feel like they belong and are represented in um this community nice well said you through the residential brochure did you work on that yes I did ah yeah done she used my desk so you've got some eyes on does I see so Esme you're gonna be sitting up here soon right let's go come on I let Miss Herman um introduce them but I'll I I'll nominate as May gra for uh youth advisory committee I'll go ahead Mr daf yes SLE yes shurman yes mayor Adams yes and thank you so much keep going as Speak Up ab board and we have one more new um applicant for the Youth advisory committee I'm really excited to introduce roxan Roxy big atus did I get it yeah um Roxy is in seventh grade at Maplewood Middle School and so she would be the youngest and only Middle School member of our youth advisory committee so I'm really really proud of her for applying for this and stepping up to be a voice for her peers which she actually said that as a member she's a seventh grade representative on student government and she's a softball player and she said as being an athlete she's learned how to be a team player and work well with others which um is so important in government and um oh she said in her application and this like I really loved this she said she wants to join the youth advisory committee because she cares she said quote I care about my town and the people in it so um I'm really excited to have her voice on the committee Roxy would you come up and introduce yourself and tell us a little bit more about yourself hello my name is Roxy and fakis but I go by Roxy I'm in seventh grade at mble middle school and I'm 13 years old um I was born in Brooklyn New York and then I moved here and um and I'm on the student council for I'm the seventh grade representative for um label middle school and when I did Student Government I really love like helping everyone in my grade and I really love being able to like have a say in like what changes I can make and how we can like improve um my school so the Youth Organization committee youth a great way to help not only like my school but all the youth of like the Maplewood Township what position do you play um play center field uhuh okay I played shortstop in third and any chance that fotakis is Greek whoa fellow Greek American here so bravo bravo Roxy yeah I should have if I had seen it before I mean I would yeah that's a beautiful beautiful all right so I will nominate roxan fotakis to join the youth advisory committee I second Mr daffis absolutely yes Mr DeLuca yes M angle yesman yes mayor Adams yes thank you so much for stepping up congrats Roxy then um mayor um Miss Perez was asking we have so many Youth and it's so nice to see everybody in the audience can we get everyone for a photo yeah I would love that yeah um max you too because I still think of you as a high schooler yeah always so we'll come down and we'll join you is that okay yeah let's do all the young persons and all of our youth we have two more those are reappointments here they're not here well after we do the picture should we do it or no or now yeah the picture e e okay as volunteers you have to stay for the whole meeting oh yeah the youth advisory members you got to stay no they're good they're good a school day it's a school night school night night for okay uh just two more o ments and reappointments I should say to environmental advisory yes I would like to um re nominate Victor Gallow and Ruan Shen um for reappointment to the environmental advisory committee their terms expired they are both active active members we have a great crew and environmental advisory committee and I highly recommend that they be reappointed second Mr daffis yes Mr DeLuca yes fle yes M Herman yes mayor Adams yes thank you very much thanks Victor and ran we now move to our Board of Health meeting and I'll turn it over to Committee Member angle thank you mayor pursuant to section 5 chapter 231 Public Law 1975 this is to State for the record that adequate notice of this meeting has been provided to the public by posting and maintaining the annual notice of regular meetings on the bulletin board of the municipal building by mailing the annual notice of regular meetings for 2025 to the news record and Star Ledger in December 2024 and by filing said notice in the office of the Township Clerk mayor Adams here Mr daffis here delca here miss Herman here miss angle here chapter 231 public laws 1975 commonly known as the open public meetings act requires all meetings of public bodies be open to the public and whereas section 7 provides that the Board of Health has a discretion permit prohibit or regulate the active participation in the public in any meeting and where I desire the Maplewood Board of Health to comply with the provision this act same time to conduct its business in an orderly and expeditious manner now therefore be resolved by Maplewood Board of Health of the township of mwood that it does hereby prohibit except except to set forth an informal agenda active participation and deliberations of the Board of Health by the public and acceptance otherwise prescribed by law does limit the public to the observations of the actions and discussions of the Board of Health at all its regular and special meetings no moved second mayor Adams Mr daffis yes Luca yes Miss Herman yes Miss angle yes I move to approve the Board of Health meeting minutes from January 7th 2025 second mayor Adams Mr daffis yes Luca yes serman yes Miss angle yes now I turn things over to our health officer Miss Kansas Davenport evening everyone okay so we'll just move to the next slide to give our nursing report for the month of January we had uh seven reportable diseases that were investigated um 11 covid-19 cases investigated um One Flew home about vaccination provided and 10 immunization audits at our childcare and schools next slide talks about the free homebound covid-19 vaccinations um if anyone is uh wanting to have a covid vaccination for a homebound loved one um or family member please contact the mwood health department and we'll be happy to provide you with a resource that can provide that homebound covid-19 vaccination next slide talks about our free covid-19 test kits which we still have available um again if people are preparing to see or visit family members who may be imuno compromised or elderly and we just like to get a test if they're uh feeling unwell feel free to stop by our Township health department and we can provide uh two per um household you can also order um online at covid test. goov for your free um test kits as well we have some good news um on uh January 24th we had a pediatric covid-19 vaccination clinic um here at the mwood community center and 15 children were vaccinated so we were able to get that for them children's covid vaccines are hard to find so we were happy to provide that next slide talks about our um Essex County provides the vaccine for Children Clinic sites they've now expanded to three locations so I just want to highlight they will be um this Wednesday tomorrow they will be in Bloomfield and then on February 19th they will be in a new location in Orange and February 26th they are EXP in also to Irvington so residents can find a vaccine site um for free vaccinations for children if you don't have health insurance at three different locations around this around the county each month next slide everyone has talked about the um and is very interested and concerned about the h5n1 Aven flu so we just want to let people know that while there have been recent confirmations of deaths in localized wild bird populations in parts of New Jersey there have been no recent reports in domestic poultry or cattle and no human infections in this state currently there are no confirmed human cases in New Jersey so just want to make that clear moving to the next slide which talks about the three organizations or departments in New Jersey that oversee um the covid-19 investigations and um are following it closely for different reasons so the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection is where you call if you encounter a sick or dead wild bird you would call the D hotline at 877 Warren D at the State Health Department we are monitoring uh seasonal flu activity which continues to increase and we're also monitoring hospitalizations of um U novel flu cases so that is what we are doing at the health department and the New Jersey Department of Agriculture tests for sick or domestic domestic uh sick or dead domestic birds and they should be reported to the Department of Agriculture at 609 671 6400 I also want to make mention that at the State Health Department um our state lab is the one who tests for any novel flu uh vaccine uh flu virus so if you have uh want more information about the h5n1 and all of the um things that we are doing at the