on behalf of the governing body of the city of Pake we welcome you to the April 2nd 2024 city council meeting in accordance with chapter 231 public laws of 1975 adequate notice of this meeting was provided by resolution of the municipal Council adopted on June 13 2023 setting forth the schedule of meetings for the year 2023 2024 said notice was published and posted on the city hall bulletin board by the office of the city clerk please be further advised this meeting will be conducted in person the zoom stream provided is for viewing only and is offered to the public as a convenience on March 20th 2024 public notice and zoom instructions for this meeting were published in The Herald news and posted on the city of Pake website at ww. city of.com council agendas instructions are also available on the last page of this agenda please be guided accordingly counc please councilman Monk councilman love present councilman Melo present councilman Schwarz pres and council president Sher President should we all please rise Heavenly Father we want to thank you Lord for allowing us to meet this evening Heavenly Father this evening we ask you for special prayer Lord for the Oliver family Lord as they are encountering Lord such a heavy situation we ask that you give them Lord this the guidance Lord and the support for them to go through this process heavenly father and we ask that you guide us in the decisions that will take take place this evening in your beloved name we pray amen I pledge allegiance to the FL of the United States of America and to the for stands indivisible andice good evening everyone and thank you for uh joining with us tonight tonight um there is one change to the agenda that been provided to members of the council U if I may for purposes of being on the record quote please be advised that the administration is requested the agenda item number one entitled ordinance Number 241-244 Block 4099 Lots 2124 and 26 26 212 216 president Street in the city of Bic New Jersey be adjourned and set for a second and final hearing on April 18th at our regular city council meeting is there a motion to accept uh the request by the administration so move council president is there a second motion and second roll call please councilman monk councilman love yes councilwoman Melo yes councilman Schwarz yes and counc president sh yes thank you if the members of the council could please note that that ordinance will be postponed um at this time uh to the mayor thank you council president members of the city council and all those in attendance today I want to share a few updates we recently received news and I know we spoke briefly about it at the last meeting that the city was awarded over $1.6 million through the efforts of our Congressman Bill pasc obviously our Senators Booker Menendez working hard in the federal government to assist us to further invest in the flood mitigation efforts on Benson Avenue through a realignment or flood control project I also wanted to share that on April 16th we have the Board of Education Election which is just a general announcement for all of the public but more specifically our city clerk would like individuals to know that we're still receiving applications and those who would like to assist us as election poll workers election poll workers are needed and we especially offer this opportunity to seniors I know we have an amazingly successful initiative with youth that have been able to participate but we want to remind our residents that every year and in every election they can participate in terms of employment opportunity I also wanted to share with the public that we're going to have a passport clinic on April 27th in our city clerk's office which gives individuals the opportunity to apply for their passports in a convenient uh environment obviously with less lines because they're by appointments as well as expedited process so we're very excited to offer this opportunity to our residents and those who wish to come in or reach out to the clerk to see if there's been cancellations and they can get their passport renewed sometimes it's an involved process that really inconveniences individuals on April 9th we're going to have our fire safety seminar for our silver seniors our senior citizens this is headed by our fire department our chief of the fire department Patrick trena and our fire safety department on April 13th we're going to have our free rabies clinic at Armory Memorial dog park it is a wonderful event where families come out with their pets to the dog park and we provide services for them including free rabies vaccines our summer employment opportun unities begin as of April 26 for our Recreation Department we invite PA City residents Who are 16 and order to apply for an incredible opportunity to gain valuable experience while giving back to the community uh applications are available online or on the city website or can be picked up at Recreation completed applications may be faxed in or dropped off to the recreation office located at 3:30 Pake Street I also wanted to share that this week obvious obiously with so many holidays recognized and uh so many activities we have processions in the city from St Anthony's Church St Mary's Holy Trinity uh St Nicholas and Fatima as well as St Nicholas Ukrainian Church I want to take this opportunity to thank the police obviously in their efforts our police chief Lis Guzman is here to assist in the process obviously being an extremely diverse City we have many cultural and uh religious uh events that occur throughout the year and obviously within our ability legally and obviously as Government we extend any assistance possible to ensure that every organization every group has the support of our city throughout this month obviously we uh look forward to the Passover observance of residents in our city uh Ramadan which is uh being observed right now by members of our cities and so many other activities events I know last week it was was Holly I believe they also celebrated the holiday of Holly here in the city so again I I'm always excited to share our remarkable diversity but even more so to share with the community the great support of the city council and all of our departments in assisting these activities so they can flourish and grow and everyone can feel welcome I want to share that on uh April 6 I will be hosting a town hall meeting on parking a town hall meeting on on parking as we have addressed many concerns in terms of the lack of parking by investing in parking lots I'm getting a brand new parking deck which is already