[Music] here we go uh good evening and welcome to the March 26 2024 meeting of panic Town Council Miss Marsh in accordance with the requirements of New Jersey open public meetings act notice that this meeting was included in the annual meeting notice which was filed in the office of the Township Clerk posted on the bulletin board in the municipal building publishes a legal notice in the Suburban trends of Daily Record newspapers and distributed to all persons requesting notice in accordance with Township policy excellent thank you please join me in the pledge allegiance followed by a prayer and a moment of thanks for individuals serving our nation I Ali 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 most gracious Providence we ask that you bless this governing body with an abundance of wisdom and understanding so that every deliberation will result in actions which will promote the common good and the general welfare for all of the people of panic Township amen amen amen okay Miss Marsh will you call the roll Mr Dy is absent Mrs Florence Lynch here Mr Cole here Mrs Russell here may herd I'm here all right next on the agenda is presentations but if you guys don't mind we're just going to go into our Municipal budget for 45 minutes I mean since we finally have an audience to hear us oh he got you he does that a lot all right I do like an audience Chief we do have a swearing in of a police officer Dean and chief how you doing how are you excellent you want to say a couple of things first no you stole my joke so I'm not going I'm not going to make my joke about exciting budget meeting we're about to have so um first before we get started sing in I want to thank uh the mayor Township Council Township manager Brewer we're making sure that this department is always fully staffed and we continue to provide a level of service to the citizens of the quic township that they have come to expect so thank you guys as always come on up Dean so this is our brand new officer patrolman Dean bua Jr I'm just going to give you a little background on patrolman bua so the council and the mayor and the township manager actually the township manager knows them already they can see or they could hear about who we hired so patrolman bu was spent the first few years of his life living in Vernon Township with his family and attended Elementary and Middle School there just before high school he and his family moved to quic Township where his father Dean senior owns a kitchen shop for over 30 years troman bu attended Quant countship high school and performed well as a student he also participated in football Ice Hockey baseball and worked through his father at the kitchen shop he graduated from kic Township High School in 2018 and enrolled at William Patterson University during his time at William Patterson he excelled uh excelled academically as a Sports Management major and was a member of the ice hockey te during that time trowman bua became became more focused in on a law enforcement career and he started to take police examinations after graduating from William Patterson he was accepted into the Pate County Police Academy's alternate rout program while in the beginning stages of the academy he applied to the Guana count Police Department he was quickly identified as a leading candidate and Breeze through our multi-stage interview process I've said it uh in the past that if it comes down to two or three candidates in the end of the interview process and it's close that going to hire the guy that was ready to go right away in this case we had to wait four months four long months for patrolman bua to finish the police academy but the administration and the township manager all agreed that he was worth the wait uh we are very pleased that he has chosen Panic Township Police Department and we're very excited to see the accomplish his accomplishments in the future uh petrolman view is joined tonight by his parents Virginia and Dean senior his sister Alysa his girlfriend Samantha and his sister Alyssa will be holding the Bible if you all want to come up and it all come up excellent councel you want to join me man you're just so good at this all right who wants the whole Bible my da and you went to the police academy yes sir is it just like the movie that I saw a little different a little different all right are you ready yes are you sure mhm all right God bless you there we go you're got to raise your right hand and repeat after me I Dean bua I De Bu do solemnly swear do solemnly swear that I will support that I will support the Constitution of the United States the Constitution of the United States and the constitution of the state of New Jersey and the constitution of the state of New Jersey and I will bear true faith and that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same and allegiance to the same and to the governments and to the government established in the United States established in the United States and in this state and in this state under the authority of the people under the authority of the people and that I will faithfully and that I will faithfully and partially and partially and justly and justly perform all the duties of perform all the duties of Officer of the panic Township Police Department Officer of the panic Township Police Department excellent according to the best of my ability according to the best of my ability so help me God so help me God congratulations sir now this wonderful man I got to say I'm very excited somebody's from Panic representing Panic taking care of panic like this is your family and I really appreciate it you know what we understand those wonderful nights that you're going to be out there not falling asleep in the car right we don't do that here but I really do appreciate you know at 2:00 in the morning when you're keeping me and everybody else safe like it's the best thing in the world we have the best Force far none of course I'm a little partial but you guys are awesome and thank you for having our backs and welcome to the town thank you all right congratulations what you want to um definely want to thank uh Chief uh Captain Brown Lieutenant Jones and everybody else the part of the interview process that uh you know brought me here today my friends and family thank you for coming and supporting me on on my journey excellent awesome thank you very much thank you sir conratulations [Music] we'll do pictures in a minute we're going to do one more presentation um rotary Representatives rotary come on up come on come on raran so just make sure know which side is that just you guys want to step over there step over that side so everybody can get their pictures so over probably the last 30 years I know uh former Captain Nelson's in audience here and uh he's been gone a couple years now the rotary bought his first vest and he's retired for two years now two years now so they've been doing this for over 30 years they buy officers person vest for officers from Lincoln Park panic and Riverdale uh Panic Valley rotary we're we're so happy that they're here uh we appreciate all they do and uh making a first best donation is certainly helpful for us um as a police department uh because we do have to buy them every 5 years uh but you know having a new officer protected for a next 5 years with their donation is just greatly appreciate thank you guys much thank you con group shop thank you you're welcome that's that's the end of my presentation if you want to stay for the budget meeting very ex very exciting you're get pictures with the family yeah let's uh pictures with the family anybody that wants to do pictures real quick take time moment take your time take time this is a big day [Music] um if you want to do take we'll just yeah someone have to us okay take and then St ni start just everybody get ni [Music] congr parents all with time where she going again Hi how are you like you want to see what it looks like how were you when you started on police that's pretty good there all go this is my chair and this is where I sit all these people leave it'll down again but suicide awesome Dean Dean your sister wants one of those gold cards Let's [Music] uh yeah remember Kyle she gets pulled over I scared the CRA out of he was coming outy tickets and he's walking but I for every Friday went sang and if I rich man he came all right everybody here we go I mean heartbreak know everybody ready wait let's dim the light thank you Chief [Music] thank got that thing on Signal that it was on there we go no keep it open keep it open open open please thank you good night everyone hey you too guys night you too cat and congratulations to off officer Dean bua that's pretty cool another one from Panic that's awesome all right moving along where did everybody go nobody wants to hear about the 2024 Municipal budget we still ex audence that's true all right there you go manager to you thank you Mr Mayor this evening the council has scheduled as uh potential action items a resolution to introduce the 2024 Municipal budget it has been our habit to provide a presentation at the well nobody go to sleep though to provide a presentation at the moment of in at the meeting of introduction so I have a few slides to go over some high points the uh public hearing and adoption action will be scheduled for the second meeting in March as I've historically done the budget process is long it initiates in the fall with the CFO Julie Klick who is here with us for the record uh in in going over everything where we are year to date and initiating the process moving