state level you can go to www.nj.gov h5n1 some ways to reduce your risk of exposure to Aven flu if we ever have it in the birds um in our area is to one avoid direct contact with wild birds and if You observe a wild dead bird or sick Bird please call the number as mentioned before avoid unprotected contact so anyone who is um who works with Wildlife Works um in a farm works with poultry uh they are told to wear proper PPE at this time for consumers please only eat or drink milk or dairy products made from pasteurized milk and avoid feeding pets raw milk or dairy products raw or unpasturized milk or da dairy products can contain germs that can make people and the pets sick and we've seen that happen in some cats um in the United States where they were fed unpasturized milk and they got very sick please cook poultry eggs and beef to the appropriate inter temperature before consumption but I just want to emphasize that there is no risk uh or the risk is very very low for um Define h5n1 in eggs or beef at this time but we always um encourage people to cook food to the proper temperature and if you have any other questions you can call us at the health department we're happy to um answer any questions we are monitoring the situation uh very closely moving on to our environmental health and animal control services so for the environment Mental Health Report from our staff um for the month of January we did Eight restaurant inspections nine food truck inspections um and 13 complaints were addressed and we are beginning to uh do our investigation inspections of all of those um licens and everyone there is sending in their license for their um annual licenses that are due for body art massage and spa Child Care Centers uh dogs and cats and chickens and Retail food establishments and vape shops moving on to our Animal Control Solutions uh they are our Our Town contract for the month of for the months of July to December which is when we started with them last year Maplewood had 121 calls to animal control Solutions so that's in half a year that's a lot of phone calls we had bites both dog as well as Bat Bites um cruelty neglect cases uh were four uh they assisted with enforcement on 11 cases and um they addressed uh 25 stray animals and impounded 22 and um provided um provided shelter and um these animals to a rescue group nine of them Wildlife is our largest concern um and addressed by Animal Control Solutions so I just want to say thank you to them but also know that this is what we pay for every month for their services so for December they had 13 calls and um as you can see they broke it down by uh bytes and enforcements next slide okay so while our dog and cat licenses are um now we've meet met our deadline and late fees would now apply if you're renewing if you're if you have a new pet a dog or cat you can still apply um with no late fee currently there are 88 cat licenses and 587 dog licenses which is incredible because in 2024 we had 850 dog licenses and 100 cat licenses so thank you to all the cat lovers out there moving on to our social services and mental health our crisis intervention social workers have been busy for the month of January with 13 cases eight of those were new uh cases one was a co-response with RPD and six were clinical uh cases now I had not um in in recent months been able to give you until now of our partnership with the Jewish Family Services um we have a partnership with South Orange to provide a senior social worker um Renee Peters uh from the months of July to September so this was a quarter three they provided she provided a slew of services to 47 uh Maplewood residents that probably also includes their family members as well so these are individuals plus their family members so she provided information anywhere from transportation resources to snap to the the ship program affordable housing um coordinated with the be Center and the S 2 town to provide activities connected them to the County division of Senior Services Adult Protective Services they didn't contact but um senior freeze program Elder Care Home Sharing uh they she contacted them with uh Jerry geriatricians uh Krill care which is a food delivery system and um a whole bunch of other uh things including Mental Health Resources and consultation for caregiver Services I want to highlight that she gave um a lot of resources for that so always want to acknowledge um the contributions of our caregivers um for the months of October to December uh she provided services to 32 residents again for this roughly the same amount of and same types of of resources and services here um the largest one was for affordable housing resour ources um for the months of October to December um sadly to say the JFS social worker senior social worker um has moved on and they're trying to find a replacement so we hope to have um those Services continue once they find a new person and lastly we always want to emphasize um our information on make the right call and have people call the right numbers uh when they need it these are 24 hours a day 7 days a week um numbers for Emergency Services mental health and suicide prevention crisis hotline at 988 social services and poison control and that is the end of my presentation thank you thank you so much health officer Davenport any questions from my colleagues for I have three Mr daff okay here we go let's talk about h5n1 bird flu yes everyone is crazy about it we've gotten emails and phone calls some people even said that they took pictures of clusters I'm using their their terminology of dead birds that they found in our Parks right um let's start with the basics you reported here that for wildbirds report sick or dead wild boards Birds to D yes Department of Environmental Protection you noted where we'll put that on our website or have rpio do tip Tuesdays or whatever get the message out right now um so wild birds is D domestic Birds is Department of Agriculture yes so if you're talking about a farm uh like a poultry farm or any one of us who has um Chicken cops here that that's what they mean by sick or domestic uh sick or dead domestic birds so the difference between wild birds and domestic Birds is is that one is on a farm and taken care of by humans on a regular basis wild are um encountered anywhere not taken care of by any human wonderful you reported that thank you you reported on one of your slides that there have been confirmed uh diagnoses of bird flu in New Jersey yes no let me see hold on one second not in humans but not in humans yeah there are currently no confirmed um human cases in New Jersey but we are talking about birds yes the birds have um we've identified Aven flu in those water as well any here in Soma or mapso none that we know of that we know of no n that's been reported to us from the State Health Department no terrific thank you next Point um what are you laughing at me for you're just you're getting all lawyer you're lawyer okay so um I read in the local press this may have been the Village Green that there is a crisis intervention social worker now in South Orange is that right that's correct wonderful are we sharing the cost no who's paying for them South Orange is paying directly to the Mental Health Association of Essex and Morris and they're Contracting that crisis social worker co-response service with them I see wonderful uh so they have that mha affiliation like we did when we got started with our crisis intervention social workers but they are working with ours and they are overseeing by yourself and our team they're Co collaborating with um our crisis social workers and they're working with the other ones that they found in West Orange in Bloomfield so they're creating a um a support system in collaboration among um this new Venture of social workers on crisis great that's wonderful and then lastly um I've heard from a few seniors who are wondering if and this may not be your department there is some overlap here uh among between you and Community Services um seniors wanting to know about the senior tax frees because as you know um the program is expanding it's going to be uh New Jersey stay Which is far more expansive in terms of Eligibility uh requirements are we planning any sort of informational sessions to get that information out and help people apply yes so I can coordinate with the Department of Community Services as well as there so much Two Towns for all ages they usually get that information um a lot sooner and are the on to coordinate the presentations um the last one we had um I believe was earlier um in the fall and um that was coordinated with um I believe it was um assemblywoman Halls office so they helped to bring that together um we also hear about it from the Department of uh disability services so as soon as we have that information