##VIDEO ID:XLhC5Z8FpA8## e e e e the notice requirement provided for the open public meeting law has been satisfied reporting in progress notice was properly given said notice having been transmitted to The Courier news on Tuesday January 16th 2024 as well as posted on the city's website clerk man we have a roll call work Council one two council members Briggs Jones pres uh council member Cherry present McCrae pres sesum present Wyatt present Graham present council president hak present all members present we have a quorum thank you please rise for the Pledge of Allegiance and stand for the invocation alag the United States of America and to the rep for it stands one nation under God indivisible with liy and justice for all humbly we ask God The Giver of peace and the lover of Charity to give the entire family of Nations true agreement with his will and to Grant the light of his Spirit on all those who work for justice and peace amen amen okay may I have a motion to approve the minutes of the regular meeting of August 12th 2024 so second okay all those in favor say I I I any opposition or extensions okay the Motions uh the minutes have been approved uh we will now move to presentations do we need to present for uh the library card Mark yes we are maybe go to the next one okay mayor CH to absolutely all right so we'll move to our 40 plus Double Dutch Club in Playfield uh Julian Cherry you have the floor councilwoman good evening everyone good evening tonight I have the honor and privilege to recognize a group of women that all happen to be over the age of 40 they provide fun fitness and fellowship to the residents of planfield you've seen them participate at every event most recently the Fourth of July parade National Night Out where I believe our council president tried to D jump Double Dutch try I've seen our mayor try to dump double jump Double Dutch last year I want to bring up my co- captains Rocky Diane and sorry be Beverly come on up [Applause] before we bring up the group and then call the council down I just want to personally say thank you for your leadership your love and your guidance I've watched you provide wisdom over these group of women and I could attest as a member of 40 plus Double Dutch that this is beyond the rops I've seen these women pray for each other we've coached each other through death through marriage through anything through birth through birthdays we are a true sister hood and I'm going to say on behalf of the council I want to thank you for engaging all sectors of our community in the city of planfield especially through age gender and race so thank you so much so I'm not going to read this in its totality but I'm going to invite the group up in a couple seconds but I'm not going to read it all but whereas the city of Playfield council is proud to celebrate and honor the incredible contributions of the 40 plus Double Dutch playing field and empowering Sisterhood that champions mental health and physical health and friendships whereas since his Inception on April 29th 2012 2022 with just five passionate members the 40 plus Double Dutch Club has blossomed into a vibrant and dynamic group of over 125 women meeting twice a week to uplift Inspire and really Inspire other people with within the community and root within Fitness fun and fellowship whereas the club's Vision was creating community whereas women over the age of 40 that live on the on out their purpose while encouraging others to walk in health empowerment and has transformed lives in the members and positively have impacted the city of planfield serving as a model for other clubs Nationwide so today therefore be it resolved that the city of planfield the council proudly honors and celebrates the 40 plus Double Dutch club for its joyful Spirit deeply committed in providing wellbeing to its members in the community and for creating a space where all women can thrive in health happiness and unity and I see our mayor just walked in and I've seen our mayor as well jump Double Dutch last year as well so I want to invite 40 plus to come up mayor take a picture our Council to come down take a picture mayor and I'll give the 40 plus an opportunity to say something certainly on behalf of the 40 plus double dud Club of planfield we are humbly honored to receive this recognition on this evening uh the 40 plus Double Dutch Club of planfield has received multiple um recognition um even on a national level however this is most important to us because this is the community that we serve the city of planfield and surrounding communities so we certainly count an honor to be recognized by our very own City we thank the city of planfield for providing a location for us to have our meetups we also thank the planfield board of education for also providing space for us and again we are impacting lives of of women and when we impact lives of women we also impact families as Julian said we have helped each other through um marital issues through uh the death of family members and so forth so we don't take it lightly we are certainly more than a double dutch club we are a true Sisterhood and we love what we do um we take it very serious in terms of just providing an outlet for women um over 40 that go through things that women younger um some of our women are caretakers um to older parents some of us have lost parents while in the group so um greatly we certainly counted an honor a true honor to be recognized by our own city thank you thank you thank you I just wanted to say thank you to the mayor thank you to the city council and thank you to Julian for bringing this to the council's attention we truly appreciate it and we have just a token of appreciation um this is Mr hwad day [Music] jumping mayor we have one of you we don't have you jumping I tried to get it but we didn't we could we couldn't get it and then Julian this is when you first got your shirt when she first joined 4 [Applause] plus oh thank you so these are also from Diane as well and as from 40 plus so thank you all oh this is for us all right M you want to say something so all I want to say is that you ladies raw we appreciate you you do what you're doing you're an asset to the city and we thank you and we appreciate you thank you 3 2 one [Music] one can't you [Music] [Music] we will give a little time for 40 plus Double Dutch to move out see some folks in the back some seats uh seem to have opened up in the front so you can feel free to move on up like The Jeffersons okay we are going to have a presentation uh from councilwoman Briggs Jones uh councilwoman you have the floor okay okay if there's any members of roof fellowship please come forward I know Shakira is here to minister Shakira Brown's here any members of roof fellowship please come up good evening everyone I'm councilwoman Terry Briggs Jones forth wart I bring to you uh tonight a presentation on behalf of myself and city council I wanted to recognize Reverend Tracy Brown for all her efforts and things that she did I know she's not here today but that's okay we have her sister that's all right second in control amen so we thank God for her tonight so I just wanted to I wrote out a little something that I wanted to say and hopefully um she'll watch this I'm sure she will um she had to be in class but you know what I want her to keep learning because uh reading is knowledge and knowledge is power and so with that being said I'm not going to go through the whole resolution but I will say this at first Reverend Tracy Brown this is to her I want to take a moment to acknowledge and celebrate your remarkable 25 years of service your tireless efforts and unwavering commitment and relenting passion had made a profound difference in the lives of countless individuals both within your church and in the Border Community you embody the true Spirit of a servant leader and your influence extends far beyond any title or role thank you for being an inspiration a mentor and a shiny example of what it what it means to live a life life of purpose and service may this Milestone be a testament to your enduring Legacy and may you continue to be blessed with the strength wisdom and joy to keep making a positive impact in the world although I PS R Brown although you wear many titles there is one that overrides them all and that is a child of God and and I always say you can be a leader but in order to lead you must follow and she's a woman after God's own own heart so I just wanted to make sure I say that and then also whereas in 2021 Reverend Brown further made history by becoming the first black woman to serve as a New Jersey State Police chaplain once again demonstrating her trailblazing spirit and deep commitment in Justice service and faith and whereas Reverend Brown pastoral leadership dedication to social justice and tireless Community advocacy embody the very essence of her life's Mission as capture in the verse she so Faithfully follows I must work the works of him that sent me while it is day night is coming when no one can work therefore be it resolved that the planfield city council does hereby honor and celebrate Reverend Tracy L Brown on her 25th pastoral anniversary acknowledging her boundless contributions to the spiritual and Civic life of our city and commends her for her steadfast dedication to the betterment of humanity both locally and globally be further resolve that a copy of this resolution be presented to Reverend Tracy O Brown as a token of the city's profound appreciation and respect for her Legacy of Faith service and Leadership one of the one of the main reasons why this is so dear to me is because when I got elected and I was um when I got elected I actually got elected on my birthday which was November 2nd and I said you know what do you wait or do you go the first of the year what do you do they say no you can do with ever so on the first of the year I called Reverend Brown it was late at night and I said Reverend Brown would you do me a favor because I'm ready to work I hit the ground running and um she said what do you need sis and I told her so when someone takes out their time their energy and say yes that means a lot to you and it meant a lot to me because she's not my pastor but you know what one thing for sure and two things for certain and everyone here can attest to this when nobody had their Church available guess whose church was available Reverend Brown's church was and she opened up her church to everybody and sometimes it cost them nothing nothing and so you don't forget things like that and you don't forget when you can call on somebody like that and that's what you call a true woman of God and so I it would behoove me not to recognize her for 25 years of service and 25 and 25 and 25 more and I just wanted to make sure that I take this time out to recognize her because she's a beautiful soul she's a beautiful person is she perfect no you show me a perfect person and I'll show you my Jesus right ain't that right we got to have church up in here so with that being said I want to present these flowers on her on her behalf and I also bought you some too thank you yes absolutely [Applause] [Applause] thank you thank you all righty let's give Reverend Brown a a hand of Applause she might not be here but she might be looking all right so y'all stay right here y'all deserve a photo op too y'all standing for yall Pastor that's right amen we don't stand alone we stand together he that right all right oh hold on stay with us everybody come on city council we in this together I know you somebody from your family use that church come on now let's take a tance we don't do that right you don't do that come on in y'all can come on in we don't bite we just chw I got something two [Applause] honorable mayor a mayor o map I will allow uh call uh the honor honorable Adrien old map to present for a library card sign up month well good evening all good evening at this time I like to call forward the executive director of the Playfield Public Library Mary Ellen roen I have a proclamation here for the library I will not read a proclamation I will simply say that the library is one of the greatest Assets in the city of plainy the library provides a level of service to the community that otherwise would not be provided had it not been there and the library recently received a grant of well over a million dollars to do Capital Improvements on the interior of the library but when we look at the library and we look at the many programs whether we're talking about reading whether we're talking about Community programs the library is there for all of us to use and each and every year we make sure that we provide the resources to the library that it needs that it deserves in order to operate at a very high level and so we appreciate the library We Appreciate You executive director and your staff for the wonderful job that you do each and every day serving the community of planfield you make the library available to the residents and every time there is a need whether it's a community group whether it's the uh municipality we call you answer and the library is made available so we appreciate you and we appreciate what you do each and every day so the only part of this that I'm going to read since this is library card sign up month and we want everyone to sign up that's right we want everyone to sign up and the executive director will have an opportunity so say a few words but I'll say at this point now therefore be it proclaimed I Adrian o mat mayor of the city of planfield do hereby proclaimed September 2024 as library card sign up month in planfield and encourage residents to visit the planfield public library to sign up for a library card and explore all the resources and opportunities our library has to offer I neglected to say that we have one of the best children's library in the state the reading ring forest and so it's a place where all of our kids and grandkids could go and it will just soak up so much and so let's support our library the administration and Council we are committed to continuing to provide the support that the library needs thank you mayor M thank you city council members for this uh Proclamation and this honor I just want to say that the things that we do at the library would not be possible if the city did not support us at a greater rate than they have to support us the our library is what it is because we are valued by not only all of you but by also the people that run the city um I just would like my my staff and my volunteers and my friends to come up so we can take a quick picture um I've got Barry good here he's been volunteering and reading to our children for 10 years and I've got Nancy pipar who has been working with us for the past few years doing excellent history programs for the people of planfield and and for all of Union County please come up Gia can you get somebody to take a picture for us and iess Durham I'm sorry she's our mayor's design and our board member come you just kind of phing come on bar that's it for the library [Applause] I don't think uh we need a picture for