forward for the succeeding year leading to transition of the budget to the council in the spring and meetings with the council which sometimes are short and sometimes are not short sometimes have lots of discussion uh but always it's a good process to come to where we are this evening so tonight we have the potential introduction some highlights Uh current fund includes total General appropriations of 21, 84,3 79 tantanic has an open space Recreation farmland and historic preservation trust which is a tax at 610 of 100 per per 100 valuation excuse me uh the trust fund currently has an in an unencumbered balance of just under $630,000 and generates a little over $200,000 a year overall this budget includes a municipal tax increase including the library uh of 3% excluding the library it's 2.6 and change 3% is an unusual optic and I just want to point out that there is significant discussion paid to safeguarding the municipal budget in times of significant inflation and costs rising at a rate that is almost hard to keep up with everything we all experience it whether we're at the grocery store whether we're buying a vehicle whether we're buying uh and anything that we use to operate our daily businesses or homes has gone up significantly in value and this is an effort to safeguard the security of the budget and have slow steady increases as opposed to falling off of a cliff some changes in expense by category high level issue salary and wages up just over 3% other expenses up uh just over 4% Insurance similarly anybody that operates a business or deals with their home homeowners or or uh vehicle policies it's not uncommon that insurance providers have sent letters out saying we're an unprecedented time so your insurance is going to have to increase uh for the first time in its history the Mars County mpal Joint Insurance Fund increased 14% for the township of panic that is way above 3% uh additionally health insurance is an extraordinarily expensive cost state health benefits went up over 7% Township of aquic is in the north Jersey municipal employee benefits fund which is a hith a health insurance fund we went up just over 4% just over 4% isn't great but it's better than over seven pensions uh go up in accordance with salaries but just over 1.6% as required by the state of New Jersey and importantly we had an appropriation of a little over $200,000 in uh the prior year as well as years before that to satisfy deferred charges those deferred charges have all been raised and paid off revenues tax collection remains strong with the current investment rates we are getting a better return on our money that is in the bank which helped out significantly with respect to other uh revenues we do have some one-time revenues that are supporting the budget to the tune of around $300,000 uh one is a reserve uh funds from a reserve for insurance refunds uh return library funds and reserve for FEMA administrative expenses fund balance in a prior meeting I congratulated the community we had an increase in our credit rating from a A2 to a A1 there are number of factors taken into account when it was Moody's this time around gave the township its rating uh in addition to the stability of the community the affluence of the Metropolitan New York area uh they also take a significant a hard look and and pay significant attention to the township stability in terms of its reserves and fund balance the slide up on the screen now portray raise our fund balance from 2011 to 2022 the rating agencies want to see anywhere from 27 to 34% uh a fund balance available when compared to what's on hand and your total Appropriations we're right in that neighborhood uh but we are we we slowly and steadily grew it from a period of serious economic unrest as we all recall during 20208 2009 uh the Great Recession was before us and municipal ities and businesses and homeowners and and residents were dipping into every pocket they could to try to keep everything moving and afloat so we have progressively and responsibly grown our fund balance to an appropriate level while also affording a $1 million draw down in 2023 for the acquisition of a fire truck without the issuance of debt one of our favorite slides in this building is the municipal tax dollar trivia question is how much money does the municipality keep when you pay a tax dollar so the slide before you was a pie chart that shows the breakdown of what a tax dollar went to in 2023 and you can see if you can see close enough it's pretty far away that the township of panic retained 21 cents of every dollar paid in taxes the school district retained 64 cents our joke is always if they get 64 cents people should pay their taxes over across the parking lot but that's not the way the state of New New Jersey structured it uh so that's a breakdown including the library was 23 cents they're broken off to the side at roughly 2 cents in 2023 why 2023 it's a complete year we don't have all the statistics yet on 2024 Capital Improvements total General Capital Appropriations budget 1.4 million with 1.5 million uh total projects moving forward in 2024 Township of panic is benefited by a pay as you go or cash funded Capital program many municipalities Bond or or issue notes to set to serve their uh Capital budgets it's not necessarily a bad thing but it does cost more there's a a good argument can be made on why you should issue debt or why you should do it with cash the benefit of paying cash is you do it for less money so if you are able to pay cash you pay cash you don't have to pay the interest uh with respect to our program in 2024 some highlights are uh reserve for fire apparatus unfortunately fire trucks get more and more expensive so just as we do with our budgets at home we save and put money away for large expenses uh sidewalk improvements governing body included additional Appropriations to attack two sidewalks in 2024 uh purchase of an ambulance with $135,000 balance that was added to an existing reserve and tennis and pickle Bow Court reconstruction which has been the subject of discussion for a number of years and part of the grand plan to make green View Park the gem of the municipality that it is Township of aquic has three utilities water utility sewer utility and solid waste utility the water utility is overall in Balance the budget is balanced uh it's an overall increase of $ 27,548 or 5.66% salaries and wages increased in that utility by 0% um other expenses increased we buy water as a bulk customer from the city of Newark their rates have increased so we need to be able to pay for that we also have a .7 million I call it the giant Brea but it is a posos mitigation project that we are required to install at the blending facility on West Parkway to remove posos from the water supply that is impacting one of two municipal Wells that are active uh the one well is actually not active at the moment so uh once we get the posos mitigation BR filter in place uh we will be able to reactivate that well uh we have the capital plan for for water water utility and finally the water utility also had some deferred charges but as of this year with the money raised those will be paid off and retired SE utility also is in uh balance it is a total decrease of $151,500 there's a lot of fluctuation and variation in the SE utility associated with the fact that one of the most expensive components is paying two Bridges storage Authority in case anyone didn't know when you flush that's where it goes we certainly don't want it to come back uh Debt Service decreased which is one of the reasons that the uh overall budget went down and we issued bonds and only have interest do at this point but we'll have to deal with further future Debt Service as time moves on super utility also had deferred charges uh but those will also be satisfied and raised in full this year Solid Waste utility overall increase in $179,600 or 4.43% Township of panic has a 5-year contract for the collection of solid waste bottles and cans and paper and then vegetative waste which begins next week the driver in the increases in the solid waste utility are really the cost of carting and Disposal I don't think there's anyone that's not reading the papers that hasn't seen the horror stories of municipalities that have gone up dramatically because of the cost of solid waste and recycling uh removable and Disposal a lot of it has to do with the fact that recyclables no longer have the value that they once did so the commodity isn't worth keeping for a hauler in addition to like everything else expenses for insurance they feel the same thing expenses for Manpower expenses for trucks everything unfortunately is is going up uh consequently this is my favorite meeting of the year I love the culmination of the budget process which is roughly 6 months which is kind of how this feels like for for the staff and me uh it would not be possible without all of the people who are involved in it so I want to express express my appreciation to the staff the senior staff the division heads the department heads uh Julie Klick the finance officer and ultimately the council many hands make lighter work uh many people do a lot of things to make this a smooth process and I appreciate everybody that participated in what I believe to be a very responsible and effective budget for the township of pic in 2024 thank you Mr Mayor thank you sir oh wasn't that interesting it was fun I got to tell you this is my eighth year on Council and this was the uh this was the hardest budget out of all those years and I