we'll we're happy to share it and we'll probably have another um a service program about it soon great and Mr daffis that has been done through our community service department through our senior services has been setting up those info sessions previously great terrific thank you thank you any other question Mr Dela so Robert Kennedy is going to become the new I Secretary of Health that's a um so I think we have to take this seriously because if the US Department of Health puts out what he believes they're going to contradict a lot of stuff that we've been talking about so how are how are you going to handle that are you going to rely more on the state as opposed to the federal um how are you and your colleagues talking about this and is there a state director so we are just coming to grips with the fact that he will be confirmed and what that means we're also uh coming to grip that for the past weekend um CDC DHHS um and all of these other um health related Federal programs have dropped off online so there have been no online access to any of us so for all of us who are doing research for all of us who are preparing our presentations we have no State we have no federal data so we've been relying on the state data and uh you you know snapping images and screenshots and that's um where we are right now with um where the federal government is with public health um so the state government um State Health Department in particular has said that they will keep their um their services and their data as recent and current as possible um they're doing everything that they can to preserve the data and still can collect data on behalf of the state um but as for the federal government we are still unknown as to what will come back when it comes back on live and um when it will come back up because he said it was going to come back earlier this week and it didn't so I hope to you know our goal is always to provide uh the township with the most current accurate um and honest information as possible so as we hear more about Aven flu or any other issues we will definitely bring it to your attention thank you any other question question this is the point where we open it up to the public so anybody here in town hall that would like to ask questions to health officer Davenport you may join us now no okay and then Mr wary will you help facilitate online if anyone on Zoom would like to address the Board of Health please raise your hand now I am moving over Miss Joan Crystal two panelists Miss Crystal welcome to the public portion you may unmute yourself and address the health committee thank you I have a question for Candace I understand that Renee Peters is leaving who can seniors contact in the meanwhile until her position is refilled if they have issues that she would normally been helping with thanks Joan that's a great question we reached out to uh JFS earlier this week and they provided us with um their interim case worker so um they are going to continue to provide her while they find a new replacement for Renee and so that there will be still a continuity of services for our Soma residents and you can call JFS uh directly and could you please tell us the phone number that they can call um I don't have it on me right now but if you call me tomorrow at 973 762 8120 my direct extension is 4400 and I'll be happy to get you that phone number or you could look it up online at Jewish Family Services I can look it up I'm concerned for people who may be listening who don't have that information so they can contact the health department yep happy to help them if anyone else on Zoom would like to speak to the Board of Health please raise your hand now I see no other hands then I move to adjourn into our next scheduled meeting on Tuesday March 4th 2025 second mayor Adams yes Mr daffis yes Mr DeLuca yes M Herman yes Miss angle yes to you mayor thank you very much thank you so much um thank you we move to we have no ordinances on for final passage but we move to several ordinances on for introduction Miss fritsen what a comment public comment oh oh did I skip it oh I skipped right over it my apologies public comment for agenda items only so I open it up to the public in the room and on Zoom for any agenda comments you might have correct so that's no that's okay go ahead I'd send you to the CDC website but miss Davenport was correct it's not up it doesn't show any it says website is being modified to comply with President Trump's executive orders ouch sorry I sent a letter to all of you yesterday uh will you identify yourself for the record oh I'm sorry that's okay ID Avenue neighborhood sent you all a letter yesterday afternoon um in relation to the um Coalition on Race um submitt for funding um and I want to read that letter into the record and I have a second comment and related question um the mission of CCR says actually the vision of CCR says we aspire to be a community that is a model for the nation in which people of different races ethnic groups and backgrounds can interact form friendships and participate fully in the community's economic political Civic educational and cultural life while I respect and have always supported those goals more recent events are concerning as you are well aware there was a problem at the MLK Day events at CHS on January 20th the speaker was denigrating and dismissive of Israel and American Jews many people walked out while CCR issued a vague apology there was no effort that I'm aware of to rectify the situation there is no indication that there was any discussion with the keynote speaker Mr uh Dr ambar of ruter nor any indication that the misinformation presented was corrected at the high school students are young and impressionable and unless corrected they assume information is credible for example as followup were students informed as to who Rabbi Abraham Joshua hesel was and why he would be significant in discussions of MLK where students informed that there is now a ceasefire in Gaza and some Israeli American and Tha hostages were released this is all ccr's responsibility a number of people who attended requested a copy of the recording of the event as documentation of that which witness they were told the meeting recording was deleted a person who attended the event added this event to the ongoing inprocess School District title 6 complaint with the Federal and State Department of Education Office of civil rights if it exists tomorrow you may not be aware that there have been other similar incidents in May 2024 CCR presented an event that was hosted at Congregation Beth l in South Orange it was a talk by Professor Kelly Harris at of the center for afrian studies at the University of Pennsylvania while the speaker presented some Val valuable background on disinformation as related to the history of African-Americans I learned in the second half of the lecture that Professor Harris had no issue promulgating anti-semitic tropes and ironically had no problem presenting dis disinformation and anti-semitic anti-israel comments regarding the at the time Pro Hamas protests and the war in Gaza I was totally gobsmacked that he would present this information while standing in a synagogue a Jewish house of worship many of us work walked out of that CCR event as well we were asked via email to provide feedback evaluations to CCR I did that in that evaluation I even asked to have a a group of concerned folks meet with CCR to engage in a discussion on the issues noted above there was no followup and no not any apology we we asked for a copy of the recording of the event as well we were told that quote there was a problem with taping the video so it was unavailable while the meeting was in progress we saw a person constantly monitoring the recording equipment so this is curious strange how this has happened twice now in 2022 CCR had its 25th anniversary celebration they presented siza at as the entertainment sza has posted anti-israel anti-semitic rhetoric on her social media I comment on this directly to CC and as asked that they not have this person at their event I had no response at the time I didn't even know that C's family with publicly anti-semitic members was part of the organization I wrote to the the township committee back then and questioned whether such an organization should have Public Funding there was no reply from the TC in some CCR has created a hostile environment where Jews do not feel welcome one error of judgment might be considered a mistake but I've provided three incidents as examples this is unacceptable and counter to ccr's stated Mission my instinct was to ask you to Def to defund CCR however as we all and I respect and support the original Mission of CCR I would recommend the following as a prerequisite for continued funding CCR must meet with students and parents