[Music] hello everybody and welcome to the November 13 2023 buau council meeting for the matachin buau council adequate notice of this meeting has been given in accordance with the open public meetings act pursuant to Public Law 1975 chapter 231 said notice was sent to the home News Tribune in Star Ledger on December 21st 2022 posted in burough Hall and on file in the clerk's office all requirements of the open public meetings act have been satisfied please join me for the flag salute I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liy and justice for all roll call please miss zupan council member Branch here council member jamboy here council member H here council member Heyman here council member kandell here council president dilia here mayor Bush here is there a motion to open the agenda session I make a motion to open the agenda session is there a second second all those in favor I any opposed I have nothing today okay we need to close the agenda session okay yes is there a motion to close theend I make a motion to close the agenda session is there a second second all those in favor I I any opposed okay genda session is now closed all right we're now into the best practices inventory for 2023 has everybody reviewed the breast practices inventory yes are there any questions any questions on the best practice inventory is there a motion to accept it I make a motion to accept the best practices inventory a motion is there a second second all those in favor I any opposed okay at this time we're going to open public comment anyone wishing to address the burough Council and mayor come the microphone anyone I was going to say come on Paul hi just your name and address for the record please thank you Ryan seagull e East Brunswick New Jersey uh good evening Council uh we're here from Robert Wood Johnson Hospital in New Brunswick uh we're 1700 nurses that have been on strike uh for over 100 days now uh since August 4th without health insurance since September 1st um hopefully you guys receiv received an email from our nurses uh we're requesting support for a resolution to be passed um supporting the nurses the strike and safe Staffing bills that are in the legislature uh so we're here tonight we wanted to follow up and see if you have any plans on supporting that so uh I'd be interested in I I I don't know that I actually got the information I wasn't here at the last meeting I know that you all came but I'd be happy to to take whatever that gentleman is holding up sure um we'll take whatever information with respect to legislation as a matter of course our Council doesn't pass legisl or just pass resolution Solutions uh for matters that have less to do with buau business but I think we're really interested obviously in supporting nurses uh as as as as much as possible I know that you're in a middle of a labor dispute and that's something that we've been following quite closely just as residents I think of the area I think Robert Wood Johnson and and the staff at Robert Wood Johnson are very important to this community just like hackin saac and Atlantic health and some of the other systems and I know how important your roles are in that but I we're not going to be passing uh a resolution on that but we will be very interested in whatever information you have so that we could look into it and maybe have individual discussions possibly with our state legislators about that and we would like to stress that we are on strike for safe patient Staffing ratios you know we're not striking for pay increase it's all about safe patient uh ratios and even though it's in the leg legislature and you know this is local it really this affects the community as you know very much very largely so that's why we are looking for support on getting resolutions from townships I appreciate whatever ever you have I'd be very interested in reading that I make sure everybody has it I know that there was an email I don't know that I was on it but either way let's answer any questions uh tonight or in the future all right Mr seagull thank you you could just uh you could you could hand that to our clerk that'd be great thank you other comments from the public our clerk I'm sorry on the left yep that's me S or you're right excuse me hi just name and address for the record please um good evening my name is Lu smirnova I'm resident of matachin I am also one of the nurses from Roberto Johnson um I just want to stress out that it's not only unfair Labor practice you know and strike it's a public issue because we see um patients and residents from our Township from townships around matachin and we are level one Trauma Center so we get the sickest patients so many patients we get from JFK from Princeton you know and it's we want to do the care we want to do our best but it's not possible because we are so under staff and when you get to the hospital it's not a good time in anybody life you come for help and we the one who face the patient and the families first I'm pediatric nurse so for me patient is always the family there is mother there is father or somebody else so if you need anything we are there for you we forget about our family but you know we want to do our best and at the end of the day we want to go home and we will know that we did everything that possible for that patient we call my patient I call my child you know because it's a kids so please and there is a lot of townships Highland Park Edison who passed the resolution please also the last time on a uh council meeting we talk about the bills safe stuffing bills please ask you know um to support those bills it's very very important and we are one of the first one