think uh I think we did really good you know I really did and uh just to remind everybody when you look at your residential tax bill 21% of that is what I want to say goes to us but for that you know we we give Safety and Security for the town for 15, ,500 residents over 7 square miles you know that's police that's fire that's uh DPW that's you know parks and wreck that's PV Park Greenie park that's everything that has to go with it so we're doing a lot with a little we could use more but it is what it is right now so you won't let me have it I will we won't we try to do our best excellent anybody else have a comment on the budget no I just want to also thank everybody involved and I I think we all we all did well it was a tough budget um but we all came out of it shaking hands and and it was a good outcome yeah D Melissa I agree we worked hard and got there Julia's glad it's over right Julie he got six months off and you got to do it again all right so at this time are there any reports or comments from any of the volunteers serving our community come on up give us your wonderful name at the wonderful mic as he Wes Frank spazer asked me to wave at cuz he couldn't be here tonight uh Joe Wells five Washington Street uh Panic uh aquantic open space committee uh just wanted to give you an update on a couple of things uh one uh is the tree uh the trees that we planted in 2018 on pan Avenue and Riverside uh many people have asked why we still have those plastic covers on the trees and and why they're not free and and growing more they're growing well but we have a problem there uh in the sense that we have a lot of deer population and the trees are still vulnerable and as we've spent so many years now protecting them and and so forth while it might not be as pretty as we'd like uh uh we'd like to keep the the the covers on until we can feel that the trees will survive without any damage and and grow to full maturity um the other item or any questions on the trees yeah Joe do you remember how many uh trees did we plant was it 450 350 350 350 trees and shrubs combination of trees mostly trees out of the 350 uh that was approximately uh uh almost uh 275 uh almost 300 trees the rest were some what we did is along the roadway we don't want to plant trees at the edge of the road because they'll grow into the the power lines and so forth so we planted uh uh shrubs and and some trees that have a maximum height of about 15 20 feet so they wouldn't interfere with or require maintenance uh that was a that was a resident that got that to us right no actually what happened is we I was approached by uh the um um who that was the io one of the io kids well yeah but it was uh um he was U uh Army uh uh why can't I can you remember Rob for a grant program it's a it's a it's a youth program and what happened is he was involved in it and also the contractor that we had for uh uh open space uh they it was part of the mors conservancy and it was a a grant uh uh where we would be able to get those trees in fact mors County uh mors County Parks also had got a grant the same time we did and and that uh he was our youth representative from the americore was I couldn't remember it Amic he was the the americore representative the open space and D correct he he's the one that came to me and I was able to get our committee uh went talk to high school got some volunteers from from Panic high school and we had a planting where we we did uh over one week can plant those 350 trees and shrubs and subsequently the basically uh Robin Jones Carrie hecton a couple other members of the committee have been doing ongoing maintenance over the years uh the trees have fared very well with all the flooding that we had over the recently over the last couple years uh they they haven't really suffered uh any great damage uh and they're growing along night nicely I can cannot tell you when we we were responsible for 48 months to take care of them but at 48 months we all agreed that they weren't ready to be released you know from the from the covers that they had so whenever they're mature enough where we feel they could resist the deer and and grow to maturity we we'll take them off but we are straightening them and and culling any of the trees we feel right now that we have approximately a 70% plus survival rate of those trees including the uh the two flooding events that we had the two what including the two flooding events we had one in December one in January that's really good we had a couple of trees along the very edge of the river the program just to go back the americore program was called roots to rivers and the grant uh giving us trees of of certain maturity they were all potted they were the biggest tree with plantings we got were about uh 2 ft and different sizes and so forth and that was that was paid by Grant to protect the the river to maintain the soil when it was flooded so the more trees the more water absorption and the more roots to Rivers is kind of obvious it's basically the roots would retain the soil there okay the other planting that we we did and are doing a replanting of uh we received from uh the state uh uh two saplings from a Royal Oak which was the oldest oak tree in New Jersey which was in in mum chadam area and we planted those at Green Greenville Park and uh what what happens now we're replanting to an area we we got two uh and we were able to to get those nurtured where they're they're growing pretty well going to move one to Farm Road to an area there uh there there oak trees that will have uh somewhere in the neighborhood of a 50ft canopy uh and they they last over 100 to 200 years old so they'll be around for a long time compared to the other thing and the last thing that I just wanted to mention um usually just give a little update on the rail trail um we uh we actually are upgrading our time for completion which we were looking at the fall uh of this year now we feel maybe June July be ready to open the trail uh although it's being used quite uh quite a bit we're going to when we open it we'll have some improved safety measures both on the roads and on the trail but uh a lot of signage has been done already and I think a lot of aquantic residents are using it and enjoying it already and a lot of plantings I noticed running South toward rain all those plantings of trees on the sides and bushes yeah we we we uh we did a lot of fertilizing uh earlier in the year and we'll be doing some ongoing uh maintenance uh uh whatever um we also uh as Adam is is well aware of we're still in the process of working out the moving of the the guard rail Adam has much more knowledge about that than I am he's going to move it himself uh take care that exactly but that that's still uh in progress that's that's it for me any questions I'm good Council I'm good thank you for the thank you Joe appreciate it anybody else okay seeing none next on the agenda is public comments public comment period will be limited to a total of 30 minutes an additional period for public comment is reserved later in the meeting individuals are requ re ested to limit their questions and comments to 3 minutes if anybody wishes to address the council please wait to be recognized to come to the microphone and provide your name for the record come on up oh come on nobody wants to talk young lady in the back how are you hi so Bella and I just have a question for Adam real quick I couldn't really catch what you were saying about I think it was about the budget and it was about the refund from the library was did I hear you say refund refunded money from the library that came back to General yes okay was that the $200 that's going for the pickle ball courts there was $21,000 that was returned to the township Quan that's being used as a revenue to support the 2024 Municipal budget okay um has it been I know I was at the last board meeting of the library and I know they were discussing talking to the council about the paving of the parking lot did that take place yet or did you have a discussion on that I haven't been party to a discussion on that now okay Kyle do you know where that where that is were you anybody supposed to talk to the council about that that would be up to um the board president and the librarian to set up they that's at the last meeting you guys went behind behind closed doors and I thought you guys were going to discuss that no that was attorney Prime attorney client privilege I can't discuss what was discussed behind closed doors so that meeting is not is not discussed about the paving of the parking lot not at this time no okay so you you so it's still for the liers issue for that it's coming out of their budget as far as I know right is that no well yeah they have to figure out what they want to do with the money you know they're sitting on $550,000 as well as another $330,000 and that's before this year is 1 point was it .2 million budet 1.16 I think 1.16 so roof is going to be done this year 24 I don't know is that what they that's with the pots that are you know with the I presume I mean I see the I see the roofing shingles you know from my house but again that's the library's responsibility so I presume they're doing the the roof I they get any more estimates for the roof I know that it was kind of like not really disussed no okay this last question I'm going to answer but yes we already hired the roof the roof for the D it that was that was awarded two meetings ago and he's going to be starting short start date or they're still working on the start date oh those are really questions