who were at the MLK event at CHS students must be presented with corrected information as noted above this can be presented by CCR or by by agreed upon guests for example a local Rabbi or scholar otherwise the damage that is done cannot be rectified Maplewood must provide clear written criteria and expectation of ccr's programming events social media Etc Maplewood must provide oversight including vetting of board members staff speakers for events board members who Express anti-semitic or any other bigoted writing or behavior must be removed invited speakers must be made to understand that any type of bigoted or racist comments will not be accepted responding after the fact will not be accepted or funding will be in Jeopardy loans that are being issued by CCR for one specific portion of the population must be separated from public funds as this can be seen as discriminatory we all know that anti-Semitism is not a desired outcome of CCR the issues raised above along with the venomous pramas rallies with no permits since since October 7th to 2023 have made Jews in this town very uncomfortable I don't believe that the township of maple would supports any of that and I ask you all to take these issues very seriously if you have any comments I'd like to hear them and then I have one separate comment and a question go ahead H specifically Dean well last night while your heart excuse me just one second um please address him as Mr daf or Committee Member Mr daff sorry it's just a Corum I work in a town you're absolutely right and we should be formal Mr dafis while your heart was in the right place as always I and some others were really shocked last night when you raised the idea of CCR taking on the task of fighting anti-Semitism you referred to it as adopting the model of deconstructing racism and you called it deconstructing anti-Semitism while I'm always an advocate of the black and Jewish communities engaging in a more positive way regarding anti-Semitism at this time CCR needs to clean its own house first and this town needs to take very seriously the title 6 investigation of our school district and if Maplewood seriously considers funding and establishing a program to fight anti-Semitism that program should be coordinated directly with the Jewish Community it should be established with Jewish leaders rabbis and Scholars and interested local Jewish individuals there are many resources already in place for establishing such a program the United States Holocaust museum has education programs the Brandy Center in New York and our own local Metro West Jewish Federation could assist with programming if you're serious about working on this it must be done correctly and I know and I know there are those in the Jewish Community who would step up to assist noted okay now my last question totally unrelated um we all saw the fires in Los Angeles and we had fires here last summer we live right below South Mountain reservation and I don't expect an answer tonight but I wanted to know if there was something in process whether these towns have been discussing um preparedness and informing the public what would happen if we had an extensive Wildfire here thank you m Fetzer I will toss it over to Committee Member Duca because we this was discussed at our scfd meeting recently so the the uh plan is that um we Implement Mutual Aid the New Jersey fire service is the entity that will actually fight the fire in the reservation uh our responsibility and the surrounding towns the responsibility is to provide water so we would hook up hydrants on our streets and run hoses up to Pumpers up there and they would provide the water to the fire service and then our responsibility is to protect structures so we would uh create a baseline protect the structures down the hill from the reservation while the firefighter fire service was actually fighting the fire and you know the quantity of water was a problem out there in California have we assessed that we actually have enough water yeah I don't think we have a problem with water thank you for that answer thank you for allowing me to go early yes thank you um Mr wary could you check online to see if there's anyone for public hon agenda items if anyone joining on Zoom would like to speak in public portion on agenda items please raise your hand now I'm moving over Mr hell Camp to panelist Mr H welcome to public portion you may unmute yourself and address the committee thank you um good evening at day home Camp 571 Prospect Street I wanted to just uh uh provide a couple comments on the four or two of the four ordinances related to zoning and land use um the first is uh 3142 regarding the site plans I I was hoping on introduction that that uh a Committee Member or or our attorney could clarify why the planning board is not um required to um comment on this I know it's it's currency review but I I didn't see the language in the ordinance that I understood that it wasn't required um and then regarding 3142 and also 3146 um I would request that that um someone prepare a briefing a brief briefing for the planning board in writing as to the rationale the pros and the cons benefits or detriments as May apply to the changes that are proposed um I don't think that there's enough in in the ordinance has written for them to uh understand what um what was discussed I assume in in code committee um regarding these changes Mr H is that both on 3142 d25 and 31 and also 3146 on parking okay um I can answer that typically the ordinances go to the planning board on after we introduce so the yeah no absolutely but I'm suggesting that that whatever rationale pro and con for these changes um be available to the planning board before they convene okay um Miss cido so the with respect to the first question the site plan definition change doesn't constitute a development regulation within the the meaning of that particular section of the uh Municipal land use law although it does not require as a result planning board evaluation for saate plan uh for planning master plan consistency uh as a general matter we still would like to send to the planning board any thoughts that they have that they would like to transmit to us before final adoption obviously would be welcome and we are planning on transmitting it together with the uh the other uh development regulation ordinances that are before you tonight for introduction with respect to the rationale for um for the other rezoning ordinances uh these were drawn uh directly from recommendations in the master plan obviously there was you know some reference to the master plan um language in the ordinances themselves but the master plan speaks for itself the planning board I think is very familiar with that document it being so comprehensive and recent um but I'm sure that any further information that the planning board may require we could certainly provide right and I will note that two members of the planning board are present at the code committee meetings for these discussions so um they're well aware Mr if I could just if I could just follow up thank you for the answer um if I could just follow up I don't think the master plan discusses any pros or cons to the changes or for that matter may not even address the rationale to begin with it may just State as a recommendation so I'll certainly go back and reread those sections um but I do think that that the changes raised some questions that it would be great to have that background in front of the planning board thank you can I can I can I get in there mayor sure just briefly yes so um thank you for the question Mr Hamp um actually if you uh as our attorney noted the zoning changes are nearly word for word transfers from the master plan uh that we recently adopted last year uh that you're very well aware of because you were actively engaged as an important stakeholder in the community during those sessions uh that resulted in that new master plan uh but if you take a look and I'm happy to uh work with you on this if you like I can send you to the specific Pages where the master plan document does provide context does provide rationale does provide reasoning it it does reason why um you know we should uh reduce the highway business Zone uh in certain areas why we should uh consider this parking requirement and residential that we're making why we should do uh what we're introducing tonight so um I would um you know I would encourage you to uh reach out to us or to me if you like uh and to go back to the master plan document which is also available and searchable on our website in digital format if that's uh a little bit more convenient since it's a big document and lastly I will also note that of course when we send this over to the plan planning board it will have uh the rationale that we um that we noted this evening