the next we don't need a picture going to uh invite darene McWilliams up as well as Bill nstat you want to want come up and talk about uh the Alber T McWilliams bike trail I feel like I should be facing that way your your choice my choice well I'll try to do both okay uh good evening everybody my name is Darlene McWilliams and uh Albert McWilliams was my husband uh I want to thank all of you especially mayor MC mayor uh map another M mayor map I want to thank you Council uh and president Council hakay and all of the council members and the city administrators who did so much to bring about and make this bike trail possible on August the 16th that the permanent markers were dedicated uh there so that they we know now where the actual bike path begins and what I want to say I took a few notes because when you have a moment like this you don't want to miss the this opportunity to say these most meaningful things I am very proud of my city I am proud when I go out into other communities and people mention planfield uh I can beam about my town because for reasons that you saw earlier the uh double dutch the library and a we have a lot of uh Treasures in planfield but I want to thank you so much for the dedication of that bike trail um for me it's more than a bike Trail is more than a path it stands for me as a symbol of our connection to our community the how our community is connected uh and it reaches beyond our City's borders in my opinion since the unveiling of the markers I've heard from countless citizens countless citizens that who share with me this excitement about this bike path and it's been incredibly moving for me that not only play fielders but people outside of the city are also very excited about this bike path um we know for sure that bike paths and trails uh like this particular one Elevate the human spirit in profound ways they Inspire physical activity they unite people they provide a peaceful refuge for reflection whether people are riding a bike whether they're walking whether they're pushing their grandchild as I do on a tricycle whether they're in a wheelchair it doesn't matter this bike trail is a symbol of what is important to the human Spirit today in a world we have a world that is so divided right now people are looking for peace and Harmony and I'm extremely excited that this Trail has become a pathway for that it becomes also a a lasting Legacy for all of us who value human life and want to you know we strive to lift other people up and I would go so far to say that everybody in this room fits that category we're about lifting people up that's what this council meeting is even all about and it's what the path is about it speaks volumes to how we um have a commitment to even our environment it's a testament to Who We Are as a city and however meaningful all of that is I must emphasize that this is only the beginning it's only the beginning there's a a quite a ways to go there are still miles to go to transform this bike path into a true Jewel for planfield uh the possibilities are Limitless uh I've done quite a bit of research uh on B trails and it's exciting to know that these are all across the country and of and many of them connect with each other and for planfield in our region we are one of the few that will have a bike path uh so you know my purpose tonight uh is to initiate serious discussions about how we can move forward from here as we all know everything comes with a cost and the B Trail is no exception to that I understand that there may already be some funding in place and I also know that there may be more opportunities to secure additional funding whether it's through Grants State money for example or maybe even councilman hak in the city budget I don't know moreover I'm excited to share that we have a growing list I have a growing list of people who uh have approached me since finding out about the bike path to create a group called Friends of the trail these dedicated people will not only help us with the funding possible fundraisings Etc but will also be instrumental in using their creative ideas to ensure that the trails success is ongoing there's a possibility that this group of people the friends of the trail can also be instrumental in doing things such as um you know keeping it clean and making it beautiful so we're not asking for the city to do everything but we are wanting to engage our community and even people outside of our community um one thing that I would like to do is I'd like to take a moment to acknowledge bill on nearad who has worked as you know as city planner and he's been instrumental in uh the feasibility study uh as well as a finding State support um his guidance has been instrumental to me and helping me to understand what this bike path is really all about uh so I don't like to recreate the will I like to keep momentum and I think that you councilen will all and women will agree with me that we should uh keep momentum going and whereas his advice has been quite um instrumental alongside with the mayor of course and alongside um City administrators uh such as Veronica Taylor department of recreation uh Orin Dabney Department of Public Works and I also I have not had an opportunity to talk with her yet but Zenobia did I say your name right Zenobia Phils with uh Economic Development it takes the hands of all of these people including the council to keep this and make it a success so I my purpose in being here tonight is to to help us think in terms of keeping the momentum going and I think as an actionable step I'd like to see us organize a meeting to discuss the path moving forward and whereas I think there is a lot of momentum behind this project I'd like for us to please seize the moment while we can uh to make this a lasting a last Las ing contribution to our entire community and a legacy for all generations to come including my little grandson that's over here little Moses but I thank you so much for what you have done I do not take it lightly my family does not take it lightly we are honored and humbled by your acknowledging and remembering my husband but it's not just about him this should be about the children and the people of our community and I'd love to be a part of it and I think thank you so much for your time you're welcome good evening I know for some of you thought I'd never be back here but uh I'm back and I'm glad to be back and I thank Council for having me um I was told to keep keep this I'm sort of the technician tonight and I was told to keep this short so you'll be happy to know that's it um I thank mayor map and all those who organized the made the arrangements for the August 16th dedication of the first section of the Alber T MC Williams Trail and invited me to it it was great to be there and to see the and feel the real enthusiasm for the trail as Darlene said what we saw that day is just a beginning of a s milei long bicycle and pedestrian trail that will see plain field residence connected and this is I want you all to pull take this in Via other existing and proposed trails to the Delaware and Ron Canal new Bruns and Trenton through the existing Union County Bicycle and pedestrian Corridor through echol Lake Len no mhigan and blackrook parks in the Elizabeth river to the Gothel bridge and eventually this Trail connects with the East Coast Greenway which we can all hop on on our bikes and bike down to Key West so this Trail okay is part of as darene said a longer Trail East Coast Greenway goes from Key West all the way up to Maine so all you have to do is finish this Trail I wish it was that easy but you know finish this Trail and that's another link okay to getting on the longer pathway and it's very important for Council to recognize that this Trail is already fully designed you're not starting from scratch approximately $400,000 has already been spent determining if this Trail could even be created and then designing the entire Trail and installing the first quarter mile Trail section from Jefferson to rock Avenues now these drawings need to be converted to working drawings annual phases of implementation determined bids let annual Appropriations from City Council made and construction continued when originally envisioned and planned this Trail was to be a 20 30-year Capital project with anticipated joint funding coming as Dar mentioned from NJ do and njd Trail grants and matching Grant dolls through the city capital Improvement program this Vision can still be attained with the support of this Council last paragraph municipalities throughout New Jersey are advancing bicycle pedestrian Trails as we sit here earlier than this year this Council adopted a resolution supporting Union County connects which is advocating the conversion of Rails to Trails and together with Union County is progressing forward with the conversion of the old rway Valley freight train rail Corridor linking rosale Park Kenworth Union Springfield and Summit more Rails to Trails conversions including the Staten Island Rapid Transit the abandoned portions of the old Central Railroad of New Jersey are on their way the Albert T MC Williams Trail can and will be a vital connection ction an essential part of this network I am proud to be a past part of this endeavor I look forward to playing a continued role not only for future ground breakings and ribbon cuttings but also biking the entire 7mile Long Trail with all of you so I thank you very much I look forward to being Council supporting this and I did say annual Appropriations and I know what that means so hopefully we can advance that and make this Trail a reality thank you very very much thank you [Applause] four presentations that You' seen are all ways that we all get all reasons why we love planfield what do you think about that love Playfield campaign councilman Graham you know um the love planfield campaign is an awesome campaign and I want to give kudos to well here's what happened when we had our U Queen City street fair I had asked well what event planning company did we use as a municipal and uh Jaz Clayton Hut said well we kind of did it ourselves I said you mean to tell me our employees plan this themselves and put this together themselves I was very shocked and fascinated and also proud because who knows our city better than we do and to learn that our employees plan this put this together and all of our departments came together and made this arguably one of the most successful events in in our municipality this year and I just want to give kudos to the following employees that were involved of course jazz Clayton hunt Andrea Wright Melissa Hunter Leandra Fuentes Josh Howard Earl holder Jamie Glover Anna celano Michelle Grant and others and particularly Felicia Neil um in particularly of course our uh Department directors staff police DPW all of you guys did such an amazing job I really enjoyed that event it was such an amazing experience and I'm glad it happened in Playing Field and I'm glad we did it ourselves thank you okay we'll move to our business our meeting our our business for the night we have ordinances MC 202 2445 through MC 202 24-50 and Bron ordinance 1281 through 1284 which are scheduled for public hearing and final passage for the regular meeting as advertised all right uh regarding the legislative body uh items 359-2436 4-24 uh do we have consensus to add these items to the voting meeting yes okay um can I have a motion in a second so move second okay uh are there any items that anyone wants to take off the the voting meeting uh for the consent agenda okay so we need a roll call or affirmation what you say no this is just the legislative body items only the legislative body items as those are the council items okay can we have a roll call on adding the legislative body items to the consent agenda you just need consensus counc okay all those in favor say I I any opposition or abstentions all right those will be added to the voting meeting okay uh we will move next to the mayor business administrator items uh Madame ba would you please present your items yes so all of my items this even evening are related to the PBA and SOA contracts which I am so pleased to have on for you this evening um we're going to have we have the mo MOA with the SOA and the PBA and then later tonight you'll see the salary the amendments to their salary ordinances matching what's in these moas um I know there's probably a lot of questions about this which I'm happy to answer but I really just want to give a huge thank you to officer Adams who met with me every week this summer whether he was working or not and was just such a partner with me we both really wanted to get this done um this contract these moas were voted on 116 to Zero by the PBA and the SOA and so um they're a huge success on both ends and I'm really pleased to have them for you tonight great work president yes go right ahead mayor yeah um I also want to add to what the BS said that officer Adams has been a breath of fresh a and I must say and I think we all know that leadership does matter and there had been a stalemate between the PBA and the City of Playfield for quite some time and we always wanted to get to the best place for both the planfield PD as well as the city of planfield and so in spite of great efforts over the last uh couple of years we were not able to get there but it wasn't without trying and when we had officer Adams stepping into the leadership of the PBA and coming to the table well-intentioned and wanting to get the best for the members of his Union while at the same time recognizing the need for the city to look out for what was in the best interest of the city I think we were able to come together in Partnership and we got to the best result and so however you know we got there I think that there was a lot of effort a lot of time expended in the process but it was well worth it because we got to a place where both parties were satisfied to the point as was indicated by the ba that 116 men and women voted in the affirmative to approve the contract and so I appreciate the service that our planfield PD provides to the city on a daily basis and we will continue to do all that we can to provide you with the support that you need in order to serve the city of a playing field to the best of your ability and in anticipation of the approval by the governing body I want to thank you as well for recognizing and understanding that it is never easy when it comes to labor negotiations but I am a firm believer in the labor movement and at the end of the day we got to the best place and so I want to thank everyone whove been involved in the process thank you you're welcome [Applause] okay do we have consensus to add these items to the voting meeting or any questions from Council first can I make a comment yes go right ahead again going back to my last statement uh just kudos to the leadership uh the PBA of course in the city of planfield um we know our city better than anyone else and uh PBA did not have to go to arbitration uh did not uh have to take any further steps than just working things out amongst ourselves