in the process to be built identifying new opportunities for funding and we're very excited about some potential opportunities in our more densely populated area of the city our East Side uh perhaps even a second parking deck I don't want to jump ahead but we uh we apply for a lot we end up getting less but we do more than most with what we have so that's the way our government works and I'm so proud of those professionals from our business administrator who is traveling with his family today to our engineer to all of the Departments that work so very hard together I also wanted to share that uh I wanted to express thank you to councilman love uh councilwoman Melo vice president of the Board of Education Judith Sanchez and Board of Education commissioner a Bales this year these were the participants that went bowling with us with our special needs program every year we do a a city hall versus our special needs program bowling match and every year me and councilman Love talk a lot and then collectively they beat us so and then we turn and blame in our councilwoman mow we B well I will share publicly that uh councilman love did do the best out of all the elected officials so he's excited that that's being shared but still it was not enough to get us to beat them we we do want to say that Joe Cologne who heads our special needs program they go a special needs program involves individuals ranging from being on the Spectrum or other disabilities uh they've been participating with our Recreation program for years going on different trips and community events as well as opportunities to socialize and learn valuable skills from here in City Hall and as I mentioned and I was going to say trying to save a little bit of face that Joe cologne takes him to that bowling alley every Thursday so they're ringers and they let us know that we had no shot they made fun of us when when I ended up in the gutter a lot of times with my ball but again uh councilman love had a great game with that stated that is the extent of my updates for what was going on during the week and some of the upcoming events and activities thank you council president and members of the city council thank you mayor uh questions for the M please I did have a question I know that under your leadership and guidance we instituted and you mentioned uh young men and women who be working as pole workers yes any idea how many uh how many people that so in terms of election pole workers I know that at one time we had well over 50 that were signed up I'm going to refer that or defer it to our city clerk whether we free as how many actually ended up working 43 young people that prior did not have the ability to work in terms of election and Poll workking for our elections again I want to I want to stress this for the community just to clarify this is not campaign work this is election work obviously as we have a board of elections in the county a superintendent of Elections there is a governmental process that must occur for every election there are those that count the votes there are those who monitor the machines while individuals are going to vote those who have to look up the names registered in terms of those who are eligible to vote and we were noticing that there was a a real deficit in terms of individuals who were applying for the positions not just in Pake but in issue that was going around throughout the state of New Jersey in a number of meetings with our city clerk and having conversations obviously with my colleagues and the city council we came up with a unique idea in the city of Pake to really push for uh training high school students right here locally we asked for the appropriate uh guidelines and permissions so that we would uh stay in line with them and we had them trained here and we ended up having over 50 signed up and over 43 work this not only provides him the opportunity to make some additional money especially before the prom as many have sh because it gives an opportunity to buy uh obviously those important prom gear but to get money for college and make a little extra but also an opportunity for college credits for ultimately to end up with college credits for working the election so we're very excited about this project but right now we're really expanding council president as you noted here to more individuals like our senior citizens to keep them active and participating how do we work in terms of these young young men and women in terms of they be losing a day of school uh no so here what happens many of them who are in their civic classes they end up getting credit others who have uh work programs in high school they end up utilizing these hours to fulfill those uh requirements and expectations so it's it really is an ideal partnership from government to the schools and obviously for our youth so we're very excited about this and um I believe our city clerk will say that uh if they're going to work the training was covered and if they're going to work certain elections it's an excus day off ni okay councilman Love Yes um so so one of the things mayor and um our city clerk can speak to it too prior to this initiative um I I was noticing strange faces and and not forsake faces and in fact when I was at election sites which I frequent all of them um they were flat out telling me they're from different municipalities has this kind were we struggling with getting citizens from Pake to um to to register to be pole workers prior to this initiative very much so we were struggling to get individuals to apply or want to participate in the election process from that side in terms of working it and and obviously we were trying to figure out the solution the challenge with having people from other cities and we're excited to have individuals that work in our city that live in other municipalities uh just want to make clear why we push this initiative so much and give a little bit of perspective they would work in the city of Pake when there was an election in p and not in their home town so our we have in our form of government our elections are offe elections yeah so sometimes you know we're having an election for the Board of Ed in April other municipalities aren't having elections we're having our election in may like Patterson and other municipalities and the majority of the municipalities aren't because we were depending overwhelmingly on individuals that didn't live here whenever our elections were the same as other cities like the November general elections the primary these are consistent throughout the state everyone has them