um and as the mayor noted again uh there are uh two uh both the chair and the vice chair of the planning board have been uh very close to this and these discussions um and the mayor and myself will be at the planning board to provide additional context during those hearings and reviews um and I think that covers your questions I believe thank you mayor thank you and thank you m it certainly does Mr I'm sorry we're not doing it back and for it certainly does sorry sorry um we're not doing it back and forth he had three minutes to speak we don't necessarily answer and we're not this can come up at the plan board um so anybody else on for public comment if anyone else would like to speak in public portion please raise your hand now I see no hands mayor great thank you Mr worry um Miss fritzon we'll move on to introduction of ordinance 3142 d25 yes mayor uh all on introduction this evening ordinance number 3142 d25 is an ordinance to amend chapter 271 of the code of the township of Maplewood entitled zoning and development regulations with respect to site plan requirements the interpretive statement is this ordinance will amend Article Five zoning provisions of chapter 271 of the township code to exempt certain interior building alterations and certain development subject to Redevelopment plans from site plan approval requirements okay this ordinance would can I get a motion on introduction I move the passage of this ordinance on first reading its publication according to law in the Maplewood South Orange News Record and a hearing to be held on February 18th I'll second Mr daffis yes Mr DeLuca yes angle yes Herman yes yes mayor Adams yes next ordinance 3143 d25 yes mayor uh ordinance number 3143 d25 is an ordinance to amend chapter 271 of the code of the township of mwood entitled zoning and development regulations to rezone certain properties within the highway business zoning District this ordinance will amend Article Five zoning provisions of chapter 271 of the township code to rezone certain properties currently in the highway business HB zoning District as to the R14 residential zoning District or the office business OB zoning District thank you can I get a motion Mr T certainly mayor I move the passage of this ordinance on first reading its publication according to law in the Maplewood South Orange news record and a hearing to be held on February 18th I'll second Mr daffis yes Mr Duca yes Miss angle yes Herman yes mayor Adams yes next ordinance 3144 d25 yes mayor also on introduction 3144 d25 it's an ordinance to amend chapter 271 of the code of the township of mwood entitled zoning and development regulations with respect to the research and office zoning District this ordinance will amend Article Five zoning provisions of chapter 271 of the township code to eliminate the research and office R zoning district and to include the subject property in the highway business HB zoning District can I get a motion Mr daff certainly mayor I move the passage of this ordinance on first read reading its publication according to law in the Maplewood South Orange News Record and a hearing to be held on February 18th I'll second Mr Davis yes Mr Duca yes Miss Angel yes Miss Herman yes mayor Adams yes next ordinance 3145 d25 yes mayor also an introduction ordinance number 3145 d25 calendar year 2025 ordinance to exceed the municipal budget appropriation limits and to establish a cap Bank per njsa 48445 point4 I move the passage of this ordinance on first reading its publication according to law in the Maplewood South Orange News Record and a hearing to be held on February 18th I second the motion Mr daffis yes Mr Luca yes angle yes Herman yes mayor Adams yes and last ordinance on introduction 3146 yes mayor finally also on introduction 3146 d25 is an ordinance to amend chapter 271 of the code of the township of mwood entitled zoning and development regulations with respect to residential parking requirements this ordinance will amend Article 5 zoning provisions of chapter 271 of the township code to reduce the number of parking spaces required for res idential uses I move the passage of this ordinance on first reading its publication according to law in the Maplewood South AR News Record and a hearing to be held on February 18th I'll second Mr daffis yes Mr Luca yes SLE yes Thurman yes mayor Adams yes thank you and uh thanks Mr daffis for chairing the code committee with all this work four out of the five ordinances we spent a lot of time talking about them and um it's a lot of research and back and forth and very worthwhile so thank you mayor thank you good yeah it's good to see it moving yeah uh we'll move to depart uh Department reports Mr wary no report mayor thank you no report from Administration are you worn out from last okay any questions for Mr R okay I'll assume that was just that accidental okay that was an accident sorry um Miss cido welcome back mayor no report no report from our attorney all right moving right along any questions for our attorney this evening no okay we'll move to miss friton I have a report I know um mayor and Township committee I just wanted uh to report that uh concerning our polling locations uh we've been approached uh the township by uh the school district to consider moving uh Columbia High School cafeteria uh polling location back to Clinton School from uh where where we were originally before the Clinton School Renovations uh began several years ago um so you know um to that end we're going to have a walkth through of Clinton School next week with uh myself uh the police department our um uh County officials it is not a um decision that the township or myself can make but the county would certainly um listen to what our recommendation would be and we've made several recommendations over the years that um the county has always accepted but I have not seen what the renovations are and what they um have mind whether or not we would be back in the gymnasium or it would be in one of the newer areas uh so again we have a walkth through schedule for Tuesday of next week and I will let the township committee know what the decision is from there what our recommendation will be to the uh Board of Elections yes I believe superintendent big me Bing mentioned uh Conflict for election day with prom yeah because the date was changed and so there's a conflict that there building is there's going to be students in the building at the high school that day and so that was the concern about moving it for so the thing is that once you move it you move it move it so it's not like just this year right no but I think that there's still people still don't necessarily know that they don't vote at Clinton that they voted CHS so it feels like going back to the original location my your concern I mean I think that the concern from the school district was that safety and we always hear from the public about kids in the schools when public are coming into the schools and the election primary date was moved late and they already have proms scheduled for that evening and we don't want to interfere with the festivities that these high school children the high school youth get um taking photos at the high school um they do a lot of stuff at the high school to make it safe and to make everyone feel inclusive everyone meets there to take buses to where the prom location so it was just because of the date of the primary being moved that has caused some concern primary got moved not the pro right is there a way to do it at the high school that would not interfere like move it to the gym or something um it's just it it is going to be a problem for how long has it been at the high school excuse me how long has the voting Place been at the high school only since over probably five years five years five years well it's been five years I would say um and and I've expressed this to um several people the uh parking was not great at Clinton School the handicap accessibility if that's maybe been that's been changed that's been Chang that's been changed but I mean also if we're going to be in Elementary School gym again it's way too small okay well we since it's not our decision I'll leave it to the county to right do the walk through with you make recommendations and that's why I called for the walkth through next week right okay let us know how it goes okay all right thank you anything else uh nothing else okay any questions for Miss britson okay with that we'll move on to elected official reports Committee Member angel thank you um so I thought I would use my Township report to announce that I will not be um seeking reelection for another term um this year this has been one of the hardest decisions I've ever had to make because I've gotten such joy out of serving our community sorry I my and I'm grateful to the