and just kudos to everyone I'm glad that uh everyone came to an agreement and the contract is finally done thank you any other questions or comments from Council Members yes a comment and a question good to go yes sure okay uh first I would like to say that I'm looking forward to coffee with the cop and I'm being as though that you guys did settle uh Community make sure that the coffee is on the cops since they did have the settlement go through uh the next thing is the question is does this settlement and the amendment to the salaries does it address the uh top pay issues which has been a key factor in driving many of our police officers to leave for other municipalities so this Mo MOA addresses what was most important to the police and what was most important to the administration what was most important to the police are is obviously the top pay issue and this does get them to over where they want where they had needed to be at the end of this cont contract it also does consolidate from 13 to 12 steps over the course you know in the in the final year that was a priority for them a priority for the administration was really related to health benefits and the free benefits in retirement that we're living in you know forever for anybody who comes on the force and they'll you know we will forever be paying the full bulk of their us um because eventually somebody will have to pay for that and we we didn't want to you know um leave that to the city and so both of those things were addressed we were really creative here in um this is I probably their first six-year contract and there's things we're able to do you know not this year knowing what health benefits looks like but we would be able to do in the future and um yeah so this this did address everything that you know that they were looking for and what we were looking for and uh council president if I may add this is the best contract in the history of the police department I can go over some numbers if if there's questions on that yes so in terms of previous contracts 2010 to 2014 there they got 6% over four years the following contract was also 6% over four years uh most recently it was 7% over four years this is 18% over six years um so it's it's fair on both ends I really have you know just to stress that it's fair on both ends Al the the 116 to Z is a a very compelling number and in that they were firmly behind uh uh this agreement so I'm happy for all parties involved okay so do we have consensus to add this to the voting meeting yes yes any oppositions or abstentions all right this shall be added uh Department of Finance please present your items good evening all I have four resolutions for your approval resolution number 367-4224 that's 24 resolution authorizing approval to amend the municipal budget for 5 items of Revenue and appropriation number 369 to 24 resolution granting ad advice and consent to the appointment of Miss yadmin Abasi as tax assessor and um resolution 37-24 resolution authorized an approval to cancel 2024 taxes in the amount of 21, 98137 due to 100% disabled veterans are there any questions that's the question I had any council members uh wish to speak on any of these issues questions comments okay do we have a consensus to add these to the voting meeting move all right uh all those in favor say I I I any opposition or abstentions council president I abstained from r all right uh Department of Public Works director would you please present your item good evening Mr council president members of the council Department of Public Works has four resolutions to uh present resolution r371 to4 resolution authoriz approved for Street openings at various locations to NJ order in accordance with the city of PL Mr code section 13 col 42g of regarding 5year moratorium uh resolution 37224 resolution authorized approval to accept the grant agreement with the state of New Jersey Department of environment protection in the amount of $4,199 this is for the playground that we're going to do over at Rushmore uh resolution 373248 $125,000 to the county of Union for the kids Recreation trust fund Grant this will go for an ada8 playground at Hanner Atkins Park it's a one toone match uh resolution 37424 resolution authorized the water Professional Service contractor onlyy Associates uh this is for the Green Acre Site environmental service remed remedial investigation there another investigation we have to do for the Madison Avenue skate park outdoor Fitness area and mount not too exceed $75,000 any questions any questions from Council Members to my left to my right uh my my only comment with with regards to um the roadway openings I mean obviously um you know we we've gone through pains to pave many almost all of the roads in planfield so sometimes I cringe when I see that the water has to dig up uh the the grounds and uh the the the pavement and many times it's not like uh not like new so but I understand that there are some lutions that your department is is considering uh that we could consider that could help uh alleviate the patchwork that they do when they uh dig up the C so and that's valid point Mr council president what we're looking to do everything we're doing is get everybody go curve the curve with everything that has to be done unless it's like a small patch which would be infrared something small but most of the roads will be curv to curve everything that we do in the city of planfield based on the new ordinance we put forth for that okay we're going to oversee that to make sure that's done and by the way this right here is regarding the lead pipe Replacements that's a federal project that we're doing to get this done so we have 991 more service areas we have to do in the city and they'll be finished with city of planfield and this guarantee we have in writing that curb to curb is what we're going to expect from New Jersey American water and their contractor okay all right thank you I appreciate that uh any other questions all right do we have consensus to add these to the voting meeting so move second all right all those in favor say I I I any opposition or extensions okay please add these to the voting meeting all right the Department of Economic development director the floor is yours thank you good evening council president and Council I have items R 37524 through R 38524 so the first resolution starting with 375 this is to submit an administrative budget for the Urban Enterprise Zone what we would do with the administrative budget it covers the salaries of the economic development staff members as well as our operating expenses related specifically to the Urban Enterprise zones and also pro professional development activities related to The Zone the next resolution is to enter into a contract with penon engineering what this would allow us to do is we are going to begin the construction of The Pedestrian Mall so The Pedestrian Mall is going to be from North Avenue and gavit place this will bring on penoni Associates on as our city engineer for the project to administer through construction and operation the next two three resolutions are related excuse me I skipped one I'm looking at 377 377 is related to going after a grand grant for the US Department of Transportation this is a charging fueling infrastructure Grant we are looking for approval to apply and accept the grant up to $15 million this grant would be used to develop a sustainable parking deck in the back of City Hall it would be also install at least 20 electric vehicle charging stations it would also install a battery back back up as well as looking at solar panels on top of the parking deck the next three resolutions are related to approval to authorize a study for redevelopment the first study is going to be related to the parking deck that I just discussed that are for the parcels that are in back of City Hall there are a total of three Parcels there then the next group of parcels one one is over by the Salvation Army and the city recently purchased and subdivide the parcel right next to it that parcel that we subdivided out that would also be to build a sustainability kiosk which would include a location for electric vehicle shuttle the next set of parcels that are up for studies this is the block that goes a long watch on that's in between Fifth Street excuse Fifth Street and Court place we would look at those Parcels for study for redevelopment this would allow us for opportunity to create activities downtown including retail shops restaurants and and commercials in this area the next set of resolution is looking to conduct a Redevelopment study for the municipal Lot 4 this is the municipal lot that's behind McDonald's that address 1824 Madison Avenue is the municipal lot behind McDonald's this is currently being studied because we have the possibility of partnering with the developer for 100% affordable senior housing the next resolution is to look at permission to prepare a Redevelopment plan this is looking at the city own the city own plant that's on Rock Avenue it's also looks at the Comcast Building that's on Rock Avenue as well as the health center this is looking at a non- condemnation Redevelopment plan none of those facilities that are currently there would be defunct they would continue functioning this offers us opportunity to subdivide the parcels and to to develop on the Green Space the next resolution is looking to authorize the withdrawal of a sale earlier this year we did a land disposition and a designation for cultivation cannabis cultivation and Manufacturing at 520 to 532 South Avenue we are asking to withdraw this for lack of meeting agreement terms and this would allow us to look at the possibility of sell selling these Parcels for affordable housing the next resolution is related to the lean placement on properties for cleanup it's a total of 24 properties this would put the lean placement because of the cleanup with debris and the grass cutting the last resolution is related to authorizing the application and receipt of a grant from the New Jersey environment mental Protection Agency this is related to hazardous discharge site remediation funds this is at a site that is currently owned by the city that we're under contract with for a developer at 1092 1098 Arlington Avenue the point of looking at this for about 91,000 is that the site remediation has already been conducted they've already gone through the preliminary assessment what we're doing right now is allowing to take boring samples testing the soil to make sure that there is no longer any presidence of any hazardous material any questions Council any questions from Council Members yes regarding any of these resolutions I have a question free go ahead councilman Wyatt yes R 38-24 um I received many of phone calls today and I know last meeting uh we talked about communication and how we convey messages uh many of the community members that reached out they were up in arms about the resolution and what this study actually means to the businesses and organizations uh that are currently there and uh so some you know I can understand the frustration some of them were saying you know imagine finding this out the day of a meeting that their property may be taken away um so it's I think it's time for us to just you know as we did Saturday maybe educate the community on what the steps are what's the process said some of the questions were why didn't anybody reach out to me why didn't uh they do a variance and send it to all the owners there uh so we can just speak to some of that and one of the couples one of the places that many of us visit uh the coffee shop and uh they were overseas and I've reached out via WhatsApp and you know voiced their concerns about this so you can just do a thorough explanation because when people don't have the information then they start making up stories and uh sometimes people don't know what the truth is and many of times you look look at this and people are saying up here goes more Apartments because that's what we have been doing um some of the stories have been uh Municipal complex is going to be built so if we can just speak to that um you know exactly what's going to go on here and maybe in the future we can do a better job with conveying a message uh what the process is and so people can follow a flowchart of what goes on okay thank you councilman so first off to be clear anytime we enter into a study it is just that first of all this is being entered as a non-c condemnation study mean meaning that there will be absolutely no taking of any property um we are at the first phase of any study so when we look at a study we're seeing if we can identify do a property search look at all the records whether we're talking about an examination of vacant property occupied property looking at it the inspections reports looking at the fire department report reports looking at the health reports looking at anything that has to do with sewer and solid waste to see if it meets the criteria for redevelopment if it's once we have that study done by our Redevelopment planner it is presented to the planning board at that time when you present it to the planning board for this meeting it was noticed when it's presented to the planning board any of those Parcels that are identified in the study within a 200tt radius all of the property owners are notified and invited to come out to the public hearing for that Redevelopment study to be presented should the Redevelopment study and the planning board choose to recommend to the council for this study to move in to be designated a area in need of Redevelopment it comes back to the council at this entire time it is non- condemnation at no time are we taking th those properties once it comes back to the property again there's a notification to the public it's presented to the council the findings of the Redevelopment studies it will be stated why it was designated a area in Redevelopment and why it was found in need should the council decide to move on from Redevelopment study to prepare a Redevelopment plan the Redevelopment plan is developed by the administration the help of a Redevelopment consultant those recommendations are presented to the planning board again the planning board again will recommend back to council whether to adopt the Redevelopment plan the Redevelopment plan is a new set of zoning so once we have our current land use zoning ordinance that's in chapter 17 once we have a new set of land use ordinances that come with bulk standards I should say that come with the Redevelopment plan that includes the density the setback the property uses it also includes the open space and and looking at the height of any of that building that is presented to the council for adoption it goes through two readings should the council choose to adopt it one one thing I will add to that is that the reason why we decide on a lot of these studies is often times the property owners themselves come to us about the development so I'm a little surprised that a coffee shop owner I'm not sure if it was Queen City roosters but Queen