on the same date those individuals would go we're not available to go to Pate because we're working in our hometown so we were finding we had very little uh options or our pool was not deep enough to cover these so it obviously delays the process in terms of accounting machines and overall everything that needs to be done as they submit everything obviously our clerk does a phenomenal job ensuring that everything is done appropriately but that was one of the determining factors before we decided to try to increase the number of participants who would be eligible by targeting our students because we realize it's a perfect opportunity for our students to learn especially Civic engagement earn some extra money and it was pretty cool that we were among the first to ever do this pilot program and then also help some of our citizens navigate the city and to you know um some of our well many of our youth know the city well so if if they look in a book and they see which ws and streets to help them so I think that that definitely already makes a big difference especially for seniors when you consider that there was a change in the voting process with the new smart monitors many of our seniors it takes some time to get adjusted to new technology no matter what whether it's voting television phones anything but voting is so important that having individuals that are familiar with our city uh would be willing to help out our seniors and those who sometimes can't find their names on the list and go well I live on Myrtle Avenue and I'm voting here at number eight school if you're not familiar with the city you don't have a point of reference so you might just say I can't find your name whereas someone a student here or a senior will say well that's because you should be voting in number seven school go to the clerk's office or you can vote provisionally here so that relatability or ability to uh to have points of references around the city makes them much more efficient and effective in assisting individuals who may not know how to move forward in terms of voting thank thank you thank you mayor any other questions mayor thank you so much thank you so much we're up to ROM number five on our agenda minutes of our January 11 2024 city council meeting are there any changes or modifications that need to be presented to the minutes if not is motion to accept please so Move Motion second R call please councilman Monk councilman love yes councilman Melo yes councilman Schwarz yes councilman Garcia yes councilman goz yes and council president sh yes thank you we up to REM REM numeral six on our agenda hearing of citizens in accordance with the open public meetings act njsa 104-1 at SEC the council opens every public meeting for comments of the public however in accordance with njsa 24-12 nothing in this act shall be construed to limit the discretion of a public body to permit prohibit or regulate the active participation at any meeting therefore please be advised that the council will not entertain any comments from persons who communicate obscene material make statements which are considered a bias intimidation in which a person intends to intimidate any individual or group because of race color religion gender handicap sexual orientation or ethnicity or makes comments intend to harass or speak any offensive language the person who makes these statements will relinquish their allotted five minutes for public discussion um if you would like to address the Council on whatever issue we certainly welcome that um we ask you to please remember that everyone is limited to five minutes and five minutes only the clerk has the Bell which will ring it four minutes letting you know that you have one minute with which to conclude your remarks is there anyone who would like to adjust the council please yes good evening Joe Cent the 170 Broadway council president first question 474 Main Avenue the Armory Park it's a war historic site it's shameful going to be used as a clinic this month for dogs and cats and maybe other animals um it's it's a shame that you're using this as as a clinic you got a brand parking lot on Main Avenue and Benson Avenue by the animal shelter I can't see why it can't be put over there instead of using this historic site for clinic and even the dog park it shouldn't be named uh Armory Park uh Armory dog park it's just it's just a shameful um my next question is they had a um a collapsed building by 120 118 President Street the question that I have on this 120 was um the expansion it blew out on the one side of of the building and the question that I have about 118 president the building next door why are they tearing that building down is my question doesn't look like anything's wrong with it but hopefully somebody can answer the question my next question here is 147 149 Broadway the garbage is piling up the backyard the garbage is piling up now you got part of the roof is collapsing in the front and on the side there I don't understand why nobody can get after this owner and let him clean up his act here or till the building's down right now it's a hazard you know you go after other buildings but you can't go after this guy here it's a shame uh my next question is bake Avenue and AC Avenue they brought down the doctor's office but my point here is safety there's no safety at all most places where they do demolition they put a fence up this doesn't even have a fence I'm for sake having you got a couple bushes uh AC Avenue you got nothing there it's all wide open anybody can go in there and P into the hole because you still got the basement there so you know hopefully somebody could send a message this weekend I was on Main Avenue holiday weekend you got a lot of illegal vendors I don't know what happened to the ordinance that you had but I don't see anything being done all the same people some different people everybody comes to bake do whatever you feel like my last question is I'd like to know the uh status on the crime report for 2024 um these are my question questions tonight okay let me try to address uh some of these points um you're concerned about 474 Main Avenue is well taken um and I imagine it will be a fascinating day for whoever comes to take advantage of of of the clinic be a sad day well I don't know if it's sad as much as interesting because it would seem to me that not the purpose I'm excuse me Mr are you finished your remarks yeah go ahead well then please please don't interrupt me I didn't interrupt you but while someone's taking their dog or their cat to be uh to the uh Clinic um something's