for the library board okay not Council yeah that it is he's already been hired and the deposit was given okay good to know um okay so the shade tree commission I know that there's money in the budget I know I'm getting two trees from that one not from the grant so I'm just wondering how do people know about the shade tree commission being able to plant free trees to Residents is that that's a great question I had the exact same question actually because I I only heard about it from I would I would recommend asking the sh Tre commission yeah cuz that's a grant that the shade tree commission got corre yeah no joh no I'm right heard hey how you doing John John D is no John is like T attorney John's not here oh John's not here actually after the last conversation I think after the last council meeting somebody also asked that as well as I did okay and it's a shade tree commission that actually got the Grant and then they're working with DPW to take care of that okay but I was actually not included in that Grant I'm I'm with the money that the shade tree commission had anyway oh okay earmarked for shade trees right for residents but I only heard it from a friend whose daughter had trees yeah cuz I saw the DPW working on that was like maybe 2 years ago yeah so but how do residents know like I mean other than you know people inquire it's not like on your you know that's actually that's a right and that would be a great question for the shade tree committee because they would be responsible for getting the word out just like you know environmental does with rain barrels and and you know environmental also does with the uh uh the recycling of foam in the beginning ofan real quick so if I spoke to somebody from the shade tree and they contacted Adam you'd be able to put it on maybe the not not the Facebook I'm sure on the website I'm sure something something we could review where it would appropriately be placed cuz I used to like when I used to go on the website and used to have like that little you know little whatever they call that little that would be able to say new and improve new things yeah but I went on the the account just the other day and I just got Facebook instead I didn't get like the regular really H it wasn't really Facebook but it was different it was totally different from it was different it was just re not really friendly I didn't I feel like we're taking like 10 steps backwards each time they improve it anyway thank you thank you all right anybody else come on up are these lights dimer they must be a little bit good evening Paul mailer I just thought I'd help us where the where the roof is concerned apparently all the material are in the roof is being uh fixed this week apparently not fixed they're putting out a whole new roof right a full ripoff and they're putting out a whole new roof except for the part of the roof that leaks the most what do you mean the part of the roof that leaks the most which is the flat part of the roof in the back of the building that's not included in the scope of work it's only the shingles on the peak part of the roofs that I'm sure they'll get to that they have plenty of money for it well except that they don't and it's going to cost that much more cost over you have to wonder if you brought a roofer in to build to for your house would you have them repair the entire roof especially the part that leaks the most at the same time or would you wait you know I'm not a flat versus a shingle roof guy so that's over my head well for the record the part of the roof of the library that leaks the most is the part of the roof that is not being repaired mhm thank you anybody else all right seeing none uh there being no additional public comments we will continue with the agenda and next on the agenda is manager's report Mr Brewer thank you Mr Mayor um so we had a presentation on the municipal budget which I could do again that was wonderful my great your favorite me uh for for this evening uh the council has uh a number of items legislatively that I'll touch upon for its consideration uh first is the canis ordinance uh previously the governing body took action to introduce an ordinance to make some corrections based on advice from special counsel um and the ordinance was introduced and sent to the planning department for review by the planning board as required by State Statute I goofed up the ordinance included the prior zoning as I3 uh when the original ordinance was put in place the zoning ordinance had yet to be changed by Council so when the ordinance was revised I miss changing I3 to AG Zone oh okay um review of that it is a substantive issue so the recommendation by Mr usik and and me is to introduce the ordinance before you that corrects that error uh the other ordinance remains in play and will be recommended for defeat at a future meeting so just to clarify the ordinance today would then go to Zoning for them to go over and then come back to correct planning planning planning and the other one that we approved went to planning that's coming back to us but we're going to kill that just because it has a p planning board did not review it but the council has the right to to to defeat it so I apologize for that uh preparation error happens uh the council has for its consideration this evening the PV Park membership uh the council gave direction to wave fees for those individuals uh who not only are volunteers for their first aid and uh Fire Company one and Fire Company 2 but individuals of their immediate family residing in their in their households uh we had a discussion last meeting regarding our policy for mailboxes damaged during uh snow snow pling operations uh that was a 2 two matter that I received direction to carry for discussion for 20 for this meeting this evening so unless there's any questions for me that is the conclusion of my report I have no questions Council any questions no no all right all right next on the agenda public hearing on ordinance number 20 24-7 Miss Marsh ordinance number 20 2407 is an ordinance amending chapter 152 of the code of the township of panic and waving Panic Valley and Woodland Park membership fees for current Township Fire Department and first aid Squad volunteers thank you are there any comments from Council no I think it's great like to open the public hearing oh yeah we have to there we go is there a motion to open public hearing that's me okay second second all in favor I if anybody has a question or comment about this ordinance please come up seeing none okay is there motion to close it can I get a second I'll make a second all in favor is there a motion to adopt this ordinance I'll make a motion to adopt um ordinance 20 24-7 I'll second Moll call please Mrs Florence Lynch yes Mr herd yes little okay let's try this can we start all over sure all right Mrs Florence Lynch yes Mr Cole yes Mrs Russell May herd yes motion carries excellent spite of the clerk next on the agenda is Introduction of ordinance is Mrs Marsh ordinance number 20248 is an ordinance amending chapters 360 zoning 119 cannabis established license and 120 cannabis transfer license cannabis transfer tax of the revised General ordinances of the township of panic to permit and regulate cannabis manufacturing establishments as a conditional use got it Mr Brewer do you have any other comments no just to amplify what was previously discussed the ordinance allows for correction to the partial manufacturing that was allowed previously to call for class one class 2 license it amends the application fees as well as provides the Chief Financial Officer with the opportunity to retain an outside auditor to review the books as dictated by Statute and assist in that process at the cultivator or manufacturer's expense rather than in the right and again this ordinance is just talking about the uh growing and Manufacturing not retailing or reselling in that capacity simply provides for class one which is cultivation class two which is manufacturing excellent are there any comments from Council no no no is there a motion to introduce this ordinance on the first reading I'll make that motion can I get a second I'll second roll call Mrs Florence Lynch yes Mr Cole yes Mrs Russell yes may herd yes next on the agenda is the introduction of ordinance number 20 24-9 Miss Marsh ordinance number 202 409 is an ordinance authorizing the execution of a contract for the purchase of block 4116 lot 20 from belly simx s CL enough Mr Brewer any comments uh this is an open space acquisition that is consistent with a goal previously identified after Hurricane Irene um when the township sought to acquire this piece of property it wasn't unable to do so because there was an unwilling seller currently there is a willing seller and the acquisition is supported by a grant from the Mars County open space uh trust fund flood acquisition program excellent are there any comments from Council no excellent is there a motion to introduce this ordinance on first reading I'll make go ahead I'll make that motion to introduce 20249 can I get a second second roll call Mrs this Mrs Florence Lynch yes Mr Cole yes Mrs Russell no they heard yes all right next on the agenda is resolutions Miss Marsh beginning with resolution r202 2491 authorizing do you want a separate vote on these you do right do we care Mr o i i for with respect to the introduction of the budget yes if that could please be held as a separate item outside the others can be and the others can be taken together do you want to start with that okay I'll read the all the others