City roosters requested a meeting with us to discuss the Redevelopment possibilities that's why we're presenting this to counsel all right thank you thank you director that was pretty clear um uh in terms of the process uh educational to to many of us so we appreciate the thorough uh explanation of that process um we do have a duty to look at all corners of the town to see where we can improve it and and that is how um that is how we change and and and continue the Renaissance that planfield is going through and continue it going um very important to note the non- condemnation part where uh we aren't taking well the the administration isn't taking but more importantly uh not even attempting to take uh the these these properties so do we have question question from other council members yes go right ahead Council um item number r 382-2478 [Music] building that's currently there and then you have the um healthc Care Center that's there none of those current usage would end they they would continue what we're looking at now and we were approached by a charter school for the possibility of developing that site where they would subdivide out some of the parking lot and the green spaces of each of those properties for development of a school uh a charter school Charter School Char yes a charter school any other questions from Council Members no uh I I'm just behooved another charter school it's a charter school that is existing in the city oh okay all right I just wanted to it's not a new charter school okay I just want to get some clarification because if we going to continue to put all these apartments up we going to need some space for these kids to go yep that's the reason why I asked and we are in discussions with the school board as well to find them space for the public school okay thank you okay any other questions uh yes there was another one where is it what do you think I do I do appreciate um I do know because you know space for educational facilities is at a premium uh in in the city of planfield so we we do need to continually look for opportunities to put new facilities so uh the charter schools do play an effort in alleviating you know the uh the capacity issue that even the the the planfield school district has so helping out Charter Schools uh helping them find facilities also helps the the district and I'm I'm pleased to hear that you also are having conversations with the school district and helping them with their need as well because that's something that affects us all and all of our families R 37924 could you expound on that one again too yes this is looking at the property the Salvation Army property mhm um last year the the city purchased part of the property to subdivide out the gravel portion of the lot so now the city owns the gravel portion of the lot we've been using it for City employee parking we will continue to use it for that purpose but we're also looking to develop a sustainability kiosk so a sustainability kiosk not only could it house some charg stations there but it'll have the solar panels on top of the kiosk and it'll be a Depot for us to pull in a electric vehicle charging shuttle that for circulator that will go throughout the city okay so it wouldn't bother the um Salvation Army the Salvation Army at all would it not at all it would take spaces nothing from nothing okay [Music] okay do we have consensus to add these to the voting meeting yes second any any abstentions or items that you want to remove uh there was another one yes no I hear some hesitant okay uh all those in favor say I I I any opposition or abstentions okay please oh please yeah 37824 through 38024 just still have to read over and think about it okay so those should be taken off the consent and voted on separately 78 to three three [Music] what okay director of Health and Social Services four is yours good evening council president uh the Department of Health and Social Services has two items uh tonight R3 86-24 which uh recognized September 2024 as prostrate cancer awareness month um as many you know uh I don't know if you all recall uh Lenny cgart or know his name I'm sure everyone in this room does I just want to lift up his name because he's been pivotal as an angel of change here in city of planfield and bringing awareness to POS cancer which impacts men uh your brothers your uncles your sons uh he's been doing a real Yan's job about making uh education a pivotal Point uh to to the point where we will have uh the house music festival we'll be celebrating our fifth year uh in that fifth year uh I believe and uh there there's a public contest going on I believe that we are one of or the only municipality that recognizes prostate cancer as uh uh in such a way we have thousands of people coming out to our event and certainly we welcome uh you and your families as that and I believe that we are only the only city that has a house music festival dedicated to prostate cancer awareness uh secondly I would like to recognize bra anism Awareness Month uh which it I probably should read that because it's so complicated but I want to lift up Miss K Johnson uh she's a resident of planfield and Survivor as well and through her Phoenix organization she has has worked very hard in making sure that education and awareness uh is important and known in the city of planfield so those are my two resolutions and I hope they are accepted thank you questions from Council Members comments we have consensus to add these to the voting meeting some mov all those in favor say I I any opposition or abstentions okay all right the director of solid waste and Sewer the flooor is good evening council president Council I have one resolution for your consideration tonight those trailers when they're loaded and it it's a d requirement uh you may have a different number in front of you the number I have now is not to exceed 228 673 72 uh the previous number did not include prevailing wages I want to just add also that this building will not have solar panels but will be equipped to take solar panels in the future because I think that we have a lot of area that's untapped for solar so I'm glad that I here uh that we're trying to apply for Grants and things like that because we can definitely use it down there nice and I'm open to any questions okay questions from Council Members all right do you have consensus to add this to the voting meeting so move all those in favor say I I any opposition or abstentions okay let's see okay ordinances for first reading so uh with the ba Pres uh proceed to present the ordinances yes sir okay like I said earlier the first two ordinances match up with the moas that we voted that you voted on earlier um this is to amend the salary ordinances for the PBA and the SOA um then we have an ordinance to amend the off duty rates the off duty jobs are not paid for by the city but they're paid for by other entities that hire the police dep Department um employees to work off duty and this is an increase to their rates that was something that was uh part of our negotiations but again it's it's not going to be a fiscal impact to the city um and then we have an ordinance to bring us into compliance with new de regulations regarding salt storage and then an ordinance adopting the Tod South Redevelopment plan amended amendment that was recommended at last week's um planning board meeting any questions from Council Members okay do we have consensus to add add these items to the voting meeting yes okay any abent all those say I I any abstentions or opposition okay hearing none you shall be added to the voting meeting okay we'll have a 5 minute recess and we'll return to the voting meeting thanks e e e e e e e e e e e e e e all okay we will move to consideration of public hearing second reading and final passage Madame Deputy please read mc22 24- 45 by title and certified that is complied with all publication requirements MC 22445 is an ordinance authorizing the First Amendment of the financial agreement with swe planfield development urban renewal LP with respect to certain property identified as block 2 233 Lots 2 3 7 and 12 on the official tax map of the city it is hereby certified that notice of a public hearing on this ordinance was published in The Courier news on August 30th 2024 okay the floor is now open to any member of the public who'd like to speak on this specific ordinance floor is now open just one ordinance this this particular ordinance here about anything correct we're going ordinance by ordinance on second reading so you have an opportunity to talk about all of them but one at a time okay anybody online there is a caller online with their hand up okay please admit them this particular ordinance here hi this is Mary binkle from 1785 Sleepy Hollow Lane and I'm calling about MC 2024 Das 45 thank you right ahead I object to a I object to a project that will add 500 units and a thousand new people to an area of the city where no one has lived before the street infrastructure of the area is not large enough to absorb the traffic from the project from the project the parking for these projects in my opinion is never is always too little and the neighborhood cannot absorb street parking for everyone's second vehicle this project is in sensitive to the area and example of over-the-top development and spot zoning this Administration is is forcing on all of us build a smaller project more in scale with the buildings in the neighborhood and the infrastructure regarding counselors who were at the meeting on Saturday it was a very informative meeting but if you're using that as coverage to vote Yes when you when you tabled this last time like like just know that all of your con all of your constituents are keeping track of that thank you there anyone else online not with our hand raised okay all right I'll close public hearing on this ordinance uh director can you address um the uh the the points made by the sure the speaker so council president I just want to make sure that everyone is aware of the stage that we're at so this particular project this has already been designated for redevelopment we have already approved the new Zoning for this area so in terms of the statement that this doesn't fit into the current context there's new bulk standard requirements for this area that is a different density looking at the height and right now this is for a 500 unit development that will have over 700 parking spaces is there anything else in particular that the council would like to know about this property council members yes I believe at the last council meeting is this a property that um one of our residents talked about contaminated soil was this the property yes could you asound on that please sure thank you so for any of our projects the developer is required to First do a preliminary assessment of the soil to see if there are any known contaminated sites at the initial assessment there were known no known significant contaminated sites before they can get planning board approval which this project has gone through site plan approval and has complete approval to be buil at as a right right now is that they received in the report from our engineer a statement that they must provide a proof of report of remediation by a licensed site remediation professional that license site remediation professional is regulated by the state department of Ed of Environmental Protection as well as the Federal Environmental Protection Agency they will have to prove just like you all went through the uh adoption of a resolution tonight or you will go through it tonight with a site that's on Arlington Avenue they will have to prove that one they've either had the site capped which it has to be into their detail construction documents and they will have to do soil testing for that site this is not something that the city can buy pass it is absolutely regulated by the state and federal government than thank you director Fields any other questions from council members and director Fields these are all affordable the these are not affordable housing this was approved in 2018 before we had our affordability goal comment and questions go right ahead Council okay at the last meeting uh a resident came to the mic and he asked us to to just pause and take a breath when we are considering development um and know you said that we're past that stage but this is talking about 500 units that we're adding to the city of planfield uh question is can our infrastructure handle this level of density talking about the rules the congestion it's already so much traffic now um taking place here in the city of planfield and although it's called planfield it's not literally a plain field where the people who elected us are yelling build baby build and it's like that's what we have uh got on the course to do uh the question is what are the potential consequences of proceeding without thorough impact studies because this is really changing the character of the city of Playfield projects like this so again this project was approved back in 2018 it is allowed to be built as of right when it was approved back in 2018 and went back now recently to the city planning board for approval they were required to Prov look at the traffic impact studies to look at it not only with the impact with the county but also look at it according to state regulations in terms of looking at the infrastructure all of our development projects are required to look at the assessment for infrastructure for sewer water for example looking at that infrastructure structure and the connection there and the potential load on the property this was done for that project as well as it's being done for any of our development projects in terms of a comprehensive study we've looked at this in our long range master plan to see what type of load or what type of housing options we want for the city so it truly has been considered in a comprehensive way and it's going to be an ongoing discussion followup questions councilman Wyatt yes good to go okay okay uh we've closed public uh hearing um wait a minute I have another question um with the um the 500 uh unit again I know you were saying that it was approved back in 2018 and the question was brought to your attention about if it was um affordable housing um did didn't include that um is there a way to add on affordable housing I'm just asking a question because I'll be honest with you I'm not I'm going to say no on this sure so right now when this was negotiated and this was uh presented to their financial institution because they have to present it to a performer to their financial institution for approval to to get it to build it it was not presented as affordable meaning that they presented what would be the monthly rent for example we would essentially have to go back to the beginning and we already have approval and the developer could potentially lose their financing um if if if you all ever have ever have a chance come on down Front Street it's it's just it's just it's just too much it's it's it really is it's just it's too much it's too much I