going to happen and that is their children are going to look at the large statues there and say what are those what are those all about yeah right and their parents or their guardians or their grandparents are going to be in an interesting position of educating their children about those people who died for this country many years ago I will tell you that is the same mentality that was used in Third Ward Park and it has proved again and again to be something of of Fascination and and Brilliance um your next question was on uh one the collapsed building um why it was taken down why it wasn't taken down I think you can get that through the public record um whatever is done is owned by someone and the question is what did that someone authorize to be done within the conflict within the basis of the law um in terms of the tear down on pic and egg CRI your point is well taken uh that there should be some guard T tape there put on by the owner of the building and I'm sure that we can reach out to the owner and get them to put up that that tape um you mentioned something about illegal trucks food trucks how how exactly I'm sorry vendors vendors exactly how do you know that those are illegal because I know they are you could tell right away in front give you an example in front of the bgam man there's a guy that pulls up with a truck he's selling vegetables out of his truck yeah there's no way he's got any permits for that how do you know I know that how do you know I know that I know for fact that it doesn't have Mr kenti if you are open with us we will be open with you how do you know the truck is not legal did someone whisper it in your ear no these these these guys that do that they're like they go to the market they buy Mr kenti how do you know they're not legal well first of all they don't have no no uh permits hanging up nothing's hanging up how do you know they're illegal how do I know did a little birdie whisper in your ear they're not legal joke I don't want to make a mockery of this process and I don't want to embarrass you or me so I thank you for the information on behalf of my you're not even done yet you got a couple another one you miss well those are the ones that I've decided to answer yeah okay thank you for your time Mr is there anyone else who would like to adjust the council please yes sir good evening 187 Howard uh it's been a difficult week for me and my family this week um my brother got in car crash thank God he's fine I'd like to thank the city Pake Police Department for helping um with the efforts of that also my mom's car was stolen I'd like to thank the uh s police for helping out and the Wallington Police Department finding the uh car on that note I would like to know what can we do or help the police department finding these people who are doing these crimes because in order to in order to PR what can we do to prevent crime in our city because we as a city as our mayor has stated we are welcome Community Safe Community and clean Community how can we do that I would like to know that's my marks tonight thank you Chief can you uh do it in the microphone please can you do it in a microphone so we can here to answer your question um just be an extra eyes and ears for the police department that's how you can help call when you see something suspicious um that would be a tremendous help we can't be everywhere at all times so that would be my answer to your question Chief question please I live on a block there are eight houses 10 houses 20 houses on the Block if we have a police officer on one of the corners is he or she expected to know about the other Corners that are in that area it's it's rather difficult to know uh what's going on on every corner in the city uh to answer your question it would if we had a police officer for every corner we could then oh we would have 10,000 police officers which is obviously something that this town cannot afford nor any municipality for that that's that's not g to help but we certainly have people that live on those corners and if they see anything illegal going on or at least something suspicious uh I would ask them to call the police department and and there have been times when you've I know increase the uh numbers of officers on the street in answer to to concerns yes correct okay thank you thank you anyone else wish to address the council councilman please yeah I just wanted to add to um Mr ma um because I appreciate those concerns as well um but your area is not the only one subject to to criminal activity um one of the things that we in our neighborhood done we we consciously uh have cameras at certain houses right um I don't want to say where our neighborhood is because right um and it and and there's position in the way that we get a lot of footage um same as I own to local business in in the city of P and Chief can attest to it they come and knock on my door quite often for footage so cameras your neighbors um and and as Chief said when there's something suspicious don't hesitate give a call but but Mr Mack you gotta understand that the police do have you know other priorities sometimes so it may they may not come right away but that's one of the things I'll tell you uh these criminals are getting more and more bold and Brazen um just recently they pull right up I'm talking about just like it was their car got out of the car took took their equipment right out of the car and took a cataly converter right from my neighbor but um fortunately we did have it on so the police can investigate but but I'm just encouraging you to to have that neighborhood watch right to have those conversations because the police I'll tell you in council president pointed out criminals tend not to do crimes where police are located right if you know what I mean so if they see a police officer just circle the block or going a certain way they're not going to well in some cases right because we do have some criminals who who try anything so just be diligent and just make sure as as the chief pointed out that you know just give a call thank you councilman council president if I me I just want to also add and obviously the chief had expressed this stolen vehicles are crimes of opportunities so we always share share with individuals especially considering key fobs certain Common Sense approaches ensuring that your doors are locked um obviously as councilman Terence love shared Dr love that uh having cameras whatever brand ring or anything that you use assist obviously footage for the police a record of when it occurs I just wanted to clarify a few things when