in New Jersey to standing to make it legal in California it's already for 20 years the law in place and they're doing very well there is many researches done that it's benefit the patient care the benefits the Staffing the hospital our working condition it's our patient care conditions thank you very much okay thank you thank you very much um just really quick it's my understanding that the bill that you're you're discussing is actually sponsored by Senator dnan is that right we actually did multiple calls you know we go to politician and we ask support for those bills they um I believe on the table for almost 10 years so they need to be passed so every facility will benefit and every member of community will benefit thank you very much thank you very much other members of the public good evening my name is Paul Bradley I live at 22 Center Street uh recently with the decision to go coin loop with all the parking meters we now have a situation around by the post office around there there are about four or five areas to park for free for short-term usage but during peak times those are not enough spaces and people are then forced to park in meter spaces all the meters have been disemboweled and now there are just these Park smarter stickers on all of them with the QR code right the minimum charge now is $2 a dollar for parking and a dollar for Park smarter so we may have have created the most expensive short-term meter par that's not accurate you can continue but that's not accurate we'll we'll correct it if you want to go through all your yeah okay um I found out about this a day or two after the previous council meeting and I'm walking down New Street and two in a row right next to each other people holding coins wondering what to do one couple spoke no English they walked away I hope they didn't get a ticket the next day I'm on Pearl Street and an elderly woman quite well dressed holding her coin and I said no can do and she said well I tried the the credit card once and my card was hacked I'm not comfortable doing this why am I forced to do this and I thought back to the council meeting I said because they don't care about you I heard the rationale for this and it was like the burrow this the bank that the burrow this nothing about the people it almost sound like a CEO explaining a decision by management to close a factory or something like that so then I crossed the street and I go to the parking lot behind my touch of news and see as every day people struggling with that pay station everybody hates it even the parking enforcement officers don't like it and a woman we locked eyes and she's also elderly and she said well they don't make these things for our generation and I said yeah because I heard then that the DPW has better things to do with their time than collect coins to accommodate people who are not techsavvy and just are not comfortable using this system basically for for people like that it's get with the program if you want to be downtown or get lost um if people think that going coinless is so great I would say put your money where your mouth is have the burrow eat the bank fees that go with this and the service charges that go with this otherwise you're just forcing people to pay more for something they may or may not want right and that because basically you're saying we want to do business this way and we're going to force you to do business this way and pay for the way we want you to do business and to me that's bullying that's not governance I'm sorry that's what bullying oh that's not governance not not to me now I don't know the political philosophy of each of you in terms of governance right I mean mine is that you look you always put the most vulnerable people first those compromised financially educationally mentally physically even generationally whether old or young you don't have to agree with me of course you just don't but please nobody say to me this this intellectually bankrupt argument that well other towns have gone coinless yes some have some haven't Monclair is still using coins they're not cowed by the Banks right so at the minimum could you please maybe do something about the situation around the uh the post office I would suggest just actually if you want a more efficient enforcement of parking to get rid of all the meters over there they're hardly used because it's a professional Service District right and Victorian office rentals allows people that has parking behind those buildings for clients right and and staff over there they're hardly ever used you already have some two-hour parking Zone on Amboy Avenue if you get near the woodstack I you just make all that area 2hour parking and let let the parking enforcement officers focus on the where the money really is because it's not over there it just isn't right so uh I want to thank you for hearing me out uh I hope you know I know some of you like the mayor knows that agreement and respect are not the same thing sometimes they go together sometimes they don't but my respect is always there or I would not come to talk with you and by the same token criticism and ill will are not the same thing I hold ill will towards nobody Life's too short for that so thank you for hearting me out and I want to wish you and yours a happy Thanksgiving good night thanks Paul Thanksgiving I I just I mean I I hear what you're saying and you and I had some good debates over the years but I mean to call us bullies that's what you did just let me just just to say to call us bullies over a parking uh policy decision that was made in a very difficult way for all of us because we were in a position obviously to make some changes