know I'm not on Front Street I'm on Fourth Street three streets over within probably 2 hours maybe 3 hours we had two flipped cars another accident an accident on top of an accident and one of the accidents was right in front of my house that was only the eighth one in front of my [Music] house that's okay that's okay we need that we need that too um but it's it just I just have a great concern with the um you know with that traffic it it's just I bet you not one city council person here got more traffic on this street than me I bet you take a study go to everybody's house I promise you that from the top to the bottom nobody has more traffic on this street and more accidents on this street than me my son's car was hit and he didn't even get not one done for it any other council member wish to uh ask questions or Chim man okay go back ahead Council question so once this goes up does the how does the evacuation plan does it get updated as new apartments are if um I don't know if the director Adney could talk about that or children could talk about that so once once once an apartment or any PL any building goes up what's the plan does the evacuation plan get updated yes periodically the evacuation plan for the whole city is uh updated uh by anually so as everything goes up if if there's any need to change it we change it if there's not then we leave it as is but it would be limited to that particular um area not the whole city so as we build each each each building has his own evacuation plan um thank you excuse me councilwoman and I just want director Chon at me to get a chance to add for any time that we review any development it is required to be reviewed by the fire fire department and the police department it's reviewed by the fire department to make sure that the fire trucks are able to safely enter into a parking area and to get to all the units that are there and to maneuver and to exit this particular one will be on planfield Avenue then the next one for the police department they also review it for safety in terms of the security fobs and how they will be able to enter the building and for emergency purposes and the police department also they maintain they have keys to the building as well thank you director can you just say a little bit more about uh what it means when you say build uh that that they have the right to build at this point so um the question that um councilman Wyatt asked earlier about the different steps we have completed all of those steps so we have gone through the steps of having the study we have designated it in an area in need of Redevelopment we have de developed a Redevelopment plan so the Redevelopment plan at one time that area was zoned for mixed use for example now it's zone for the bulk requirements that are in the Marino track Redevelopment plan that means that it has a different level of density it has a different height requirement where the height requirement before could have been looking at three stories now we're we're looking at the height requirement that it is right now it has a different set of parking requirements it has different setbacks and land coverage so when we say we are at the point as of right whether this tax abatement right now this is basically to talk about the tax revenue that's going to come to the city a developer right now can build that project as a right without the tax abatement it's going to stay that way you you do not revert to the previous zoning as a right any developer can choose to purchase the site plan which we do get they can purchase it once it has planning board approval and build it at as of right so what what advantages does a city have when they're able to enter the a financial agreement with a developer versus just letting them build it without a financial agreement so the financial agreement brings in amount of significant Revenue so before this project was developed the revenue that the city was going to get was essentially 1.3 million at this point the city is going to be getting 60 3 million so the advantages is the amount of Revenue if it weren't for the pilot having it built so does that amount of Revenue have an effect on uh the city's budget or uh services that the city can offer its residents right so it has a ripple effect on the city's budget because you're essentially putting it back into Capital Improvement so when Mr Wyatt was councilman Wyatt was referring to the infrastructure it goes back into the count the infrastructure improvements for example looking at the the road repairs looking at what we could do with Transportation looking at our our parking lots any of our Capital Improvements this that forms the city budget with that $63 million all right I I'll give Council any Council want that uh member that wants wishes to have a question or comment to speak once more before I call the question go right ahead Council what are you currently collecting on taxes on this property 1.3 any others okay may I have a motion to adopt this ordinance on second reading and final passage second okay clerk may I have a a roll call please roll call on MC 202 2445 council members Briggs Jones no councilman Cherry yes councilman McCrae yes councilwoman sesum yes councilman Wyatt no vice president Graham yes council president hak yes five in favor to oppose this ordinance has been adopted on second reading and final passage okay Madame Deputy please read MC 22446 by title and certified that it is complied with the law MC 202 2446 is an ordinance amending and supplementing chapter 16 vehicles and traffic article 16 part working temporarily prohibited for snow plowing snow removal and other emergencies of the city code for the city of planfield it is hereby certified that notice of a public hearing on this ordinance was published in The Courier news on August 19th 2024 okay the floor is open for any member of the public that'd like to speak on MC 202 24- 46 specifically any anyone online hearing and seeing none I'll close public hearing on this ordinance uh any questions any further questions from Council Members okay hearing and seeing n question oh go right ahead councilwoman bricks okay um I think it's a good thing for them to have the snow removal and the vehicles have to move but the question is what happens to the residents that don't have parking spaces and then again with all these apartments again where will these people people go where are they going to park at will they get ticketed where where I mean how is how they going to be reson what's what happens which director would like to address that question I'm sorry councilwoman brick Jones uh what was the question again in terms of snow removal no um well the question is um I know this the snow removal you the vehicles and the traffic you know everybody they should move they should leave and they should U move their vehicles but the question is the people that don't have driveways the people with all the apartments going up where do the people go where do the residents go where do they Park where do they pull into what what direction are they going to be moving what's going to happen with them well traditionally we we work with uh DPW and um other City entities that you know we'll do alternate of the street parking they plow as as snow falls it's all these different things that we use to make sure of uh to make sure that the roads are clear we usually don't have a problem with that the the the new buildings going up generally have uh parking within their own property so it won't affect on street parking okay all right cuz I I know with that property that they wanted to put down at 953 West Fourth Street they wanted to put those 53 to 64 Apartments 0.5 spaces where would those people go that's I just want to know how they going to be accommodated I I want them to move they should move out the way so everybody can be safe but where would the people so the 953 as director abony mentioned 953 to 955 West 4th Street this is for eight apartments and all eight units would have parking spaces under the building there would be a separate lot okay I just want to make sure cuz I remember you saying 0.5 unless I heard something wrong no not for that development okay all right just wanted a clarification for the public so they'll know thank you councilwoman Council council president go right ahead just so I'm clear the Nexus of the amendment for this particular ordinance is about the illegal commercial vehicles that people are parking on their property is that correct correct so what what's currently before us is already in place and that's not changing this whole parking temporary prohibit for snow plowing that's the title of the chapter but the Nexus of the edits that are coming before us as a body is to address all of those illegal commercial tow trucks and business trucks that people are parking in their driveway and the neighbors have issues with that is that not correct correct that's correct thank you uh councilwoman for the clarifying question uh may I have a motion to adopt this ordinance on second reading and final passage so move second clerk may we have a roll call please roll call on MC 2024 46 council member Briggs Jones yes councilwoman Cherry yes councilman McCrae yes councilwoman SES yes councilman Wyatt yes vice president Graham yes council president hak yes this is unanimous this ordinance has been adopted on second reading and final passage thank you Madame Deputy please read MC 2024 47 by title and certifi that is complied with all publication requirements MC 202 2447 is an ordinance amending and supplementing chapter 13 streets and sidewalks Article 4 making of excavations and openings in streets and public places subsections 13 colon 4-2 definitions 13 colon 4-3 permit required 13 colon 4-4 permit application and 13 colon 4-17 maintenance and restoration of openings it is hereby certified that notice of a public hearing on this ordinance was published in The Courier new news on August 19th 2024 okay uh the floor is now open to any member of the public that would like to speak regarding MC 2024-25 would you like to speak regarding this one please come up sir I can answer go right ahead B okay so this ordinance is going to require utility companies that come into planfield to do underground work to repave the roads curb to curb when when they make a cut in the road is that just on Main Streets or is that anywhere anywhere in the city what did you have a comment regarding that sir I actually I was the last thing that you guys just voted on I was hoping to make a comment on that in regards to the vehicles well we do have um general public comment no it's not too late but we have general public comment that comes a little later and you can speak about it then thank you sir okay I'll close public hearing on this ordinance uh may I have a motion to adopt this ordinance on second reading and final passage Mo second can we have a roll call please roll call on MC 2024 47 council member brick Jones yes councilwoman Cherry yes McCrae yes sesum yes Wyatt yes vice president Graham yes council president hak yes this is unanimous this ordinance has been adopted on second reading and final passage okay thank you Madame Deputy please read MC 2024 48 by title and certified that is complied with the publication requirements MC 2024 48 is an ordinance by the city council amending the city of planfield code of ordinances to repeal chapter 17 colon 12 MC 22-29 December 2nd 2002 to adopt a new chapter 17 colon 12.1 in accordance with the storm water management rules at njac 7 col 8 and its amendments adopted March 2nd 2020 and July 17th 2023 the SEO meets minimum njde requirements it is hereby certified that notice of a public hearing on this ordinance was published in The Courier news on August 19th 2024 okay the floor is now open to any member of the public who would like to speak regarding mc22 24-48 is anyone online no okay may I have a moot uh so I'll close public hearing on this ordinance uh may I have a motion to adopt this ordinance on second reading and final passage so move second uh roll call please roll call on MC 2024 48 council members Briggs Jones yes Cherry yes McCrae yes sesum yes Wyatt C vice president Graham yes council president hak yes that is unanimous this ordinance has been adopted on second reading and final passage thank you uh can you please read MC 2024 d49 please MC 202 449 is an ordinance of the city of planfield County of Union New Jersey adopting the 10th Amendment to the 197 scattered sites Redevelopment plan dated July 18th 2024 it is hereby certified that notice of a public hearing on this ordinance was published in The Courier news on August 19th 2024 okay the floor is now open for any member of the public that would like to speak regarding this ordinance specifically anyone on on line with their hands raised okay I'll close public hearing on this ordinance uh may I have a motion to adopt this ordinance on second reading and final passage so move second okay roll call please roll call on MC 2024 49 council members Briggs Jones yes Cherry yes McCrae yes sesum yes Wyatt yes vice president Graham yes council president hak yes that is unanimous this ordinance has been been adopted on second reading and final passage okay we now move to MC 202 24-50 uh read that and certifiers complied with the publication requirements MC 202 450 is an ordinance of the city of planfield County of Union New Jersey adopting the condemnation Redevelopment plan dated August 1st 2024 it is hereby certified that notice of a public hearing on this ordinance was published in The Courier news on August 19th 2024 any member of the public that wishes to speak on 202 24-50 please come uh give your name and address for the record and the floor is yours thank you very much my name is Stuart siden Stricker I um work in organization at 225 Wang Avenue this is the organization wi the spirit I'm also Quaker and I worship at the same address at 225 watch having your here in planfield so um I uh we're coming in to express our great concern and get in getting a proper public discussion on the ordinance mc22 24-50 a year ago 100 of people were put out of their homes when three buildings were condemned by the city in May in June and in August the superior court of New Jersey said said and I quote the city's failure to adhere to Property Management code Provisions cause substantial harm to tenants by requiring them to ficate the building rather than first provide the opportunity to cure the alleged violations and prevent people from having to relocate close quote the residents as we know had to get out in 24 hours in May in June and in August but their drama their trauma continues to this day now we see that maybe there's a profit Mo motive involves here and the city as the city considers to take over the property to Redevelopment I know this particular ordinance doesn't talk about it but we heard here in this same meeting space before that even domain is a possibility the people pull out of their homes deserve to know why they weren't consulted or if they could be any future for them