sometimes when the late person those who may watch this later on are privy to our convers ations or terms will say these people who are committing the crime as if it's just one ring and I wanted to highlight or point out that the police have actually caught a number of these groups those who have been stealing catalytic converters um those who steal Vehicles the question initially was what can we do there are obvious steps that we can take we can't prevent crime but I also wanted to point out that the police found a vehicle a great majority of the vehicles that are stolen T to be found when they're found sometimes ranges sometimes they're found a few days later sometimes they're found a few weeks later a few months later but the police are working extremely hard but it's an issue around the state of New Jersey because as I began and I'll reiterate it's a crime of opportunity and the more that there are vehicles on the road the opportunities when individuals forget to lock the car or don't have an alarm the efforts that it takes to remove a catalytic converter it's less than two minutes to take it off and the turnaround for it is uh you can get over $500 don't want to encourage or incentivize I just want to clarify because it's happening all over the state and what we have found and the chief has confirmed it is sometimes it occurs in in one city for about two weeks and then they go far away they'll go like to South Jersey and hit for two weeks and then they'll go somewhere to Newark and hit for two weeks and then they'll go somewhere like Morristown and hit for two weeks but our police work with other police departments to ensure that we get the word out and I think that remaining Vigilant is extremely important so that's it thank you ma'am anyone else like to address the councel hands Move Motion and second to close public for councilman mon counc yes counc yes yes gcia yes yesc yes thank you we're up to R numeral 7 on our agenda ordinances for second and final reading a hearing is required number one ordinance number 2441 d24 earlier this evening the council postponed hearing that ordinance as per the request okay terrific teric okay voted and vot voted for it to be heard at our next meeting on April 18th at that time we will hear the ordinance for second and final reading and of course the public will be invited to share any concerns or thoughts they have on the public on the property if we could go to the second ordinance proposed ordinance 2442 d24 an ordinance amending the designation of rejected parking for disabled persons by New Jersey license plate number is there a motion please to open public hearing motion and second roll call please to open public hearing councilman monk councilman love yes councilman Melo yes Council Schwarz yes councilman Garcia yes councilman goz yes and council president sh yes thank you ladies and gentlemen at this time the council will be contemplating proposed ordinance 2442 d24 is there anyone who would like to question uh or has issues that they would like to address on the ordinance seeing no hands is there a motion please to close public hear motion second roll call please councilman monk yes yes councilman love yes councilman Melo yes councilman Schwarz yes councilman Garcia yes counc yes and council president yes thank you uh on the ordinance there's a motion to move is there a second motion and second to move roll call councilman monk yes councilman love yes councilwoman Melo yes councilman Schwarz yes councilman Garcia yes councilwoman col monz yes and council president sh yes thank you at the ordinance has passed yes sir next please proposed ordinance 2443 d24 an ordinance amending chapter 29536 of the paic city code loading zones is there a motion please to open public hearing motion second and second thank you roll call councilman mon yes yes councilman love yes councilman Melo yes councilman Schwarz yes councilman Garcia yes Council yes counc yes thank you at this time ladies and gentlemen the council is contemplating proposed orance 2443 d24 is there anyone who would like to address the Council on this issue and this issue only second motion second to close public hearing councilman monk yes yes councilman love yes councilwoman Melo yes councilman Schwarz councilman Garcia yes Council yes and council president sh yes thank you uh we close public hearing and this is on the ordinance is there a motion please to hear the to make the ordinance motion and second roll call on the ordinance clim counc yes counc yes counc yes counc schw yes counc Garcia yes counc yes and coun thank you that was on the ordinance next please with the council's permission number four proposed ordinance 24442 an ordinance amending chapter 295 of the code of the city of P entitled vehicles and traffic article 12 schedules section 21 section 11b alternate parking to eliminate alternate side parking for portions of Mercer Street dwasline Road and Allen Street is there a motion please to open public hearing move it motion and second roll please counc yes counc love yes councilwoman M yes counc schw yes councilman Garcia yes Council gz yes council president yes thank you ladies and gentlemen at this time the council is hearing open discussion on proposed ordinance 2444 is there anyone who would like to adjust the Council on this issue and this issue only yeah take yes sir if we can have your name for the record all M I would like to know a little more about this uh ordinance um what exactly are we reading on this what exactly are we reading on this ordinance the ordinance would eliminate alternate side parking for portions of Mercer Street dline Road and Allen Street why we do that um there's a need the city's engineer and other members of the administration have uh come to the mayor and to the council and ask that this be considered and uh the professionals of of the city have agreed that it's something which is appropriate to do thank you council president if I may the reason why we're doing it is there are certain streets in a city that are just not conducive for the sweeper meaning they're so narrow and small that when there are cars parked it becomes extremely difficult for the sweeper to turn around or there may be other extend any circumstances like there's nowhere on the other side there is no actual altimate side provided because of whatever other issues on the road whether it's too many driveways or something like this so we asked the engineers to look around other municipalities and see with streets that would be this small and all have the same conditions meaning that it's