start wherever you'd like to start want to start with all the others resolution r202 491 authorizing self-examination of the municipal budget for the year 2024 resolution 2024 93 adopting a temporary Municipal budget for 2024 2020 2024 94 authorizing temporary emergency Appropriations for operating purposes 95 confirming the designated memberships in the Panic Township Fire Department 96 authorizing tax office refunds overpayments or cancellations our 202 2497 authorizing release of refundable permit bonds 202 2498 authorizing release of designated escro deposits 202499 off approving payment of the itemized claims has set forth on the March 22nd 2024 bills list and 2018 fem elevation escrow list and r202 24100 authorizing submission of an application to the Mars County historic preservation trust fund program and approving matching funds in the amount of $ 86,4 31 for a construction grant for the Pompton PLS train station 2024 updated application thank you are there any comments uh on the resolutions from Council or questions no not no okay is there a motion to adopt these resolutions I'll make that motion to adopt resolutions are 2024 91 92 94 not 92 oh 91 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 and 100 I'll second roll call Mrs Florence Lynch yes Mr Cole yes Mrs Russell yes we heard yes okay now for resolution r224 d92 Miss Marsh r224 92 approving introduction of the 2024 Municipal budget excellent is there any comments on this resolution from Council no there great job thank you all it was nice working with you on this it was a rough one we made it we did it uh is there a motion to adopt this resolution I'll make a motion to adopt resolution 20 r202 24- 92 second roll Cole Mrs Florence Lynch yes Mr Cole yes Mrs Russell yes may herd yes next on the agenda item for discussion is the mailbox policy Mr Brewer uh mayor president audience as discussed earlier in my report this had been carried from the last meeting uh just as a general primer for everyone there are essentially two common ways to approach a mailbox that's damaged during snowplow operations one is to uh leave it to the homeowner to replace or file a torque claim which is the required process for any individual who wishes to file a claim against a public entity or there are some communities that uh issue payment in a set amount with certain caveats if it can be uh confirmed that the mailbox was damaged during snowplow operations currently the municipal code calls for the former in the township of panic and the township takes no responsibility for any improvements in the right of way during the budget discussion there was some concern expressed by members of council over the fact that it really is up to the postmaster where the mailbox is to be placed it's not up to the resident uh so it's a tough spot to be in uh so there was some discussion about how we should do uh how we should approach this policy and how we should approach a potential change in the municipal code um during the discussion at the last meeting I pointed out for the council's benefit some decision-making items one of which is how much there was some research done into the cost of some standard materials from uh from from a known retailer um there was discussion over the fact that if an individual was going to receive compensation for a damaged mailbox it should be associated with a release of all claims against the township and lastly so is to mitigate uh certain exposure to issues we don't want to get into we don't want to get into whether it was installed properly or whether it was red or whether there was a different cause that that that resulted in in the snow plowing operation impacting the mailbox um a recommended prescrib Ty period that this could be received in a certain you know once every 5 years once every 10 years once every seven years something to that effect U but otherwise you know legisl legislatively all these matters are matters of policy under the authority of the council to make a determination and lastly as I mentioned it is a component of Municipal Code so any would require an ordinance okay I think I was going to say in the past I do remember um I did a little research I do remember like years ago when we changed it to what it is now but it was only a policy we never did an ordinance right no it's code done by ordinance okay um but I mean in the past it was like a policy and because people used to buy like end up buying like three and $400 mailboxes like there was that's not what we'd be buying I know I know Home Depot's bets is what we would kind of but I don't know I mean I I'd be i' like you know we've talked about it before I mean I'd like it to be a flat flat fee maybe no more than you know 200 or something 150 to 200 right I was thinking more a lot of money yeah I said 150 to 200 tops we have to decide what that number is I mean if this research is good you know um I think that's a lot of money well I'm I'm against changing I think we open ourselves up to a lot of problems when we do it but if we do I I think $50 really well Dave what do you think um I'm sorry I had to leave early at the last meeting so I probably would have uh been the deciding vote but uh the meeting before I took it upon myself I reached out to the mayor of Wayne the mayor of Lincoln Park the mayor of Riverdale uh the business administrator from wanu uh the mayor from pump the Lakes uh they all take care of mailboxes that are broken by the DPW so I'm in favor of it I'm in favor of $100 um I think 150 to 200 is kind of High um according to you know what we the information we have from DPW yeah it's a standard mailbox and a pressure treated wood post which is what's recommended by the public works director total just under $82 a more elaborate more elaborate one I'm sorry fair I was looking at this 155 that's not the number we were well a more elaborate or a high end post that's made of metal which is not could be had for 155 I think 100 is more than fair um that's just my suggestion but all of the Mayors and the business administrator was like I can't believe you guys don't do anything yeah did you know do you do research costs and stuff too now what do you think about 150 but if it's I'm good with the 100 I think it's the right thing to do that's why I brought it up in the first place um I agree with the sign waver uh what do you guys think about once every how many years I'm thinking 5 years what do you guys think do 5 years is fine with me but I I think it's moving forward I don't think we're going back the last snowstorm that everyone said we broke their mailboxes so this is from today moving forward so Kyle what do you think I agree what about on years how many years five years five years and and what is our basis for five years are we saying like your new mail book should hold up for five like you get to you get to submit for a claim for the $100 once every 5 years okay Melissa yeah no I'm definitely fine with that 5 years I'm fine with I I was I had come up with 150 but if every think 15 if everybody thinks 100 is fine you know then that's fine with me I you know now again it doesn't restrict the residents from building whatever they want correct you know they can do whatever they want okay so just just if I can confirm the direction I'm receiving from Council will'll prepare an ordinance for introduction to the Future meeting uh providing for $100 um provided a release is signed and it can be submitted for and paid once every 5 years sounds good my understanding works for me yes I'm a yes bissa yeah that's fine Kyle yes excellent thank we will proceed accordingly uh next on the agenda reports and notices are any comments and questions from Council for the no and bond sale memo no congratulations on the new uh it was just so the the this is a good use of the reports and notices function of the agenda which doesn't get a lot of action no uh statutorily the Chief Financial Officer is required to report to the governing body the results of the the do or the bond sale $35 million in sewer bonds uh were bought by Roosevelt and cross uh for final interest cost of 3.27 69% and 3.2 million in uh General capital in uh was bought by Oppenheimer at 3.32% and how how long do they hold that for uh notes are annual bonds are for the lifespan of the issue um what these are I think they're think the bonds were 20 years notes for annual okay but I'd have to go back and let me read the memo well thank you and congratulations for getting the better C every little bit help SE for sure was a little confusing but you know note and bond sales are incredibly confusing because there are a number of components that go into the true or net interest cost right [Music] so okay the notes are annual the bonds four I was correct 20 years all right 20 years excellent any other questions on that from counil no nope exciting huh yeah next on the agenda is Council reports and announcements Mr Dari is not here so we're going to councilwoman Florence Lynch uh congratulations to police officer uh bua if I said that right y um uh welcome to banic uh the only other thing I have let's see my economic development committee is meeting tomorrow night um here in this room at 7:00 and we have the river cleaning coming up on April 2 uh April 6th right is a river clean up I don't know if anybody's doing the um the plate the Tony salino playground it's the same day um thing that's the same day I'm sorry Tommy Tommy um I know that's the same day um for the for the one thing and then there's well River cleanups in the morning Tommy is at 11:00 