in this plan of their of their needs they lost and stolen property their security and if this is all a priority at all we' seen you go and close meetings to discuss this but we believe you own your own residence an open process and an explanation we think that would be best served if this was staed and such dialogue could happen I know that the language of this had changed as it goes from one reading second reading what not this one today talks about a study that has 39 pages I don't know if youall had a chance to read the whole study one of the items that that conduces to the conclusion that this should be redeveloped as did the property are empty because the city vacating the PO the the buildings so the city vacate the buildings and then a study comes in and say by the way since it's vacant maybe we should redevelop I know you're doing the best you can to make the city look best and I appreciate that maybe you want to reconsider if this is one of the ways we want enjoy it thank you sir thanks for understand good evening my name is Richard loosley 310 Hillcrest Avenue in planfield I'm speaking for 2024 50 um I read a lot of that 39 page uh Redevelopment plan uh one is a technical Point uh on page 26 and Page 30 32 it talks about bulk requirements and the numbers don't add up I don't know if this is uh fatal to approving a second reading you at this meeting but uh the building coverage is 80% and the maximum and the open space minimum coverage is 25% 80 and 25% equal 105% but there's only 100% of the Land There secondly on uh page 26 and page 32 for two of the projects the building maximum coverage is listed as 80% but the impermeable coverage is listed as only 60% so this ordinance is saying they can cover 80% of the land with a building but at the same time saying imperal coverage can only be 60% and it's my understanding that impermeable coverage includes building parking lots sidewalks so there's a contradiction there you're you're you're giving the developer the right to build on 80% of the land but then you're saying he can only build on 60% of the land and meanwhile you're saying he has to provide a minimum of 25% um open space so I don't know if those numbers need to be corrected on the uh one of the problem properties on page 29 seems that they got the bulk requirements correct um then secondly at the beginning of the Redevelopment plan it talks about how the uh the developer has to comply with the state's written uh relocation assistance plan for any uh resident who is there in the previous 18 months and I'm just curious how is the city going to make sure that these residents who were there last year within that 18mon period um will be contacted and provided for by the developer as if this project goes forward thank you thank [Applause] you okay public hearing is now closed we have one person okay virtual all right so it's closed in person online still open name and address for the record you may speak regarding this resolution Barry Bing 1785 Sleepy Hollow L I wanted to say that I thought that Mr sin strucker and Mr loosley have been very eloquent about this and I agree with them thank you okay thank you for your comments uh Madame ba you wish to address any of the points uh or the legal counsel uh either either of you can address some of the points yes uh prior to First reading on this spe specific ordinance uh Council was briefed in closed session uh both by my is your mic on I'm not sure try again can you hear me now is that better this okay thank you thank you council president prior to uh first reading on this specific ordinance uh the city council was briefed uh by uh the economic development director myself and Redevelopment Council uh with the particulars uh specifically because we are currently being sued by the landlord uh landlord is challenging the thousands of violations that have been brought uh they are also challenging the uh designation of this as an area need of Redevelopment for those reasons uh it is my recommendation as your legal counsel that you do not engage in any conver ation publicly about this matter as anything could said could be used in the litigation moving forward uh so that is my recommendation this evening thank you okay public hearing is now closed uh we may I have a motion to adopt this ordinance on second reading and final passage so moved second can we have a roll call please roll call on MC 2024 50 council members bricks Jones yes Cherry yes McCrae yes sesum yes Wyatt no vice president Graham yes council president hakay yes that is six in favor one opposed this ordinance has been adopted on second reading and final Passage Adam Deputy please read Bond 1281 by title and certifies complied with all statutory publication requirements Bond 1281 is a bond ordinance providing for various 2024 Capital Acquisitions and improvements by and in the city of planfield in the county of union state of New Jersey appropriating 10,342 n91 therefore and authorizing the issuance of 9 million 38,1 153 in bonds or notes of the city to finance part of the cost thereof it is hereby certified that notice of a public hearing on this ordinance was published in The Courier news on August 19th 2024 okay uh the floor is now open to any member of the public who'd like to speak regarding this Bond ordinance we have anyone on the online with their hand up okay I'll close public hearing on this ordinance uh any questions from Council Members before I call a question okay may I have a motion to adopt this ordinance on second reading and final passage so moved second roll call please roll call on bond ordinance 1281 council members Briggs Jones yes Cherry yes McCrae yes sesum yes Wyatt yes vice president Graham yes council president yes that is unanimous this Bond ordinance has been adopted on second reading and final passage thank you can I you please read Bond 1282 by title and further that is uh confirm that is comp with the law Bond 1282 is a bond ordinance providing for various sewer utility Acquisitions and improvements by and for the sewer utility of the city of planfield in the county of union state of New Jersey appropriating 845,000 therefore and author izing the issuance of 795,000 in bonds or notes of the city to finance part of the cost thereof it is hereby certified that notice of a public hearing on this ordinance was published in The Courier news on August 19th 2024 okay any member of the public wish to speak on bond 1283 okay hearing and seeing none uh close public comment uh can I have a motion to adopt this on second reading of final passages so moved second roll call please roll call on bond ordinance 1282 council members Briggs Jones yes Cherry yes McCrae yes sesum yes Wyatt yes vice president Graham yes council president hak yes that is unanimous this Bond ordinance has been adopted on second reading final passage okay now Bond 1283 Bond 1283 is a bond ordinance providing for various Solid Waste utility Acquisitions and improvements by and for the solid waste utility of the city of planfield in the county of union state of New Jersey appropriating 1,960 th000 therefore and authorizing the issuance of 1, 910,000 in bonds or notes of the city to finance part of the cost thereof it is hereby certified that notice of a public hearing on this ordinance was published in The Courier news on August 19th 2024 okay the floor is now open to any member of the public who'd like to speak regarding this Bond ordinance anyone online close public comment uh questions from Council and if not I'll entertain a motion in a second show move second roll call please roll call on bond ordinance 1283 council members Briggs Jones yes Cherry yes McCrae yes sesum yes Wyatt yes vice president Graham yes council president haked yes that is unanimous this Bond ordinance has been adopted on second reading and final passage thank you let's move to bond 12 84 certified it's complied with the law Bond 1284 is a bond ordinance providing for various 2024 Capital Acquisitions and improvements by and for the parking utility of the city of planfield in the county of union state of New Jersey appropriating 640,000 therefore and authorizing the issuance of 640,000 bonds or notes of the city to finance the cost thereof it is hereby certified that notice of a public hearing on this ordinance was published in The Courier news on August 19th 2024 okay the floor is now open to any member of the public that'd like to speak regarding this Bond anyone online hearing and seeing no one in person I'll close public comment and now I'll entertain a motion in a second so move second roll call please roll call on bond ordinance 1284 council members Briggs Jones yes Cherry yes McCrae yes sesum yes Wyatt yes vice president Graham yes council president hak yes that is unanimous this Bond ordinance has been adopted on second reading and final passage thank you so much uh we now move to uh public comments limited the resolutions motions and ordinances to be introduced on first reading tonight uh 30 minutes has been allocated for the same uh each speaker will be given three minutes if you're online the instructions are there floor is now open good evening I am Reverend Gloria Parker resident 33 West ofel in the city of planfield I am speaking on behalf of the tenant association there and we did have visits a couple of weeks ago uh councilman Graham uh councilman Cherry we had visits with you all and someone from the police department I stand here in in uh speaking about the noise that's been going on in the neighborhood um I am a part of the Civic trust here in planfield and we try to uh come together once a month I'm I'm sorry I don't want to interrupt you uh but we will have a generic comment for all public comments and you can speak on any Topic at all um this portion is dedicated specifically for Resolutions that are on for this night okay I wasn't aware of that and and I'm I do not fult at all and so I will invite you to speak up just momentarily okay okay all right thank you I apologize for that so usually I ask you can come up but usually I I I will ask the speaker to identify the resolution tonight that they're speaking and then that usually resolves uh whether or not they're giving a generic comment or something regarding a resolution tonight you have a resolution that you want to speak to yes then I invite you up K Johnson 134 45 sloom Boulevard and I would like to thank you shef brown Veronica Taylor city council mayor city of planfield for the brain aneurysm awareness resolution I am a survivor and it's very important to get the word out I worked here in the city for 37 years and I had the aneurism first at Rosevelt in second thank God for the rescue squad that came and took me to the hospital and I'm here to day so thank you all and looking forward to spreading the word about andm uh Nancy p 1129 mle Avenue I'd like to speak on two resolutions R 37924 which deals with the Salvation Army um there's a number of lots um and uh the explanation was really um well spoken but it's very confusing to the public why the Salvation Army building itself is included in this plan um why would that be there if if the explanation was just about the parking lot that was um taken from the Salvation Army and then the city paid funds after they took the Salvation Army lot um the other question I have is on R 28324 which repeals uh 377-2 3 uh the conservation manufacturing LLC as the redeveloper can anyone tell me if this is the same parent LLC or an affiliate or subsidiary of the recent cannabis dispensary that was approved by the planning board at the last meeting at Clinton and West Front Street the reason I ask is because if this resolution is being repealed because they couldn't come up with an agreement with the city and if they are the same parent corpor ation of what's being put at Clinton and West Front how do we know that um they're going to be able to do what they said they're going to do with the planning board thank you thank thank you for your questions uh when we close public comment I want I want you to answer both of those questions okay thank you all right good evening my name is Yousef janadri I'm the owner of 401-403 Wong Avenue I'm speaking on be or um I'd like to comment on resolution 38-24 um so Redevelopment I had to look this up the Redevelopment law stipulates that a building is suitable for redevelopment if it is unsafe unsanitary dilapitated or obsolescent so I was surprised to see the 401-403 what Young AV on the list as was countless community members who have emailed us called us texted us uh I had no idea about this until literally an hour and a half ago uh or two hours ago technically before this started um and uh you know I was there earlier today it seemed pretty safe pretty sanitarian it was full of life um so from when I grew up across the street uh about 30 years ago I I used to live here um uh there's and now to seeing my brother succeed with his small business here um his passion project Queen City has become sort of a staple of the Town people love it everyone's there um and and uh and it's become I think it I'd like to say that it's it's it's really an example of what a community-led profitable Rehabilitation project can look like um our family spent years investing in incubating retail projects for the community um and so you know like some of the retail projects that are being explored now this is you know might as well just learn more about the one that's already here um and uh and so rehab rehabilitation not Redevelopment of our beautiful buildings that are still standing in planfield should be the goal by supporting community events building profitable businesses and creating spaces that celebrate our history while allowing us to plan our future in those spaces we want to see planfield flourish and Thrive but this m must come through a collaborative and inclusive effort we cannot allow this City's Rich culture history and architecture become a lost memory so I'd like for the record to show that um also because again my brother's abroad uh you know he he called me at 3:00 a.m. his time um I like the record to show that for my last correspondence with Maher the owner of Queen City um that his discussions with Miss Fields was regarding Rehabilitation of the building because that's something that we're actively working on on um and not a re Redevelopment so I apologize if there was there was any miscommunication there I just wanted the record to show that that was his intention and from what he told me that's what was said so uh there was no interest in any kind of Redevelopment of that building and so uh with that I ask the council to vote no in passing the resolution 38-24 thank you com up yep which resolution would you like to speak for the one he just mentioned sure I know there's a lot of development name and address for the record sir I'm sorry name and address for the record Jonathan Anderson I live in Huntington Avenue thank you I know there's a lot of development going on I think this discusses it on Wong Avenue around the uh Courthouse I mean from fifth to to uh the court place and