which I think were needed and the coinless part of it is only one aspect of a number of changes that were that were made I think is is is a little below the belt but I also respect that you could say whatever you want at that microphone and we will listen to you and hear you and and take what you've said um you know into mind um you know the reasons that we've done this are numerous um it's not easy it's not easy for for me when I have coins I'd like to be able to put them in the in the in the meter at times but I also recognize some of the the basis for why we did this and it's not just because other towns do it uh the same reason why when one of the nurses came up and said you know when Highland Park and Edison have adopted this it's a fair fair thing and I'm glad to hear that that Edison and Highland Park uh obviously had a a successful dialogue with you on that regard but we all have to do our own thing to make the best decisions for our own communities based on our own philosophy and policy decisions which are never easy as you're sitting up here and and all of you in your respective roles I see volunteers here for for committees and commissions you um in your own capacity I know the nurses you're going through a lot right now in your negotiations with the uh with the hospital system we all are put in tough spots but in the end you have to balance all the interests and make the best decision possible Jason I don't know if you want to add anything uh yeah just to correct the record I guess so um you mentioned a dollar fee for the parking and then a dollar fee for Park smarter um that wouldn't be accurate necessarily it's obviously the first one's going to depend on how long you're parking right so in your situation they're maybe running to the Post office so they're probably parking for 30 minutes for 50 cents and the actual uh fee to park smarter where you may be confused is it it used to be a dollar the fee to use Park smarter we are eating 50 cents of that because we we understood that this change was going to be tough for the community to take and we are the burrow is eating 50 cents of every single one of those transactions so 50 cents to park for 30 minutes 50 cents for the park smarter app so a buck and I do want to clarify respectfully um uh it is it was not a matter of the gpw had something better things to do with their time it was a fiscally responsible decision and I think that was made clear at our last burrow council meeting was that it cost us more to have them collecting the coins than it did in the coinage that we were collecting so it was it was not something corporate or or bullying or that we don't care about you which is what you said uh we do care and we care about how we spend our money um and so it was a it was a wellth thought out decision to make that change where we were being responsible with the money that we spend in this town any other comments from members uh yeah I'd like to make a comment um also before like when the back lot was just paved and they put in the parking app yes people were paying a dollar for the privilege of using the app because there are costs involved with that one of the costs is every time someone uses that app there is a transmission electronically to San Francisco so it it has to be paid for because we get charged so what happened was when we came out with the new parking plan with the 15minute free parking and and the no coins and all of that that stuff um the burrow decided to take a hit and the hit isn't just really on the burrow like it like a um um a nameless lifeless entity but it's really the taxpayers so in other words before if someone came from other towns and they were being charged a dollar we were getting the full amount it cost to do it but trying to show that we do have a heart um the amount was cut in half and now the taxpayers are Shar ing that other 50 cents um whether it's matachin people that park there or people that come from Woodbridge or sville or wherever they come to our town we are now subsidizing them the taxpayers trying to to give a little bit and and show that we do care and to reduce the price a little bit and and also other considerations is that um people don't realize that the meters run with the backup battery the battery cost I think about $35 or something those batteries last about 3 months so every 3 months approximately you know depending on how long everything lasts um they have to change out these batteries at $35 a piece and there's about 186 um meters in the burrow so that's why these decisions were made we have to make sure that the system works whether it is with coins or no coins or you know a kiosk or your credit card those backup batteries have to work otherwise nobody can park and and we have to make sure that the system maintains its Integrity so other comments uh just Just One Look it's dealing with change can be hard um you know we it was not with uh any sort of haste or uh you know lack of rigorous thinking that this change was made so you know I I applaud everybody who um who thought hard on how to move forward and and modernize parking uh um to the best net benefit for the burrow and for Citizens and you know while we're getting into that holiday mood and I hope that lasts all year long if you see anybody having problems with the meter by all means you know offer help offer help as I have done several times if I have done several times so we're all in this together and I'm very confident we are going to get through it together I I guess I'll just round out the council here um basically everybody had something to say that I would have said also but it's one thing to say that