okay uh what else we got coming up little league grade uh little leag opening day is April 20th what else did I write here oh and my senior group met and uh I just wanted to find out if I need permission um from the council this uh senior citizen advisory committee wants to do um advertise a movie night where movie mat on a Sunday um to everyone in town is if they run it themselves cuz they have a TV there they just want to be able to advertise it invite seniors to come is there anything we have to do for that than CU they asked if we could help advertise it and um put it on website or something yeah my suggestion would be to work with Parks and Recreation Department that has infrastructure to okay support yeah they'll do it at the senior center they just asked I mean remember when we used to do that Melissa it was you know we just asked heel yeah heel Village her Village and uh I mean everybody else I mean it was pretty good back then it was just TR again so they can just work with parks and setting that up and we can help advertise it all right that was it I don't have anything else thank you all right councilman call uh congratulations to Dean bua the new police officer congratulations also to our new uh two new Eagle Scouts went to the ceremony this past Sunday and the reason that I left early last week is I attended a luncheon in Atlantic City uh the next day for art Schmidt art has been on the two Bridges Sewer Authority since 1985 and he was awarded a award from the ass Association of environmental Authority uh for his years of service and dedication to two Bridges Sewer Authority so was very well attended nice lunching um Bart and Betty we had a nice T nice table from the authority to Bridges Sewer Authority so it was very nice to see our get the award from 198 what 1985 he's been on the two Bridges se he is the most senior and knowledgeable person on that board wow that's pretty interesting and a great guy that AG great I will leave the comments there anyway uh councilman councilwoman Russell hello uh did out to everybody else what they said congrats to our new police and the Eagle Scouts we were all there it was it was nice to see we have a lot of Eagle Scouts um couple dates rotary 5K is June 9th Sunday sign up the environmental has a mini bio Blitz on the 27th of April um don't forget April 25th the 200 Club is we have a Valor honory uh Sergeant James Derek patrolman Steven GS am I saying that right and patrolman Brian paresi are all being honored at the Birchwood Manor on that date awesome um May 11th rainbow Workshop shred day May 18th at PV Park PV Park opening day is May 25th beach party July 15th movie night the 21st and the holdown is the 19th um I had a meeting with the cdrs and um it's kind of eye openening the cdrs gets grant money and then people from all different municipalities kind of decide how to handle the uh grant money and it's sad that there's such a need unfortunately we couldn't give to everybody but when you hear these presentations and they're helping battered women or Abus children and was it was long it was from from about 9:00 in the morning till 2:00 in the afternoon these presentations and it just really opened your eye you know we just got done with with budget and you know who gets a tree who's getting this and and these you know these poor kids they they don't have lunch they don't have food so um I think we did a very good job all of us and um the final vote is next week but it's all grant money I was on the service end of it there's all different sections for the grant money so it was very good um also I happen to go in one day and I'm sorry I'm long today I happen to go in one day to um to the senior house and the chess club was going on and you think chess club I got to tell you it was packed serious and those kids are engaged and Tom Andrea Kudos he does a great job with them and and they couldn't have been nicer I yes do I play chess yes do I know how to move each PCS could I beat any one of those kids heck no so it was good uh Library new board president is doing great we we have a new attorney that helped iron out a lot of our questions um I do have to say you know we do have a lot of members of the public there and one of them came up and was aggressive towards our attorney and didn't want to leave and we were going into attorney review so I'm going to ask the public to just be respectful you know everybody's donating their time there um we had discussions on things you may not like what one person decides but that's why there's a board everybody has their own opinion um The Roof is going to be put on shortly the deposit we we approved the deposit check to go in so that's exciting and that's all I have EXC quick question the uh May 11th rain barrel Workshop where is it they usually have it right here at senior center yeah at the because there's you have to sign up very quickly for it it goes x amount that that they have and then they show you how to do it they get the um empty barrels from Coca-Cola they go and they rinse them out and they do everything and then a lot of it was the transportation yeah I know cuz it was last year it was sold out and I know that they got more for this year yeah we got we got yeah okay but and a lot of it is the picking it up and then the storage of it that's yeah no not so much as just takes up a lot of volume where are they going to put 50 of them your house no thank you councilwoman Russell all righty just to reiterate obviously congratulations Dean that's awesome the river cleanup is Saturday the 6th uh meet here at senior house at 9:00 a.m. uh Tommy's um what do I want to say it's the uh new place that um dedication is at 11:00 a.m. but if you want to help uh it was what the thir Wednesday Thursday Friday yeah Wednesday Thursday Friday you can definitely help build the playground we need all the help we can get and then this way I believe you are going to be caught in the ribbon at 11:00 I I am uh Tommy uh you know grew up next door to uh me for well grew up next door to where we live now right and my boys and Tommy were my boys were a few years older than Tommy but you know played uh with Tommy and his sister at Greenview Park uh you know in the neighborhood um so yeah his parents asked me if I would and uh it would be an honor to cut the ribbon for Tommy excellent very fitting can't wait till that happens uh what else do I have I also have so Mission of Hope um at the last school board meeting uh they recognized Mission of Hope which is a bunch of students uh that's supported by my church or Lady of good faith of good Council uh they went over to the Dominican Republic they replace roofs um they help Revitalize a basketball court and so much more I mean these are the kind of Outreach things that are super super important and uh I mean these kids did such an awesome job um it's really you know doing good feels good so we might as well do more good that's a that's a big deal and I'm glad that the uh that the uh high school and and the schools recognize them and are Lady of Good counsil for that uh I'd like to congratulate Bill and Brian I had to honor of marrying them last week that was pretty cool and then obviously the two Eagle Scouts Jacob and Nathaniel uh I believe that gives us 81 Eagle Scouts if I counted it right just off from troop 144 out of panic that's huge that's a huge number from a tiny little town like Panic that's why I'm so proud of being in this town with that said moving on all right next on the agenda is public comment if anybody wishes to address the council please wait to be recognized come to the microphone and provide your name for the record come on up guys uh it's always fun good evening again Paul mailor Panic Township uh out of concern for the library and its future I wrote yet another note to councilwoman Russell last week copied you good folks so that you would be uh better informed as to what is happening at uh trustee meetings uh and for example the 2023 Library strategic plan which is this plan you can clearly see that it's 23 to 25 or 2023 to 2025 nothing's been done on that plan we're almost halfway through 2024 and nothing's been done on that plan despite the fact that it was approved unanimously by the uh the library board the things that were discussed were things like replacing Carpeting and instead of replacing carpeting throughout the entire building uh it was suggested well let's just do a piece of it let's do some of it even though there's tripping hazards that are being taped down in areas that are apparently now not going to be replaced so it's kind it's kind of the same as with the roof why would you bring in an installer just to do part the part of the job when it's going to be far more efficient to do the entire job all at once good question so that that's kind of an example you know and considering that the plan included input from many residents of the township and that it was approved by a unanimous vote it really is incumbent on the library Board of Trustees to complete it on a timely basis they have a year and a half to get get that done based on all of the delay tactics that are thrown out at that meeting by councilwoman Russell and by pres new president white it's not going to happen and that's sad it's unfortunate considering how important that library is to the to the community there's also a manual for for trustees from the from the state and it says among other things it is the job of the board to support growth of Library Services services okay to the community remembering that the goal is