around the uh city hall building but what about the why I mean why is that still sitting empty it could be a a place that could be used for our kids to go after school you know I I don't see any development going on that addresses the Youth of this town you know they get out of school they have nowhere to go you know that building as well as the other y on the other side of town could be utilized for kids to have a safe haven to go after school daughters are not going home alone you know so it just seems to me that I haven't seen the kids of Playfield addressed in at least 12 years you know I see Rock and Myrtle baseball field sitting empty I drove by there with an 80-year old man once who said I played baseball in that field okay my daughter grew up she's in college now she's never played baseball on that field she's never seen anything happening on that field so I'm just wondering why the town seems to be doing a lot of development I don't think that we're getting anything for it from these developers why aren't we addressing the Youth of this town because they're moving out and they're not coming back our best and brightest are going to the military they're going to college I was just speaking to some kids the other day in their mid 20s they said I'm not coming back to playing field why should I what did it offer me so if we develop our kids and give them something to remember they'll come back and help build the town and I don't see that happening this entire conversation was a lot of money being thrown around to develop this area but nobody mentioned an empty building right across the street from City Hall that's [Applause] just good evening everyone um just to pick it back off of what he just stated this okay my name is Nelly Roberts I reside at 415 Parkside Road and just to piggy back up of what he said I am also um in disbelief at the amount of new developments that you guys have and have been voted on and as a mother of three as well we do not just emphasize we don't there's not a lot of activities for our youth on top of that I have to pay for recreational services for my children in Scotch Plains that's $175 a month about $2,100 a year I own a home here I pay taxes and again Redevelopment of things that actually matters like the wise um is something that you guys need to put an emphasis on um secondly I was listening and I heard that uh 65 million excuse me can you can you clarify which resolution you're talking about it's the one he just mentioned just to be 38 okay thank you okay and just on top of that to um add I was listening I heard that $65 million in incentives were um given to the city from the developers and just overhearing what these uh what the money would be allocated to wasn't really a primary effect for a lot of us for the residents here we have the homeless population that is still a big deal um it's something that needs to be addressed we have the drug addicts on the street um it's an eyesore for a lot of us and I think those things should be also of importance too um just to add to what more people was saying also on top of that I think as members of this planfield community you guys are not listening to what we want and if you look around you a lot of us are here because we're disappointed at the increase of apartment buildings and if you ask them they'll tell you we're the one that voted you guys into office and you guys are doing a poor job in representing us as residents of this community so that's all I wanted to say please listen to the people that are here outside of here because many of us resonate the same sentiments and we feel the same way thank you South corano 1284 East Front Street First Ward I'm here to disc discuss I'm wearing a few hats tonight so this particular hat is in reference to I'm on the board of directors for the Humane Society on Rock Avenue and resolution 382-2478 the Humane Society the building or any of its property if the planning board the city the administration decides to redevelop that area and if they do how will they approach the Humane Society in what potentially could be their need thank you thank you public comment is now closed sorry it's closed no come on it's okay I'm just kidding did you did you speak already pardon did you speak already regarding the resolutions this evening no not resolution it was it was a specific resolution no it was a ordinance please go right ahead okay thank you Richard loosley 310 Hillcrest Avenue I'd like to speak to uh resolution 385-2450 the uh Brown remedial investigation of the property at uh the 1,000 Block barington Avenue I was in planfield 25 years ago the uh remediation of that property which used to be a gas station was a major issue it was a major issue because the city of planfield paid a lot of money to do a remediation of that property the the final a after the remediation reports were filed with the D and um everything was approved in fact the city had entered into a contract with a developer to construct tow houses on that property he did construct townhouses caddy Corner in the 1100 block of Arlington Avenue so I spoke with Mr nearad the former um city engineer prior to this meeting and he said the D reports are on file in the planning department and that if the city is seeking to go back to square one and start over again and it's unnecessary and a waste of money and whether it's the plan Fields money or whether it's the U the New Jersey Economic Development uh authorities money it's still 91,000 that doesn't need to be spent if the DP has already signed off on the remediation of the property done 25 years ago and that's my opinion thank you very much name and address for the record and the resolution you're speaking regarding uh Rich sudall 313 Franklin Place planfield New Jersey uh speaking about uh resolution R 37824 um planning board conducting a area in need of Redevelopment um this is our our city hall property um you know it's iconic it's on our um you know city of planfield logo um historic structure so I'm just kind of questioning the the needs in the need for a city- owned property to be cleared in need of Redevelopment um I don't see that how it could meet any of that criteria being deteriorated um or any uh other um sources of that um and then you know as our city hall building uh we've all been in that building um and if you ever look up I just wanted to note what it says um inscribed on the front of the building it says erected by the people to inspire Zeal for the common welfare and dedicated for them to the cause of just and capable government and I feel that inscription and the people out here at all these Council meetings and even some of the council meeting uh members you know um commenting about the uh the amount of Redevelopment and all the Redevelopment studies that are coming in um I don't really think this is what the the the residents and the people are are looking for um so I just wanted to to put that out there and um you know just think about that inscription that's on our city hall building and what it actually means thank you okay public hearing is now closed uh director fields and any other director that' like to chime in on some of the comments that were that were made uh please go right ahead sure to look at resolution um 38-24 and that one is speaking to the area that it's not actually so for development also includes smart growth and adaptive reuse particularly with the Queen City roters meeting with the owner of that property who is a great business owner we've had several activities at that with his father as well to talk about several development activities to look at the possibility for redevelopment here knowing that he wants to develop a Gore May Restaurant also looking at doing the Adaptive bulk requirements that would allow him to do outdoor dining and maintain the beauty of that building so I definitely agree with the comment with that was made earlier by the resident but give him an opportunity for incentives for development to enhance and continue with the transformation of planfield that does not equal more apartments or tearing down of any structures then what we're looking at with um 379 d24 the Salvation Army it includes both Lots 6.01 as well as 6.02 because that subdivision right now they are still listed as the same address we are still in the process of getting the tax Ms registered so we have to take them together until they're officially listed separately but we will only be looking at 6.02 which is the gravel part of the lot not looking to designate a redeveloper for the Salvation Army building itself or their parking lot then looking at so they there is a parking lot it is divided into three different Parcels this is looking to develop a sustainable parking garage structure which will be sensitive not only to the environmental uses but it will be sensitive to the character of the historic area itself again this is just a study it will not touch the city hall building looking at the cultivation one I'm trying to make sure that I cover all the questions we had a question about the cultivation LLC so there was a reference to culture which is a cannabis LLC that was recently approved with the planning board approval just last Thursday this is the same developer we will not be pursuing a cultivation and manufacturing business opportunity with them in terms of 382 d24 the Humane Society lot is actually not on here it is not included for redevelopment but again all uses that are on this property will continue in terms of looking at Recreation the council did recently adopt earlier this year the center of excellence that is the old YMCA building it is a 55,000 Square F foot building that will be used for adaptive reuse to continue with the center of excellence which will be a community center and an Enrichment Center it will have things such as a competition pool a basketball court classrooms Workforce Development Center indoor turf facility a fitness center and different workout and multi-purpose spaces in it it will be operated right now the administration is looking to contract with the operator of Chelsea peers as the operator we are also looking at different Recreation that the council adopted this year that was presented at the pilot Workshop which is 76 80 7 excuse me 768 to 900 North Avenue this is a 5 Acre Site that's diagonal to sers field it was adopted by the city council for a Redevelopment and approved for a financial agreement for a 5 Acre Site to be developed as not only a warehouse on the first floor but also a second floor that will be a combination of 120,000 Square ft Recreation space that will allow for a tournament style Sports competition so it could be basketball it could be a soccer field it could be a pickle ball court and it will have a fitness spenter as well as a restaurant to go to the remediation for 385-2450 [Music] still held strong the city did not choose to spend the money Bill NAD was a planner not an engineer this is to look for a certified licensed site remediated professional to go and test the site according to state and federal standards it was required by DP the city did not choose to do so council president is right if I ask to go right ahead uh director Fields uh one of the residents nacy pinoir said that property was taken from the Salvation Army is that true it was purchased from the Salvation Army okay so it was not taken um sure it was purchased yep um the other question I have um The Humane Society in planfield They don't serve as plain filled animals that correct oh that's correct okay yeah I just wanted to wanted to be clear on that okay thank you any other Council comment as well go right ahead oh yeah I just wanted to say the center of excellence that you were talking about that's the YMCA across the street it is um the project that I think is really great but we did forget to include that it's going to be 240 Apartments built there as well so just to be transparent and honest with the people presid mayor go right ahead Qui quiet in the gallery please thank you I think we need to State the facts the center of excellence will not have any Apartments the residents of this city have been asking for affordable housing so behind the Y which is the former ABC Kitchen Supply property behind the Y we are looking to build affordable housing for the people of the city who need affordable housing but contrary to what has been put out there on the buz and other places there will not be one apartment unit at the center of excellence not one it will be 55,000 Square ft of recreational transformation serving all of the people of the city of planfield and we will continue to address the needs of this city for affordable housing units which will go behind the center of excellence on Cleveland Avenue thank you for the clarification mayor um certainly uh in walking and talking to Residents those are things that they have been clamoring for uh people say they that they need affordable housing um and I do see uh the administration addressing that in in many instances um and I will continue to support efforts to build uh affordable housing both uh for rent and for ownership uh especially ownership because I think that in order to latch on to the improvements that the city is making you need to be able to own a piece of the equity as the city grows so I'll continue to support affordable housing in all uh respects uh regarding uh Recreation I'm I'm certainly excited about uh what is to come with the center Center of Excellence it's another thing that anytime you talk to somebody that remembers the playing field of old uh they talk about the the opportunities that the kids have had back then and boxing and so forth um you know uh how the you know Second Street Youth Center Etc and um the center of excellence addresses that as well as the other opportunities that uh that that are coming uh not to mention what's coming at Rushmore which will be a state-of-the-art splash pad uh that is something that will rival what many that hardly any cities across uh uh the state have and that's something that will be right here in planfield it will be another uh Jewel and another reason to be proud of playing field uh the thing is you know these things take time uh it these things take meetings they take discussions they take Community input uh it's not something that can happen overnight but these are all plans that are well uh in the works uh and we just uh hope that you all have uh patience for us as we continue uh to bring you the things that we hear that residents are clamoring for so where am I in this meeting I'm been wondering the same thing call yeah that was a a moment but uh so we're on we've closed public comment and we are now at the consent agenda correct okay so uh please announce the consent agenda the consent agenda items have been identified as resolutions r359 24 through r 37724 r 38124 through r 38824 with the exception of R 36824 where councilwoman sesum abstained the non-consent agenda items are r 37824 r 37924 and r382 4 okay can I have a roll call yes can you clarify something sure I thought it was 