you're you have respect for us and it's another thing to say things that are disrespectful to call us bullies to say that we don't care about the decisions we make is not only inaccurate but it is disrespectful all of us on this Council care deeply about every decision we make for this burrow and so I want you to keep that in mind going forward anybody else so I guess I I'll say something as well so Paul I want to thank you for coming out and and and speaking um I've gotten a few complaints about it and I do appreciate you're coming out and speaking um I don't think we're bullying but I understand your position thank you for coming out okay anybody else in the community want to speak or address M Shak hi uh Grace shackney 110 Columbia Avenue um I'm usually here to to uh uh support things but this parking business with the credit cards and the whole kiosk thing it just is hard for people and the thing that bothers me most is I know people who live in this town who don't have credit cards who don't have credit who don't have iPhones because they can't afford it and that's what you need in order to park in this town now and that's my main concern and that's my main objection to the whole thing took me a while to get used to it it took me a while to learn it but I did but there are people who just don't have the means for it and that's my main concern and that's what I wanted to bring up and thank you I I appreciate the hard decisions you have to make I know exactly what you're talking about I my main concern is that we become so successful as a town um that we lose track of what it is to be a caring community and so if things can't be turned back the way they are they were just to consider these kinds of economic burdens on people uh when you're making decisions going forward but thank you thank you for the work you do and thank you for your patience this is uh this is the hard part of governing right making decisions and balancing those interests I mean there's there's a lot of reasons why these decisions were made um you know Grace we saw your email today I didn't have a chance to to respond to it before the meeting but uh yeah I mean it's if we could take coins still I know that we would uh there's you know we could technically do it but if the balance came in a different direction I think we would have um you know still be doing it because technically it can be done but you have to make decisions that aren't always easy um there's nobody who's looking to make it difficult for people who can't afford um you know most people most people these days have debit cards um if they don't have credit cards and if they don't have H you know iPhones they usually have smartphones if they don't have either of those things there's um you know other options there's other parking there's 15 there's 15 minute spots that was another thing that we've added I know that that's not um you know mention as often because some people are concerned about the meters but we've got free spots now and 12 different locations throughout the B that we're going to move around based on um you know the the demand and and how that's working Council yeah I would just recommend um if there is someone that does not have credit or credit card or debit card you can always purchase those prepaid credit cards at like the local pharmacy CVS right boits that have you know they Visa cards they can be used as credit cards so yeah and if you have a look if let's be fair I mean if you have a vehicle then you've got to pay for the vehicle somehow you've got to pay for insurance on the vehicle and so you know there's at some point we get to a we get to a moment where we make decisions based on a great great great majority as opposed to one or three people you you got to you got to govern for everyone but we've got to do our very best to try to find a way uh to to balance those interest when we're paying people from DPW a lot more money than there are coins actually in the meters then we're spending possibly a lot more money to collect a very little amount of money and then we have issues with resources in a small Bureau of a budget like we have which is also addressing some of what Paul said so there's a there's a lot of factors and I haven't even named I think I probably talked about just at this from this Podium we've probably referred to about half of them but there's a number of factors that have gone into a very difficult decision that we wish we didn't have to make but we we got there based on other decisions we were making on parking at at the time any other comments from the [Music] community hello my name is Michael ttic and I live at 45 Victory Court my main concern is that when people go to pick up their food from Uber Eats or GrubHub they Park in the middle of the road and they're on top of the car that's in the parking spot already and then there's like 20 cars trying to go behind them and people are screaming out the window and people are almost getting hit and there's no one around to like I don't want to call I'll call call the police and say there's a car here cuz by the time they get there their 15 minutes is already up what what is the what would we do to stop that so there's no accidents in the middle of the road and there's people like there's people driving trying to find the restaurant and there's people walking and they're almost getting hit and it's like it's a whole crazy mess it's like New York City and we like I don't know what we could do to stop it like you can't tell someone to move because then it's a different driver the next time there's like thousands of different drivers a really really good point that