extremely difficult for the sweeper to go up and down that vehicles and residents would be uh in a way that that we can't justify overwhelmingly burdened um in terms of the responsibility of moving their vehicles there's no reasonable expectation they'll find somewhere nearby so they went through a very objective assessment of these streets compared to what other municipalities do and identified a couple of streets where really isn't best practice so we're g to have our DPW go by those streets make sure they clean them but the sweepers weren't working so it seemed to be unfair to constantly have people move in these very small dead end streets or some of these other roads when the sweeper couldn't practically get in and turn around and do the job that's the justification okay thank you you're welcome anyone else like to address the Council on proposed ordinance 2444 see no hands on move close the public Board second motion on second to close roll call yes yes yesc Garcia counc and counc yes was their maker of the motion please so move it motion and second roll call please yes councilman love yes Council Melo yes Council schw yes Council Garcia yes Council yes and counc president yes thank you we're up to R numeral eight on our agenda communication can I ask the council please to uh deliberate first on items five six 7 and 10 if there are any questions please on five six 7 11 and 10 I'm sorry and 11 567 11 seeing no questions is there motion please to accept five six seven and 11 motion 11 should be excluded as should be excluded to the next vote well because you have five six seven and then and 11 yeah 11 is um okay okay so 567 would be heard yes councilman yes okay so any questions please on 567 and 10 also would fit in that category No 5 six s and 10 okay 5 six7 and 10 if I apologize the council for lack of clarity are there any questions please on 5 six s and 10 seeing n is there motion please to accept 5 six 7 and 10 motion second and second one moment please Council yes please ask for those members who made uh their request to retract them and ask that councilman Garcia and councilman Schwarz make the motion to accept five six 7 and 10 make the motion second motion and second 5 six seven and 10 okay good okay yes coun love yes counc yes yesc Garcia yes Council yes and council president yes separate vote now on items eight nine and 11 moving second mon yes yes coun love stain Council Melo yes councilman Schwarz yes counc yes Cain and Council presid yes thank you all matters listed here under considered to be routine in nature items 12 through 19 are there any questions please on 12 through 19 separate vote on 20 may I have a motion please to accept 12 through 19 motion is there a second please motion and second roll call please yes yes yes yes yes yes yes thank you on item 20 is there a motion to accept pleas motion and second on item 20 yes stain yes yes yes yes I mean abstain sorry yes thank you we're up to resolutions item number nine REM numeral nine on our agenda re reol resolutions number 21 is a resolution authorizing closed executive session of the city council councelor do we need to close session tonight Mr May sir I'm at this time members of the council okay if we can address ourselves please with the council's c permission to items 22 through 30 1 are there any questions please on 22 through 31 council president 24 please councilman Monk on item number 24 councilman please your pleasure yeah just a quick question is this a contract is for all this all the parks or for specific parks that take care of the for geese control I'm sorry can you repeat the question is this for all of the parks or was the other part or or specific or just for very specific to Pal sorry Council men I didn't want to interrupt got it it's a specific for Third Ward Memorial Park and palaski park the reason being these Parks have bodies of water which attract geese so we strategically utilize this Humane approach in terms of chasing out the geese from the area and they tend to want to find another body of water on occasion we have had issues where geese have gathered in different locations and they have been willing to address it but as to the contract it's specific to our parks near the bodies of water like the Pake River or Hughes Lake thank you mayor counc yes thank you thank you thank you sir any anyone else seeing n is there a motion please to accept items 22 through 31 Some Mo second motion and second roll call please on 22 through 31 counc m councilman love yes councilman Melo yes Council Schwarz yes Council Garcia yes Council go yes and council president yes thank you we're up to R numeral 10 on our agenda ordinances for introd C in first reading councilman Schwarz yes um which trees this would this is proposed ordinance would apply to every tree in the city or yes this is or yes this is required by the njd now in terms of private property that's a different story but in terms of all trees this really addresses what must go in its place um the process in terms of removing the tree in terms of what's best for the environment and in general so let me give an example we can't leave the trunk sticking out of the sidewalk when you remove a tree because it was compromised by a storm um if you remove healthy trees for any reason that could be justified like you know branches were struck or the location you must replace the tree if not in the immediate area somewhere in the air here so this is something that's required by the state and all municipalities have to adhere to these are trees specifically on the sidewalk on the right away with the city if it is public property and we remove a tree it's it really depends on a Case by case basis why we removed it obviously we removed the tree because it became an obstruction somehow caused more of an issue traffic or pedestrian obstruction we wouldn't have to replace it but we would have to explain why we're removing it so there's really regulates the process justification and record of tree removal and it's required by the njd this is limited to trees along the sidewalks or which or trees in I guess my my answer is trees in general but it depends on which case so if we're going to remove a tree from a park we have to justify it we cannot remove healthy trees whether it's in the sidewalk it's in the park there must be a justification as to why I want to remove a tree in my backyard private property would be different different obviously there are still rules that would go into place in terms of safety but you're allowed to remove trees on your private property just not