voters in Maplewood that put your faith in me I'm immensely proud of the work I've accomplished over the past two years and one month in this Township committee position like the greenway every time I drive on Jefferson and P pass it I I think I did that I moved forward a project that have been St installed for 15ish years and and here it is an important connection that will one day link Maplewood and South Orange with bike and walking trails I've spearheaded initiatives to bring our Maplewood and South Orange Health departments together under the leadership of one Health officer and to create the new position of public information officer you can now follow us on Instagram at Maplewood TP I fought hard to lower the cost of pool fees and expands weekend swim lessons for school AG children and I have reactivated the youth advisory committee and I look forward to continuing to work this year with Deputy Mayor Herman to add youth voices to more of our boards and committees as we did here tonight because even though I'm announcing tonight that I will not seek re-election this year there are still 11 months left in my service and in these 11 months there is still a lot of work to be done top on my list is to continue advocating for alter alternate Transportation networks like bike Lanes to make it easier and safer to move around Maplewood without the need for a car so we can reduce traffic and improve pedestrian safety for the next 11 months I promise to continue to work collaboratively with my colleagues listen to our community and continue to be an independent voice in your government and then in January 2026 I'm going to take a nice long break because while this job is fun and rewarding it is also very timec consuming and doesn't feel sustainable for a single working mother I'm also excited that my open seat will create opportunity for others to raise their hands and bring their unique voice to our government it can be intimidating to run against an incumbent but now the path is clear I believe in competitive elections giving voters a choice and I hope that more than one candidate will seek this position and run in the primary I'm happy to chat with anyone interested and I encourage you to attend one of the FAQ forums being held by the Maplewood Democrats I thank the community of Maplewood for your trust in me and the support and encouragement I have received from so many of you over the past years and especially over the past few months I thank my kids and their dad Matt for sitting up with all the meetings and lending me out to Maplewood and I thank my colleagues and the staff for all they put in to make Maplewood the best place to live and I look forward to getting lots done together in the next 11 months that is my report thank you very much I didn't know so surise thank you for that thank you of course for your service so any questions or comments to miss Ango we're not going to say goodbye tonight no we we got 11 months to be together so we're good um thank you very much um Deputy Mayor Herman well I look forward to working with you for the next 11 months to accomplish all the things that we've been talking about for the last many many years um and I was also going to outpoint the um Instagram thank you for doing that um it's really been very active since our Pio started Maplewood TW WP I'll say it again because um a lot of the activities that I was going to share tonight are posted on our Instagram um and a lot of uh programs if you're not getting the weekly email from Recreation go to our website and sign up for it there's many other things that you can sign up for to get information from town I'm going to point out just a few things that are new uh well we have a last call for the senior social on February 11th making heart-shaped pizzas we have two new senior offerings coming up next month a senior care Workshop to make a bath and salt soak on March 5th and a 2-day clay project there's a new babysitting class a new travel basketball mapso Madness for boys and girls in age 3rd to 8th signups just started and then this will start in um April there's a new Ultimate camp that just opened um signups uh are started this is for intermediate and advanced skills in grades 7 to 11 so this gets with a lot of the youth programming that um we've both been talking about um there's more spots that just opened up on our NFL FLAG Football Camp and I just want to highlight our mapso SummerSlam basketball camp because this is a really amazing camp that is organized inhouse uh by our very own coach Mike so there are still spots please go check it out and again uh make sure you sign up for our rec department emails because you can get all this information to your emails and sign up for our amazing classes and you can also F follow arts and culture Maplewood that is another Instagram that you can follow um for all of the many many black history month events that are coming up oh that's it that's it any questions you I thought you were gonna keep going okay any questions for Deputy Mayor Herman passing it I know but yeah it's it stops in the middle first I have to intercept um no questions from Miss Herman okay Committee Member DeLuca would you like to talk about Black History Month yes I have a few things I think Mr weary gave me all his things so I could uh he could have no report he doesn't here for so he could have no report and I'd be here for a half hour so uh again Black History Month is this month and we do have a a great lineup of activities you can go to Maplewood artsand culture. org MBH and uh check out all the events I'm just going to go through quick this week Thursday night we have black queer readings Friday night Columbia futurisms is a runway show it's something new for us uh Saturday Aubra Fashions they're doing a head wrap tying Workshop cool and then Sunday we have the Georgia of the north black women and the New Jersey civil rights movement and that's a book and that'll be uh you see it right there um so those are activities so and they go on and on the month the week after and the week after and the week after right through the 28th right um I want to give you a quick update on the South Essex fire department uh this year I am the chair of the management committee and we are holding the first uh public budget meeting of uh the scfd short one and a half year history it'll be on Thursday February 13th it'll be a zoom meeting at 7:30 p.m. we will be looking at the uh expenditures for 2024 and the proposed budget for 2025 our goal is to adopt the budget on February 25th and then we are planning to have a joint budget meeting of the governing bodies of each Town it'll be a zoom meeting where uh we will do a courtesy uh presentation of the budget to the towns and be able to have some dialogue um and that's all before and that'll be both the operating and the capital budget and just quickly on uh some stats for 2024 we responded to about 5,000 incidents uh in the Two Towns um by far by far uh the rescue Emergency Medical Services were the most uh 48% of all those calls and um as you know uh Maplewood contracts with uh the South Essex fire department to provide EMS service Serv in Maplewood so um we our fire our the firefighters responded to about 1,600 uh EMS calls and we had 378 um Mutual Aid uh EMS calls most of those came from the South Orange rescue squat somewhere in 300 plus vicinity so we really thank them as our partner and um I know that you know we've been working with them for years and uh they have uh been coming to Maplewood with a fundraising letter so please be generous and help them out because they do provide services in Maplewood I just want to go back to those statistics again there were 82 fires in Maplewood and 99 fires in South Orange and clearly we have to charge them by the fire because we would get during what period the whole year 82 in Maplewood and 99 in South Orange now of those eight of those were house fired okay you're going to fine fires okay that's 82 fires that's a lot of fires that's still a lot of fires those are car fires dumpster fires uh brush fires cooking fires the dumpster fir yeah dumpster fires uh and so um but structure fires luckily we've only had eight and South Orange had nine um we still do a a good run of mutual Aid to our surrounding towns as they come into our town when we need them so uh that's part of the deal we work together with them and um but scfd is is moving forward and uh um you know we've were about to uh approve the contract fiveyear contract with the the uh fmba I'm sorry yes fnba and the superior firefighters and so uh things are much we're in a much better place right now um I wanted to you know we've hear a lot about Federal funding in the cancellation so today uh and and we were worried about this a bit uh our FEMA funding our Fe