not to save the community money but to spend money wisely and and efficiently and what's happened now is that the the power base and the Board of Trustees has now shifted okay the in November the Board of Trustees voted 4222 uh to approve fully funding the capital reserve so that the improvements uh in the Strategic plan could be done okay 2 months later with Christina white as the as the board president and trustees Peller and mcshain newly appointed that vote flipped so that that Reserve was not funded and the position that councilwoman Russell has taken and I believe you have as well Mr Mayor is that the $500,000 that's already reserved is enough to get started so why not return available excess funds to the taxpayers and there's three reasons why not the first is the the township has yet to explain how the $200,000 already taken from the library was actually used by the township was it returned to taxpayers as as in the code or I guess I understood from you Mr bre Brewer tonight that that it simply became part of Township uh budget I'm not sure that that's appropriate but that's for you guys to decide uh the second as the board the trustee board accountant has explained the financially appropriate thing to do is for the board to fully reserve the 8 $100,000 Capital need while excess funds are available it's the same as you guys have done with your capital reserve when you have the funds you reserve them because you don't know what's going to happen tomorrow you reserve the funds when you have them it's what you've done in behalf of the municipality and it's what should be done in behalf of the library but it's not and then third both librarian manard and board accountant Brennan have both explained that when the township claws back excess funds like you did last year and that apparently like you intend to do at the end of this year uh without first fully reserving for Capital needs the library has to cut back on spending for needed Library services so that new funds can be made available to eventually fund the reserve so you see the problem there if you don't fully fund the reserve the librarian and the the accountant is going to tell the librarian you cannot spend money on brand new Services because you need to to save money in order to reserve for uh uh the eventually reserved for the capital fund and now what's happening is that you folks are asking the library to take on even new expenses such as repaving the parking lot and uh repairing uh uh the roof and that makes even fewer Library services to be provided uh and and in addition it's interesting that that trustee appointees appear to have been recruited and we took the time to ask and thank you Carol for for your help but we asked for when were the volunteer forms submitted so Nancy re who was on the board she submitted her volunteer form asking to serve another term in o on October 26th I submitted one on October 17th the fourth year in a row that I've submitted as a former trustee former uh president of the Board of Trustees of the Lincoln Park Library I think I have some expertise to to to provide uh Bob Freedman who you folks know on the historical society and so on Bob's application was received October 20th none of those three people were appointed obviously to the board Jason P's application was received more than a month later he was appointed Joanne mcshan's application was received the end of January coincidentally after Michelle oconor resigned so I I just wonder the if you're recruiting people instead of taking the volunteers who ask for the job I I I kind of wonder why you know you would you would do that uh there's also resident comments uh at at uh the meeting that there's been pretty much standing room only uh and Resident comments have shown their frustration with the new board including questions like why are certain members of the board blocking every advancement that costs money wasn't my question it was a question from another Resident uh how could it have taken four months to pass a set of minutes when is the board actually going to be action oriented reading from a prepared statement a resident said that quote diverting funds away from the library to spend on outdoor recreation represents a fundamental misunderstanding of the library's role and a disservice to the community um another Resident mentioning that they were honored to have taken part in the 2023 2025 strategic plan uh they said they wondered when the effort to reimagine the space would actually happen and then finally when the librarian was told not to make recommendations or why was the librarian told not to make recommendations for new trustee appointments to the board you would think that you would want to get feedback from the librarian as to who she thinks might best represent the uh uh the board uh so again you know i' I've offered these things uh out of out of frustration and out of concern for the future of the library uh I I think that the uh the trustee manual is is should be followed and the people that are on that board uh that that their job should be to spend the money that is allocated to the library and if they don't see that as their job then I don't think they belong there thank you for your time thank you Paul anybody else you are first name for the record please good evening we're shamber pton Plains um I also wanted to comment about the uh Board of Trustees for the library I've attended a couple of the meeting meetings uh based on you know some reactions other people have been having um I don't know how many times anybody on the Town Council goes to the library and uses their services uh but I would encourage you to do it I think we have an amazing Library we have a very talented staff there we have amazing programs that are done um I participate myself uh Paul didn't mention me but I'm one of the people that also applied to be on the library Board of Trustees um because Mr Mayor you said you were looking for applications yeah we were yes um so um I don't know what the council is looking for for people to be on the Board of Trustees uh I understand that you know that's something the decision that you can make but I think what's happening right now from what I can see from the meetings that I've attended and some of the research that I've done reading the you know trustee manual by the state of New Jersey talking to other people who are Librarians retired Librarians things like that um we're doing a disservice to our library by taking money away uh the state has a formula for what they decide they think is appropriate for the size of the library based on the mill rate and for us to be thinking that as Kyle you have said in meetings and I've heard you say they have too much money um I think it's a disservice to our town um to get money back to do pickle ball courts or other things or sidewalks which or some of the things that you've suggested in a trustee meeting uh it makes me wonder what's going on with our budget if we need to take money back from the library to do those things that doesn't make any sense to me um I would encourage you to check out a book check out some other materials go and see what is going on in the library with the kids uh my family used the um Museum passes to go to the um at MoMA in New York what an amazing thing that our library has that in a town of our size um Wayne doesn't have that they have other museums but you know we have phenomenal things going on reading programs for children reading programs for adults speaker series everyone that I talk to that uses the library is really impressed but deciding and wanting to take money back to spend it on things in the town not what the library you know could use not things that we could add to the library it I it doesn't make any sense to me I don't understand why we are trying to do that I don't understand why things aren't getting passed why things keep getting delayed uh why there's push back on minutes from previous meetings where things were passed and now we we have arguments it's honestly it's embarrassing and if the meetings were televised like this meeting I I think people would be laughing at Panic so as Town Council people I would encourage you to find out more about what's going on in your library it belongs to all of us and it shouldn't be a pet project to money back to the town when it's something by law that belongs with the library thank you thank than anybody else I did see one hand up in the back did you want to come forward hello eor baluchi uh green view section um first I have I have two things uh one I also am in support of the library and I have to second everything the two previous speakers have have said tonight I mean to go to these meetings and to see the delay tactics and the stalling and the arguing over minutes it's it's discouraging uh as a as a patron that spent a lot of time at the library because my wife worked there 26 and a half years and I felt like actually I was supporting the library uh it's truly disheartening to what's going on at at the library and I think what you have to do is just you have to look at the library and see how great uh an organization it is and and what we can make it with the plans that are already been approved by the people that uh program that Mr mailer had put up that was approved by the the P the town the public I'm saying that's what we want and I think that's that's what you have to look at is what the people want mhm second on my list is what's going on with Hillview met in great question even we don't know uh you know they they're