public property so this how does this how does this ordinance Ed to Define that it's not including private property sure um so let me just read it verbatim as in terms of some of the wording The njd Wanted municipalities to become stricter with their requirements for tree removal replacement to reduce soil erosion pollutant runoff promote infiltration of rainwater into the soil and protect the environment public health safety and Welfare so in terms of the fees that we charge to remove them this is regulated as well but in terms of the private property how can I word it there are certain rules that apply no matter what if it's a treat but I do not believe that this restricts any private property owner from removing their own tree this is in terms of our approach for any tree removal in public property however I'm going to refer to the attorney as he's reading it through I think we could um could make that clear there's some some definitions that need to be cleared up too on this could you share with us what those would be uh for example the definition of Hazard trade and right now it's referencing uh I'm sorry I can't we can't hear you I'm sorry um we we didn't prepare this ordinance so I'm looking through it now um there's a couple of things I'm noticing with definitions Hazard tree is doesn't appear to be defined um and as far as resident there is a resident but then any person is the applicant the person is very broad definition what would what would the applicant I mean if this only regard city property governmental property why would there be any mention of fees or or or the rest of it because of the impact so let's say the removal of your tree causes runoff into public property even though it was on your private property let's say that some erosion um we recently had a collapse of a wall of a retaining wall from someone's backyard and obviously the replacing it the permits are natural but it had a impact on the rest of the public so I'm assuming that in terms of and that's why I say it's a caseby case basis if you're removing a small tree from your backyard that's not a problem you're going to go through the same process that you would remove it otherwise but let's say you have a tree on the corner of your property and the roots are going into the sidewalk they're affecting the public then obviously there's certain fees there's certain approaches because you're going to impact the city but if something had to be done for that trade because of it it's impact to the city then it would seem to me that there would be not be a charge the city is taking down the tree for reasons of if the city's taking down if it's your private tree and The Roots went out into public property because you planted a tree 20 years ago then there's debate as to who's responsible for it so are there other areas of of question that you have sir I wonder if it would almost be POs to hold the ordinance so that it could be further so if you can just confirm whether this is required by this this is required by the njd I'm not the clarification that you're referring to but my concern is that we seem to have language that is just from their model ordinance is this a copy of their model this is their model ordinance we didn't come up with this if it's word for word that's what we're saying yes yes if the tree is currently posing a safe Hazard then this has the process has to go through it can't just be addressed yes so if if you if you're talking about the definition of Hazard tree which we have a tree or limb thereof that meet one or more of the critical below trees that do not meet any of the criteria below are proposed to be removed solely for development purposes and are not Hazard trees and then obviously it's any safety issue that was named but I'm trying to understand the question is this a concern that if someone has to move a tree why do they have to pay anything well there two I mean there are two questions if they just want I mean if we're regulating that someone has a curbside tree if this is what it's limited to that there has to be a permit if they want to do something that's one thing I guess I can say with confidence we can look at the language again and I referred to the attorney that it's only limited to a curbside tree because if a tree has a a large branch that reaches into the public that can be compromised and it's required let's say code comes in said you need to remove that that branch and this has been a case that has occurred in the past where someone's Branch goes into someone's home literally goes in through the window you're going you have to remove that even though it's your tree it's causing an issue for your neighbor similarly if there are dangers that can impact the city then they're responsible it's your tree it's on your property if if I may councilman um I mean I am concerned about the ordinance but this ordinance is straight from d in Trenton I'm sure their attorneys have gone over it in depth one would hope so and I think that we can rely upon uh the department in terms of defending the ordinance if in fact that would be so and if if I may because I just want to confirm that so now that came directly from the NJ D correct okay and it's word for word word for word oh I'm sorry okay with the council's permission is there a motion please to accept for second and final read this will be first reading I believe right it gives us an opportunity to get more answers for the next Council great good deal thank you sir so War amending chapter 289 the Cod of city of the to trees and shors the motion please to accept for set down for second and final reading at our meeting of April 18 a motion there is a second R call please yes I don't hear you hear me I don't hello yes yes there you gooun schw yes coun Garcia yes coun yes pres yes thank you is there a motion please to adjin this meeting oh I'm sorry the bill B the bills bills that would be helpful and administrator report as well uh on numeral 11 and I I apologize any questions on the bills hearing none is there a motion please to accept the bills motion and second roll call please councilman mon yes counc yes counc M yes counc schw yes coun Garcia Council and council president yes thank you uh number 12 please I know that our administrator is in Chile V visiting uh friends and family and he sends his uh regards mayor did you have any thoughts sure I just wan to I just want to briefly just add a little bit and I know we're going to discuss it next week that it applies to all trees apparently that's the language so we can get that confirmed for the council