you've raised and one of the reasons that we decided to do the 15minute spots uh some of our one of our businesses I think it was Sushi Suzuki told our executive director of our matou and downtown Alliance that only 40% of their business is eaten and that 60% was either pickup or Uber Eats or you know whatever uh and that was a great example of a of a situation where it's not just the dry cleaners who need people to you know to to have a quick spot to to pick up um you know a product and so we've put ourselves in a position as a community where we're trying to prioritize those pickups uh some people don't like that because they want longer periods of time to park so again can't make everybody happy on these decisions that we're weighing out but um you know even when those spots are filled and there's people double parking that's something our police department does have to enforce and they do their best but you know then we've got to make decisions on police Staffing which is another part that's complicated because it's expensive but we also value our police for traffic enforcement and parking enforcement and other issues so to answer your question it's the police's job to to to enforce that um yes there's a lot of transient sort of Uber or you know uh GrubHub type drivers who come in just to pick up that one time and maybe won't be in our town very often again but but hopefully continuously uh enforcing that and you know it's not just a mouin problem it's a it's a problem in general and I would hope that Uber and GrubHub would enforce that our main street is kind of tight so it's like just to have cars parking and cars going at the same time plus that that is there like usually for an example I see it in around like where Haley is in that area mostly and it's like it's so congested right there we see it too we're we're driving in and we're walking in this town too so we know look at in some ways they're high class problems because it means our downtown's hot right the fact that we have to deal with the parking the fact that we have to deal with this concerns it's a good it's a good problem to have but it's a real problem and so I I'll mention something to the chief of police right thank I'm going be seeing him tomorrow and I'll mention that you said this in the microphone thank you any other comments in the community okay seeing none at this point we're going to close public comment motion to close I make a motion to close public comment any second second all those in favor hi hi any opposed okay we're closed now Communications consent agenda I make a motion to approve Communications consent agenda items a through C is there a second second all those in favor I any opposed okay all right uh Miss would you please read ordinance [Music] 2023-2024 d29 ordinance amending chapter 37 of the code of the Bureau of matachin entitled Police Department to amend the composition of the police department okay at this time we're going to open public hearing on ordinance 2023290019 uh for vesian Police Department this time okay going to close the public hearing on 2023 d29 council president I make a motion to pass ordinance 2023290019 motion carries okay y all right so onto an introduction Miss zuban would you please read ordinance 20233 by title only ordinance 2023-2024 be passed on first reading published according to law and a public hearing set down for Monday November 27th 2023 okay you have a second second roll call please council member Branch yes council member jamboy yes council member hsh yes council member Heyman yes council member kandel yes council president dilia yes motion carries we're going to move on to the report of the B administrator yeah just real quickly two items the first is um we've been having terrible issues with our phones the police department is fine there's some glitch or Gremlin in our system and um Our IT people are working it out um so if anyone calls the burrow it's going to be very garbled but you will get a voicemail and you can leave us a message or I would suggest that you send an email um the police s is fine 911 all the emergencies are fine but we're working through it right now and I just wanted everybody to be aware that um hopefully it'll be fixed by tomorrow fingers crossed um the second thing is I want to give a big shout out to DPW department and to Bernie hle and all of the volunteers that decorate our downtown um we are getting ready for the holiday season it's a lot of effort and Bernie and his group of volunteers um are tirelessly working to make this happen and they all volunteer their time to make the town look beautiful over the holiday season so a big shout out to all of them that's it okay thank you council president thank you mayor that's a great segue for me actually Melissa so our first big holiday event is coming up from the MDA which is small business Saturday which is going to be on November 25th um there'll be a number of uh you know uh things going on in the downtown you can come out to Peterson Park um from 11: to 7 for hot mold cider music uh holiday Whimsy it says on the website um there's going to be Santa and Mrs Claus um will be around for pictures at a photo booth from 11 to1 there's G to be some gift certificate chances that be happening so please come out um spend your dollars in our downtown uh the MDA came out with this fantastic holiday gift guide um that has all the uh all the different type of items you can find right here locally so please uh check that out on their website and Shop small this holiday season that's my report great thank you council member Kendell yeah I just want to quickly say that the pool commission uh meeting