obligation for the library which is 1.5 million we still have another 200,000 coming to us for some road construction up on uh off of um Ridgewood uh that money was being held but luckily there was a court order yes um and so the court order uh federal agencies cannot pause freeze impede block cancel or ter any awards or obligations on the basis of the OEM o om memo or on the basis of the president's recently issued executive orders for now for now when do we get the check well we won't get it until the work is done so that's the problem so you know hopefully know these are this is an obligation that the federal government made to our town and towns across the country you know grants uh the Mikey Cheryl grant that we got that's another one that's in on this list so we we received uh uh commitments from the federal government to uh support this and and we're going to have to hold it to them so let's hope that this this is a permanent injunction it doesn't get overruled in any any way shape or form it sounds like it it you know it may just uh stay in there so we might be in good shape we need the courts to hold um you know over the years we've received uh requests about overnight parking we do make uh four Lots the public lots available Yale Street Prospect Street the Woodland and Highland for overnight parking on our uh rental basis um I'm going to bring this up at Public Safety to consider adding deart and Maple Crest to that list we do have people um from both of those areas who are looking for some additional parking right now it's called a type a uh permit parking which allows the permit holder to Park daily in a Township parking lot between the hours of 2: a.m. and 6:00 a.m. uh for type a permit it's uh according to this is $240 a year for the first car if there are additional cars it's um $600 per year does that include the pool parking lot or no no that's different that's a different arrangement with the condo the condos yes um interject the 240 uh for that um type A is on the street in in front of your home if you qualify do not have a driveway but the uh lot parking is uh $50 a month okay I think I think we have to we'll look at it take a look at that because that's not what the ordinance says it says type A and type B are 240 so maybe this is uh you know has to be revised this goes back to 2018 so um but any EV we're going to talk about public safety and then lastly I just wanted to uh U let you all know that on our consent agenda we have 7625 which is the credit policy the resolution on the credit policy on the storm water um we made it clear that the credit applies to the following year so at any time that you apply uh whatever is the date that you get that approval of the credit it applies to your um uh bill for the next year we did add a definition in a footnote of what a 10-year storm is I I uh you can read it and still try to figure it out it's a little hard uh we made some other changes here and there um and uh you know the resol by doing this as a resolution it allows us to modify it to make changes we don't have to come back in an ordinance so it's a more Dynamic process and we're going to learn a lot this year so having it as an as a resolution uh that allows us to make some modifications for example you know the the um uh the copy that we have still has arcadis in the uh header in the footer rather we have to take that out so there's some things like that um but you know I think we we tried to address everyone's concern and I think we're moving forward with this so okay thank you very much anybody have any questions for Mr tuca okay with that we'll move to Committee Member Deus thank you I don't have a report I have one item I need to inform the public about okay thank you mayor so um I've been receiving a lot of emails and calls as have other members of the LGBT Q community in leadership um from our families who have trans youth certainly the Trump campaign demonized and attacked trans youth in particular and president Trump is following on those promises um and so we have a lot of families who are concerned for their trans youth um they're concerned about their documentation they're concerned about a lot of things and now more than ever uh it's important for uh support groups to become available for people to gather um to share space together and to if necessary we necessary rather receive uh other services so I want to make note that this Sunday this upcoming Sunday there there will be a free support group for Trans youth this upcoming Sunday it is uh available in hybrid so you can show up in person or you could you can participate online it's being organized by local uh partners and Spectrum Health and if you want to get information about it DM me as the kids say uh on Facebook or on Instagram and uh I will provide those Det details uh for obvious reasons we want this to be a very safe and secure uh support group for our trans Youth and I want to take the opportunity as well to highlight I'm really proud uh of our Essex County lgbtq Advisory Board I've been a member since I became an elected official um and our amazing Essex County uh um executive Joe de Vincenzo has been such a tremendous Ally to our community uh I just want to say that the board uh along with the office of lgbtq Affairs uh of Essex County under the leadership of Joe D and our chair Reggie bledo today um publicly firmly um supported uh the lgbtq community in our trans and non-binary persons um in Essex County and throughout New Jersey and that sort of affirmation In This Moment in time is really really critical it's a simple thing but it's a powerful and meaningful thing so um really proud of that and I want people out there to know that um and again DM me uh for information about this Sunday's free support group thank you mayor thank you any questions for Committee Member Deus none okay I have no report so we'll move right into discussion items we have authorization to apply for sustainable Jersey Grant I vote Yes okay so uh ironically the master plan uh recommends that we create an environmental resource inventory is what we're talking about an inventory of all environmental resources along with information on their condition and it talks about how this would be a useful document and then the last sentence in this is funding is available to create the inventory through the sustainable Jersey program so even in the the plan they're identifying so I did speak to uh uh Mr McCoy who's the chair of our environmental advisory committee he concurs that we should uh we should do a new uh uh inventory we haven't had one done since 2006 and also um thinks that we should try to get this through sustainable Jersey so I just want to move that we uh authorize the township to apply for um sustainable Jersey Grant I'll second frit Mr daffis yes Mr Duca yes M angle yes Herman yes mayor Adams yes thank you uh next is Miss Angel amendments to environmental advisory committee ordinance thank you mayor yes so we've been talking at the environmental advisory committee about a couple of things one is that we've had a long-standing chair on Mr McCoy and um we have um we've been talking about adding either a co-chair or a vice chair so that we can have two leaders and we have someone who stepped up and we voted um so we wanted to change our ordinance to note um that either a co-chair or a vice chair and we've also been talking about adding additional members because we have a great core team of I think 10 and um there hasn't been openings and we feel like with the green team kind of being quiet um and environmental advisory committee taking on more programming like cleaning the river and we've been talking about Green Day events that it might be helpful to add a couple members um to help out with Community engagement and event produced that kind of thing producing um as well we weren't really sure what was happening with the green team or what was in that ordinance or resolution and if there's anything in the Green Team ordinance or that that the environmental advisory committee should add to our ordinance I suggested we talk about that sustainable Maplewood um with Mr McCoy um but we're going to the environment advisor committee is going to look at the ordinance to see if there's anything else that they want to flag and we'll bring it to the next meeting but I just wanted to open up a conversation here to make sure you guys are okay with elevating a second totally chair Vice chair and then that person can also be appointed to sustainable Maplewood um to take the place of the chair of the Green Team um and that way Mr McCoy has a as a cohort collaborate with I like it I in favor so we'll um our committee will go back and see if there's any other changes for the ordinance we'll send them around and then we will put that on for the