that anybody who is removing a tree would have to request a permit for the removal of the tree as well as any business that provides tree cares have to uh appropriately demonstrate that they are insured registered licensed and trained for tree replacement quantity imp planting requirements reporting violation and penalties basically anyone can't just take out a chainsaw and an A and try to take down if it's on my yard a 30 or 40 foot tree and then it accidentally falls on someone's property because they weren't a professional the process ensures that there's an appropriate approach to removal of trees what happens after the tree and the consequences of removing a tree some people remove a tree and create issues so I wanted to share that briefly so we'll come with a with more clarity from the state's requirement as well as the fees that are being charged we just mirrored the fees of our uh neighboring municipalities also I pulled the state's model ordinance and for example under the definition of Hazard tree the state does have subsections under it so I have a tree on my property in order for me to cut it down I've got to get approval from the state there's something worth voting against I think the the njd sent that out to all municipalities already no no no I understand that I also understand how under what Authority they operate I just want if for the next meeting we want to clarify what they Define as a tree obviously because removing a let's say a a small Olive Tree or something on your property that most people have that they put up and take down a pine tree or things like that um it's very different than moving a 30 foot tree on the corner of your property and I believe the spirit of this is to ensure that those uh approaches are done uh in in a proper way that doesn't create more of an issue than removing the tree or keeping the tree but we will have more clarity for the next I was going to say in all due respect when we get that Clarity I I I think that's a point well taken may but on the other hand it's my property I own the property I paid for the property the trees on it and I don't want it of course and and and I don't want to debate on it it's just it's similar to if someone says this is my basement I'm gonna open it up and then it floods the street and they go it's my basement well you're responsible for flooding the street if an action even if it originates on your private property has an impact on another property or the public then you have a responsibility to resolve it and the government gets involved so like noise I can play whatever I want in my house but if the noise reaches outside of the house becomes a quality of life issue thus impacting the residence and the city we can address what occurs from your property to outside property so if you have a tree and you're removing I agree with you a small tree in the middle of your backyard that's no one's business but if you have a huge tree with long roots and you pull it out and somehow that burst a pipe whether it's a sewer pipe whether it's some kind of Plumbing you don't get to Simply wash your hands and say I moved it now the city go take care of whatever problem you must take out a permit there could be an appropriate assessment of how the removal of that tree may impact the area around you might have Cod tell you this is what you need to do make sure you have someone who's insured it's a tree of over 50 feet or 30 feet and it can cause issues while you're bringing it down I believe that's the uh spirit of this but again we want to bring Clarity so I'm just telling you from a superficial reading of what I believe their goal is but we'll get clarity from them if we we can get in touch with the uh with the department and and get an understanding because would seem to me to be so broad as to infringe upon my personal rights say it is mandated ordinance no that's what I was sharing it's mandated from the njp but well we can unmated it can't we um the other things that I wanted to share let me know we good the other things that I wanted to share and and if I may I didn't want to address it during the up in public meeting but I I'll give a quick uh update the veterans uh initiative um in terms of Armory Park where we added the flags where we've taken care of the park um that's a different area than we're hosting the animal clinic the clinic will be held by the dog park um the dog park which is widely supported by our veterans most people know that therapy dogs are one of the most effective assistance and uh and therapy for those who deal with post-traumatic stress disorder from or or from being in in the service many of our veterans constantly Express their appreciation for this dog park and the fact that they get to come and bring their service dogs for this event we understand the veterans are also pet owners but I want to be clear that the area in which it takes place is not by the monument the monument is a different portion of the park we have a dog park which veterans were present when we initiated it and expressed so much support and they are grateful especially because we added I want to thank the council and all those who worked with us um ADA Compliant um additions like a ramp for those who come in with wheelchairs many of our veterans who come in disabled with their dogs now have a wheelchair ramp additional exits and entrances and a water F we added a water F that you actually trigger with your feet making it much easier for anyone to reach so I was very excited to share about that as well well as um I just wanted to tell the community that as we enter into the spring season we're going to have more and more events occurring outside uh this is the time to register your children for our sports program for summer employment opportunities in the City Recreation and otherwise it's always so important we share the fires we'll send it out to the city council members as well we send them out through the schools to try to get everyone to uh to get their children involved we have so many programs and activities kudos to the recreation department this weekend they had a huge Spring Festival in the park with great deal of participation with our kids so we're very happy to do that every year NY I just want to remind the public once again April 16th we have the Board of Education election and I ask that everyone please participate thank you thank you mayor any other comments members of the council hearing none is there a motion please to adjourn motion and second roll call to adourn please yes yes yes yes thank you this meeting is a CH