will be held next Tuesday not tomorrow as originally scheduled and it will be held in in council chambers that's all I have y okay thank you council member hman um okay uh matou in cares uh committee has welcomed the new member um Jason winold um they were also we we recently met with Brandon to discuss different ways that we could get our message out um and we can look forward and you may have seen some of their reports um Brandon is so talented about framing messages well and getting them out to the public and we're planning bi-weekly messages to announce um just to share information and to announce our events um we're we're excited to have lunch programs coming out that are uh we that we have a grant um we've received a grant uh from oh goodness I'm forgetting the name of Well Springs there you go um that so that we get a grant from them to do programming we uh where seniors can enjoy a free lunch and learn programming um we're also um partnering with a group called Champs which is choosing healthy alternatives to managing pain it's also a program for seniors um so we're doing lots of great things there um the parade committee is excited um to be working on their winter events including the minora lighting which it will now be moved back to December 7th the first night of Hanukkah at 6:30 um in the plaza the manura will be lit there will hopefully be um some goodies to be enjoyed and some wonderful programming singing uh and joy making um we're also excitedly planning our holiday party which will be happening on the 26th at 4M 26th of November um uh we are still registration is open for groups to participate in the parade it should be a fun event um and Santa and Mrs Claus will be riding through the parade on the fire department buggy which is very exciting um uh I also this past uh weekend um um staff sergeant Erin's headstone was uh completed and put in place and there was a small ceremony held at the cemetery um I believe with the Boy Scouts um and that's it great council member hirh thank you mayor I have a report for Library uh the friends of the Matan Library will be holding its annual meeting this Thursday November 16th at 700 p.m. also um at at the library on Thursday there going to be a graphic novel Workshop um entitled on mask talk and draw your own story and that's presented by local artists and Scholars um Dia painting will be offered on Wednesday um this Wednesday November 15th from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. to ages 10 and up in celebration of dwali um a b a bi a bilingual play of mariposa butterfly will be presented by dragonfly mult Multicultural Arts Center um to ages 4 to 10 on Saturday at 2m and in addition at 2:30 on Saturday there's going to be an event called a cells and genetics workshop and that'll be offered to grades 5 through 12 um the library library will be closed on 5:00 p.m. Wednesday through Thursday um the 24th for Thanksgiving in Black Friday and uh it will reopen on Saturday and at 10 10: a.m. on Saturday the 25th there will be a um therapy dog program um a pause to read with Niles and that's at um it says at 10: a.m. and if you have any other questions other resources check out the new mouan library website and that's my report thank you council member johnb boy okay so um once again I want to say that the Senior Citizen Center opened or reopened again um after having a nice refresh and regular activities are back underway and the membership is free to the matachin residence so you can stop in Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. to view the facility and to get signed up and uh they'll be having a membership drive for 2024 beginning in December and just some reminders of for this week November 13th Zumba on Tuesday will be outside there is a trip to Jersey sh out let on Tuesday walk with Wendy will be on Wednesday a trip to the Woodbridge Mall um will be on Wednesday and next week and I believe it's going to be Tuesday there will be the Thanksgiving luncheon and let's see I have something for Shay tree they met uh last week and um we're still working on the recommended uh species list you know from a touch in so when someone does a project and it includes uh putting some trees down they don't have to come to the shade tree commission all the time we'll have a list that they can uh draw from and also um uh we've been getting information from various other shade tree commissions and other municipalities and uh Princeton was very nice in sharing their utility friendly tree list with us and um also the fall planting update is all the trees were planted and it went uh smoothly and also um two members uh completed a tree count along Amboy Avenue on Saturday October 14th and they will forward the list and images to Brian Lewis and it was about a 2hour project um for them to do and uh that's uh my report thank you council member Branch all right thank you uh number one council president Jason deia and I will be hosting a coffee for Council uh this coming Saturday November 18th at new and we will be at pastry L this time switching it up uh so please join us Saturday uh to bring us your your concerns and questions and get to know Jason and I better thanks for partnering me with that Jason okay so on to uh committee updates the human relations commission will be hosting a human rights Day event Sunday December 10th 2 to 4 p.m. at the mouin library look for more details on that soon as we get closer and from the Recreation Commission it is holiday time so further on with some of the activities that we have we have the most festive winter house competition coming up uh residents will be voting on that and the form to