next okay um did you want to put it on uh for next reading you want to work with miss cdio about yeah we'll work it'll either be next meeting or the one following I'll talk to the because we meet the fourth Wednesday um so we'll so confer and come back to you all to let you know if it's going to be in the yeah meeting or March fair enough great uh I think it's a great idea to expand the membership especially with everything going on and the green team's um sort of not around right now so and we have a lot of um really activated and excited people on environmental advisor comme and there's been people who've been wanting to join environmental advisory committee so I think it's a great opportunity to bring sustainable missions to our community great thank you for that um Vic you or Mr Duca sorry we have we have a protol we have a protocol deorum yes Corum you know please we do uh recognizing first yeah so um I was struck uh maybe a year ago or more we had an individual come here um and she was sitting in the audience and she finally come up here and the first thing she said is you know I look around here and she's African-American and she said you know none of these murals reflect me uh or my or you know I don't see anybody who looks like me on the murals and I mean the murals are wonderful and the building is wonderful but you know the murals represented a a different time than now and the plaques we have out in the hall obviously Mr deart Mayor dehart was the first mayor and then mayor grir who was a mayor for a very long time white men and had two two more white men and um we used to have this in the Duran headden room where I used to call it the Dead Man's the dead white man's room um and then we changed it and we put up some contemporary pictures when I was on the library board earlier not in this interation but uh and we changed it and it just changed the whole feeling of the room um so anyway I I thought you know we have these you know we're talking about black history next month we're going to talk about women's history um we have uh LGBT pride month coming up um we have Hispanic month coming up and I was really thinking of people who had cycled off the township committee so it's no offense to of course first sitting on the town of course I was n taken but um so anyway I thought what we ought to do is put together a small group that could figure out how to taste ful make some changes whether it's in this room it's in the lobby it could be in our meeting room where we have except for what Mr weie pointed out almost duplicates of what's in here um but anyway change up a little bit of what we're doing you know we have Dr Jay Harry Smith who was the first African-American on the township committee served one term um he is a first in many ways uh first at Georgetown University law school he was the first to be appoint to the seen Hall University Board of Trustees first college President African-American college President Essex County College and um uh you know so it's just something that we ought to I think we ought to just see him as first Ken Pettis was the first African-American mayor he served Five Years on the township committee one year as mayor uh Theo bulad Theodora bulad was the first woman woman to serve on the township committee and that's when it was all Republican was she the first Democrat she was not the first Democrat no um and she served and this was 1989 was the time we the first woman wow you figured the vote was 1929 60 years before that's czy woman got on the township committee amazing um so anyway uh so and then Ellen Davenport was the first female mayor and served for four years served total of 12 Years on the township committee four years as mayor so I'm the first female mayor in the 21st century you are you're certainly the first female M there you go there you go Corum but Nancy um so anyway I thought that maybe to sort of um supplement what the the I mean it's a rich history and it's really a great history but to supplement the history which kind of ends in the 1950s right um you know to have something more contemporary recognizing some of the other firsts you know have Seth boy and and and Asher Durant and all those people who are who were like really Stars well these folks these four people I just mentioned are really stars because they they broke through the barriers and so that's what my proposal is and if we want to do something like this then I think we put together a little group I'd like to bring in some of the historic preservation folks maybe um a couple of them who have recycled off because they've worked on this building here and maybe some other people voters yeah maybe and just put together just a little thought of how to do this Tastefully I'd recommend um including our arts and culture manager yeah that would be a good idea because she has a lot of experience with exhibits and what yeah yeah okay that's wonderful jaction since I think no I think it's a great idea it's wonderful absolutely wonderful thank you I love it um I remember I know exactly what you're talking about because I remember when that statement was made and since then I've been going around and looking at all of these pictures and they're beautiful and it you know seeing like the 4th of July and some of the things that we do like the fireworks and you know but but yeah it's it it is portraying a different time um and I think this is a really really nice um suggestion okay we'll move forward uh Mr warry thank you m meeting yes so uh we have an option regarding our um a capital request from The Joint meeting with sxu Union County where we uh have our sanitary sewer waste go to they have assessed an $887,000 24 uh Capital assessment they've given us options uh for how we want to finance that Mr Cog the CFO had provided the township committee a memo January 19th outlining the four options available to us and I had followed up with a recommendation that the township fund the amount by loaning ourselves at a 0% interest loan and then paying it back in the Years 26 27 in 2028 and we would raise the money to repay that loan with an added assessment on our sewer utility um rate payers in those years and so that's my recommendation to the township committee we have to give a answer to the Joint meeting about if you want to use their financing or our financing we give that answer to them now and then we have some time still to assess exactly how we want to uh to fin it ourselves but as we're going through the budget process it helps us to have some clarity for how we'll handle this and again that's my recommendation and we need to um we need to let them know by when we're gonna let them know after the meeting if after this meeting after this meeting that's right after we will be financing through the joint meeting The Joint meeting is won't be a 0% interest no they fund through the New Jersey infrastructure Bank currently that rate is 6% which is higher than the most recent note sale that we had and certainly higher than a 0% loan to ourselves and that rate is subject to change and so that is part of the reason why the the CFO had recommended we Finance ourselves but then we have three options on financing ourselves which both the CFO and I had laid out and the most advant major of those I believe is loaning the money to ourselves this year and then paying it back with an assessment again in the next three years okay so it wouldn't affect the sewer bill for the residents this year that's right that's right it would start next year and if we spread it out across three years the impact is around $30 uh per year per rate pair and didn't we raise it a few years ago for another Capital project yes you did and have we have the residents finished paying that off so or will this be an addition to they have finished paying that off okay okay so we have time to think about I mean I'd be in favor of loaning ourselves at 0% agree um yeah go with your recommendation yeah and then we'll dig into the other stuff um with regard to the residential burden yeah yes yes okay but good questions on that though huh yeah good questions on that yeah any other thoughts or questions no okay with that we'll move on to the consent agenda I move the cons the adoption of the consent agenda I'll second miss priton Mr daffis yes Mr DeLuca yes Miss Engle yes M Herman yes mayor Adams yes thank you it's time for our public comment on any subject matter there's no one in the room Mr where is there anyone on Zoom any public joining on Zoom would like to speak in public portion please raise your hand now I see no hands mayor okay thank you can I get a motion for adjournment to adjourn second Mr daffis yes Mr Luca yes single yes serman yes mayor Adams yes thank you we'll be re reconvening on February 18th have a good night every everybody