processing stuff there we know in uh some containers and now I'm hearing that there are maybe five more containers doing now they came up with a plan that was approved over a year ago about putting in a new building and having special having security having air quality what is being done there's no no air quality you they're processing uh cannabis in these containers they're not filtering the air so and I mean I hear you know there's people in the town or not town but in my area that are complaining about some some of the smell so I'd like to know what what is happening with that area yeah we'd like to know as well the applicant has not come in front of us again uh but that's also why earlier today you saw that we codified two other resolutions that pertain to manufacturing as well as growing to make sure everything is clarified but we have no clue what's going on over there shouldn't well they have to come back for their application can I can I comment Mr so um sir my understanding just to try to address your questions is the operations that exist are under a pre-existing zoning permit that was prior to the application to the planning board that you referenced with the approval with respect to the application to the planning board that was granted our understanding is zero action has been taken to fulfill that um if there is rumor that there's addition beyond what was previously happening happening I'll have that looked into and if there is it wouldn't be permitted and the township would take enforcement I think it should but we we we regularly do check um and and and I will follow up with code enforcement zoning tomorrow to to double check but that's the status is it stands essentially where it did when it was previously approved by the planning board without any action all right thank you you're welcome so wait so what did you just say so the planning board did not pre-approve no there was a zoning approval prior to prior to the legislative change in 2018 that provided for recreational or adult use cannabis there was uh honik I believe is theow MHM uh that allowed for uh medical production and that was the framework that they were operating under a previous zoning permit issued by the zoning officer under that legal construct when the law changed by the state of New Jersey in 2018 to allow for use it was under that that they came before the planning board which they haven't done anything they done correct cuz it's like the fencing the fencing back there is uh open in certain areas is is broken they were supposed to put barriers up I believe that was a pre-existing agreement that uh the township had with them when they had grow right correct it was still under the grow Rite prior to the implementation of you met um but if there site issues again there's a process to look at that and and and follow it when I I remember at the meeting we were they were talking about Hillview Med correct that was post the adult use and was going to be an expansion with the filtration systems and security and and all the requirements that are implemented by State Statute 100% and that's what has not there has not been anything out correct all right thank you thank you thank you anybody else Richman pumping planes I just want to support what other people have been saying about the library it seems to you know others number of us have been going to the meetings it seems like for some reason the town has politicized the library it's not a republican Library it's on a democratic Library it's for the whole town I don't think it there shouldn't be no political agenda there shouldn't be takeovers of of the library Board of trusties take over by who there all should be volunteers who come in there what can we do to support the library and as everybody's talked in the past this town is pride has a lot of Pride on their school system and on the library it improves the values of the homes improves the quality of life in this town we all should be supporting and we shouldn't be fighting it and we all want the support of the council to help turn this around let's you know calm things down depoliticize it and just support the library and get these things done thank you thank you thank you okay anybody else all right at this time we are moving on there's no minutes presented for approval Ryan may I just make a few comments before uh in a minute yeah right before close session okay go ahead yes okay so I I just want to address some of the things that went on um because a lot of people um most of what Paul mer said uh with the exception of the resident comments are false um we can talk about the minutes um the minutes were written by somebody who wasn't there so my argument was when you write minutes and you sign who submitted the minutes they have to be submitted by the person and we got the attorney in and he agreed and we switched it and everything went forward because if I'm voting on something I'm voting on something that I feel to be right there was other issues that I thought should add it he said it was too late I okay fine but that was why um and it wasn't an argument we've we have disagreements here and it it should never rise to where it's risen to um what else did I want to say as for as for you know delaying with the roof what happened was we got the money for the roofs and then we all all of us wanted references now we can't talk about anything between the monthly meetings so we got the references then the reference came in and then somebody wanted to know why it was there was so difference in the pricing so it had to go back there was no delay when I said we had too much money we have too much money in our Capital Improvements it should be spent the money should be spent on the improvements that we need and that's how I feel the delay if everybody's saying why I didn't I agreed with that last um for those of you who were there I need some water sorry I'm doing I'm doing a water fast and so so dehydrated right now so getting back to uh when Mr cillo gave us those plans in the budget it does say for those rooms and I would I I was the first to say let's go ahead with the rooms I asked to not do the carpeting because when we do the rooms I want to see what it looks like we're going to do rooms and a new desk and hopefully new furniture it would be nice to see what it looked like so you can Envision do we want to do a walkway do we want to carpet all there do we want to change the color of the carpet in one place to give the idea of separation so it's it's not a it's not a delay it I think the carpet is 35,000 but I think it's a a wiser spent on the money to wait and see what you have and then yes go ahead and do it yes it needs new carpet I've said it needs new new carpet we get in that room and nobody listens I'm sorry they all hear oh you want to delay you do this and I'm telling you right now I don't want to delay I want to spend the money I want the library to be the best library ever I've lived here forever I go to the library I'm there every other day I always have I grew up in that Library so and it was actually here when I grew up here it was in the police station um so normally I don't comment on people doing stuff if you ever really want to know how I feel don't listen to other people call me up have a conversation that's what we do we have one-on-one conversations and then you'll know exactly how I feel I can't speak to anybody else but that's how I feel thank you thank you and just to clarify a couple of things the town's not taking back the money this is state law so if they don't use it they're responsible for bringing it back to the town and it's used for uh it goes into our what's the property tax relief a reue becomes a Revenue tax right so it doesn't come back for sck doesn't and that's why on the next one get exactly you need so right now get right now again my family has used that Library all three of my boys went through mommy and me and my wife has been there and I got to tell you 10 years ago that roof was still leaking right why wasn't that roof fixed the people that were doing things beforehand were not doing the right thing the plenty of money was there on top of that excuse me I this is meeting now it is closed thank you very much sir and you need to be corrected the reason Paul are you going to do the same thing at the other meeting this is what I mean so just to clarify again the library has $550,000 in savings there's $330,000 that hasn't been earmarked yet it needs to be earmarked so they can put it into that budget if they don't earmark it by law it's supposed to come back to town and this is before the 1 6 million that goes back to them again this year of which they have $400,000 extra over and above their operating costs over and above employee salaries over and above everything so by the end of this year once they use that 330 plus the 550 they get another $400 that's almost a million doll that pays for more than enough that's everything that's in that 23 to 25 budget and that's the lies and misinformation that people are putting out there they're not telling the truth and they're causing a ruckus at the meetings just like here and you don't do that thank you very much okay moving on next on the agenda is closed session is there a motion to approve resolution authorizing the Town Council to meet an executive session to discuss matters of attorney kind uh privilege I'll make that motion can I get a second a second all in favor I I opposed at this time the public portion the meeting is recess for closed session thank you everybody