enter the house is open now and will be open through December 4th Santa calling Santa and Mrs Claus the Claus is a b busy this time of year uh arranged for phone calls from the North Pole to the kids I'm a touch him but we need parents to help sign up for that so hopefully kids are not watching this council meeting we will ruin the whole we will ruin Christmas right so parents uh uh don't show this tape to your kids and letters to Santa we will have a Santa drop off box in the burrow you can send uh letters to the North Pole so that's beginning on Thanksgiving so eat your turkey then come down and drop your letter uh off at burough Hall in a special mailbox and we will make sure that gets sent to Santa expeditiously and that is my report thank you thank you very much and at this point I'm going to go on to the new business consent agenda let's get my report sure I make a motion to approve the new business consent and agenda resolution is 2023-2024 282 okay do I have a actually do I have a second second okay and then obviously um I don't know if you want is there anything clarification you want to give on any of those resolutions sure I believe there there is a a question about one of the resolutions on here which is our opposition to uh house um House Bill 3557 um so that was requested by Congressman palone yeah I'll go into that so this is a a bill that's being working its way through the federal House of Representatives um and it's the the American Broadband deployment act um and without being you know too rough here I mean it's essentially a big handout to the corporations that um would be uh deploying and and building out the this infrastructure and it's going to be if in its current form it would actually be taking away a lot of the rights that we have as a local municipality to really govern and Zone our public right of ways um it's going to it would also potentially restrict our franchise renewal um uh ability with uh you know so things like channel 15 and other other things that we have that we're able to enforce right now could potentially be uh getting removed if if this bill were to go in its current Force um I'm very happy to report that our Congressman palone who's on the house Energy and Commerce Committee he's really leading the charge against this um in fact during uh the most recent um committee meeting he challenged all his colleagues to go and talk to your Mayors go and talk to your councils and ask them what they think about this bill so This Is Us answering that call from Frank palone and and telling him exactly what we think of it which is we strongly oppose it um and uh uh as well as uh Congressman palone we are also members of Jag Jersey access group and the New Jersey League of municipalities and both of those organizations which we are active members of also called on all the municipalities to weigh in on this matter so that's what this uh resolution is and I'm hopeful that you all will support it okay so you know when we when we spoke to the congressman's office about this this is a diff this is a distinction here we he was asking us how we felt about this and if we would adopt a resolution in support will help him on in this regard so that's the difference between this I think and others and I struggle with that a little bit I had some conversations with the council president about the difference between a resolution supporting a piece of legislation at the state or federal level typically we wouldn't do that but if we're like there are examples for example the league of municipalities will ask us for something because they need to show that municipalities are in favor of support or against something that happens we've had we've done that before it's almost like we're part of our Union in this case it's not quite that in this case well yeah it's just that the congressman asked us our position on it um and it said that he would appreciate it if we would support this so I think there's a difference there you know for example um is as something that if he believes it will help him to get a municipal perspective that's different and so that's that's where I come out on it at the end of the day you guys are voting on it so I just want to make sure that you're aware of the distinction here obviously directly affects withou but so does there's a lot of stuff that we you know deal with or don't deal with you know some things for example like uh there was the discussion about the power plant we had that a couple of months ago you know there are obviously impacts there but there was no direct concern um from the state as to what our position was on that there was no interest other there were other municipalities who adopted it but we chose on our own that if if they weren't being considered why would we add our voice to that you know um and if legislators for example were to ask on the nursing resolution that would be different we felt like they were they needed Municipal support but this one is being specifically asked by Our member of Congress for for a for support so that we can possibly um help him be able to say that he has that type of support that's the difference I think here but you may disagree and there's there been a motion in a second so unless there's a discussion we can vote on this now all those in favor I I any opposed okay all right I make a m motion to approve resolution 2023-24 authorizing the payment of the bill list in the amount of 10,651 n86 23 is there a second second all those in favor anyone opposed I make a motion to adjourn is been a motion to adjourn is there a second second all those in favor anyone opposed okay Happy Thanksgiving bless [Music]