368 that let's clarify I'm misten I have R 36824 that's correct right correct Oh I thought said okay all righty so can we uh vote on the consent agenda with still noting her abstention so move second roll call on consent agenda items council members Briggs Jones yes Cherry yes McCrae yes sesum yes Wyatt yes vice president Graham yes council president hak yes that is unanimous the consent agenda items have been approved okay can you please REM uh read the remaining resolutions okay so R 37824 is a resolution authorizing the planning board to conduct an area in need of Redevelopment for certain blocks and lots on Wong and six Street okay can I have a motion and a second so move second and a roll call please roll call on R 37824 councilwoman's Briggs Jones no councilwoman Cherry yes councilman McCrae yes councilwoman sesum yes councilman Wyatt no vice president Graham yes council president haked yes that is five in favor two oppose this resolution has been approved R 37924 is a resolution author iing the planning board to conduct an area in need of Redevelopment for Block 644 lot 601 and 602 so second roll call on R 37924 councilwoman Briggs Jones yes councilwoman Cherry yes McCrae yes sesum yes Wyatt no vice president Graham yes and council president hak yes that's six in favor one opposed this resolution has been approved Madam clerk I I want to interrupt you because regarding uh councilwoman Darcel uh sesam's extension I actually want to pull that out separately from the consent agenda and then vote on that one separately so she can do a uh have a proper uh exstension okay uh resolution 38024 is a resolution authorizing the planning board to conduct an area in need of Redevelopment for certain blocks and lots on Fifth Street Wong Avenue and Court place so move second roll call on R 38024 councilwoman Briggs Jones no councilwoman Cherry yes McCrae yes sesum yes Wyatt no Graham yes uh council president hak yes that's five in favor to oppose this resolution has been approved and then we're going to do a roll call on R 36824 so move second roll call on R 36824 councilwoman bricks Jones oh yes yes Cherry yes McCrae yes sesum abstain Wyatt yes vice president Graham yes council president hak yes that's six in favor and one exstension this resolution has been approved okay is that is that fine counselor okay thank you all right any others is that is that the last one does does that conclude yes that concludes the resolution okay all right where are we okay we now move to ordinance on first reading thank you please go right ahead read MC 202 24- 51 by title MC 2024 51 is an ordinance amending the schedule of salaries and wages adopted pursuant to article 14 chapter 11 of the municipal code of the city of planfield New Jersey 1971 salary Amendment policeman's benevolent Association local 19 Rank and file okay I entertain a motion to adopt this on first reading second okay clerk roll call roll call on 2024 51 council members bricks Jones yes Cherry yes McCrae yes sesum yes Wyatt yes vice president Graham yes council president hak yes that is unanimous this ordinance has been introduced on first reading okay please read MC 2024 d52 MC 202 2452 is an ordinance amending the schedule of salaries and wages adopted pursuant to article 14 chapter 11 of the municipal code of the city of planfield New Jersey 1971 salary Amendment policeman's benevolent Association local 19 Superior officers okay I'll entertain a motion to adopt this ordinance on first reading second roll call please roll call on 2024 52 council members Briggs Jones yes Cherry yes McCrae yes sesum yes Wyatt yes vice president Graham yes council president hak yes that is unanimous this ordinance has been introduced on first reading okay please read the next ordinance MC 2024 53 is an ordinance amending chapter 2 12-9 assignment for off-duty private or quasi public functions of the municipal code of the city of planfield New Jersey 1971 I entertain a motion to adop I'm sorry uh adopt this on first reading so move second roll call please roll call on 2024 53 council members Briggs Jones yes Cherry yes McCrae yes sesum yes Wyatt yes vice president Graham yes council president hak yes that is unanimous this ordinance has been introduced on first reading okay please read MC 202 24-54 MC 202454 is an ordinance by the city council to amend ordinance 17 colon 9-30 91.21 temporary storage adding privately owned salt storage in accordance with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection for tier a municipalities I'll entertain a motion in a second so Mo second roll call please roll call on 2024 454 council members Briggs Jones yes Cherry yes McCrae yes sesum yes Wyatt yes vice president Graham yes council president hakay yes as unanimous this ordinance has been introduced on first reading okay MC 202 24-55 please MC 2024 55 is an ordinance of the city of planfield in the county of Union adopting the to DD South Redevelopment plan Amendment dated September 5th 2024 so move second roll call please roll call on 2024 55 council members Briggs Jones yes Cherry yes McCrae yes sesum yes Wyatt yes vice president Graham yes council president hak yes that is unanimous this ordinance has been introduced on first reading thank you a total of 30 minutes has been allocated for all public comments uh if anyone wish wishes to speak please come up any topic is um able to be discussed name and address for the record okay glor Parker thank you uh West DeVille Avenue I am in the complex uh the apartment building on Westervelt been there eight years but now there's an issue with noise we understand that there's there's places that have opened here in PL and there's one place on watang Avenue it's the mamana something it's called that all I'm asking is do it have to be so loud the music is very loud we can hear it and even on Westerville Avenue during the summertime the tenants are placing their sound system on their porches they're having parties uh pastimes I I've had to call the police off offices and I know they probably tired of me calling there was a party going on I can see out my window on going towards sanfred behind uh Bank of America parties going on where the police literally they do come and I thank them for coming but why should a a a a person have a party and the police comes and that party did not end until 6:00 a.m. in the morning Sunday morning for me to have my grand grandaughters visit me from Maryland we can't watch TV put the window down we're still hearing all of this music and turning my TV up because I needed to get louder so I can hear the TV this is not good and this has been going on I've been there eight years eight years so I understand I'm a I'm a part of the Civic trust in planfield we can do things weird we don't have to blame anyone [Music] but we can do something about what's going on without blaming anyone and that's what we learn about in the Civic trust how do how to come together and don't have to blame but you know get along in that area of trying to do something about things I hear a lot of things that's that's been said here in planfield but we need to get to a point I I've known planfield for years my parent um as a little girl I come from Jersey City my parents had a house in Jersey City they would bring us over here on Sunday evenings to visit their friends and we would be so happy because we love it it was it was different yes we all gotten older it was different but to come in your city now in the weekend all you hear is all of this noise this is not playing field this is not how it used to be it doesn't have to be like this but we can Rectify and do something about it thank you thank you hi Sher bton 60 Central Avenue number one several subjects number one is about the Wong Avenue Bar you can hear them outside the police station on the weekend and I've been one of the nags that call the police to ask them to turn the noise down so maybe if they'd be threatened with losing their liquor license maybe the bar owners would keep the music down because there's prostitution going on there's drug dealing going on there's fights going on sometimes you can't hear some of the stuff going on because the music's so freaking loud and if you own a business or you live in that residential neighborhood you have a right to peace and quiet and we should not have to call the police the police should be there already going inside and telling the guy to turn the music down if not you're going to lose your liquer license because it's ridiculous number two is I would like to know if it's illegal for somebody to bury garbage construction debris in an empty swimming pool because it seems like somebody here in planfield and the city inspector decided to let somebody do it and when I reported it because I'm white I was was punished for it so and I was attacked and I had to hire security because of what was going on and it just seemed to be ignored when I complained about it so I would like to know John Louise is it illegal to bury garbage in people's swimming pool I'll let I'll I'll have him uh okay any director can address your question the conion the situation was ignored and it wasn't addressed and I'm very upset about it thank thank you for your comment Nancy p our 1129 mle Avenue um I appreciate councilman Graham's uh clarification I do believe the city eventually paid for the property however um if there was not a decoration of taking then I would respectfully request that the city look at deed book 6517 page 112 uh docket number un nn l411 -23 which is the city of Plainfield versus the Salvation Army it was a civil action that said Declaration of taking so if this was in fact not a declaration of taking I respectfully request that the city take the action necessary to remove that document from um the Union County deed record books thank you very much uh good evening my name is Tyler mitcher I live on 215 Bruno Avenue um I have two things I like to address um I understand early in today's meeting we talked about the repavement of verge when utility companies um do their work um I just really want to bring up the fact that if everybody in this city has a problem with fun Street being completely a horrible Street to drive on I don't understand why it hasn't been pushed to repay from Street I understand the traffic throughout the city would be horrendous but at least it would be rewarding to drive um fun Street considering that is a highly populated Street and are the businesses are there um I would just like to push that fun suit be repaved crooked impostor instead of the side streets I live on spa and all I see is Third Street Second Street or being repaved it's not as heavily trafficked heavily trafficked as fun Street and my second um thing I like to address you guys you guys all want to do these affordable housing and it's amazing that affordable housing is being done in this town but for what I've noticed and what I've seen it seems that the people in the affordable housing are taking advantage of affordable housing and just laughing at the fight like oh look what the city can do it gives me free stuff all the time just cuz I lie just cuz I know somebody inside me and my family have been trying to get aford of a housing for one of my family members for years and for some reason every time I try to do the weight list it never seems to work because as soon as the weight L goes up it's done within 5 Seconds um I think there should be more stricter policies or maybe a stricter um check through to see who actually needs affordable housing in the city because every time I drive past Grand Avenue Apartment burdens one of the affordable burdens in the city I shouldn't have to see somebody driving out of the parking lot with a mayback or a Mercedes um if you if you can afford a mayback or a Mercedes you don't need affordable housing you can buy your own house thank you hello Kathleen 716 Huntington Avenue um I wanted to thank you for tonight's meeting and for listening to the public and I really want to encourage everybody to listen to what the concerns were and I want to thank the residents for coming out and speaking um when listening to the planning process and the um explanation of how the apartments are going in it would be remiss for me not to come up and mention the EMS Services especially given my family background I come from a lot of First Responders and every time they go out and then I have to wait you know for them to come back in they are on my mind and I'm sure that all of you are very indebted to our First Responders as well when we're going through the planning process it was mentioned that the fire and police department had the opportunity to look over the plans before the final buildings were put into um into place since we don't have a formal EMS Squad right now and we have mutual services that are working on our behalf who looks at those buildings to make sure that our First Responders our emergency responders ERS can get there if there's aeds properly made there if there's enough entrances for the for the handicap and think of a first responder an EMS person coming with a huge ambulance plus having to get the stretcher out of the back of the ambulance and your loved one having a heart attack or a stroke or an aneurysm something that is like life-threatening and very time sensitive they cannot go from the front of a building and go two blocks in order to get to you or wait for an um you know see if there's a faster type of um a floor like the elevators so I really hope that that's built into your plants I also hope that there's also built into your plants which I had not heard of and I um I'm sorry if I didn't hear it but is there plans to go through mutual Aid there is a lot of mutual Aid that goes through our city from 22 all the way to South Playfield with all these big buildings there's going to be a lot of people God forbid we have a catastrophe we need to make sure that all those ambulances fire departments police departments can get through our roads efficiently and we we also owe it to our surrounding areas because we use our they use our services for Mutual Aid that's how we all work together so thank you very much and thank you for your time good evening my name is Jacqueline Casey I'm a resident at 1113 Thorton Avenue I'm here to address the situation on the corner of Martin and Park Avenue it's 10:09 Park Avenue the former home first building the garbage raw garbage outside in the rear of that building is horendous there's rats other varmits running around are we going to have the same situation New York has with the rats because this is not being taken care of I've been addressing this with the uh with inspections since June and it still continues to go on I don't understand it I don't know whether I know they said they had summoned the owner of the uh property but okay you summons some you bring them to court but still the garbage is still there and that's not fair to the residents there we have to pay for a viking or somebody to come in because we have to get rid of the rodents it's horrible also I'd like to address the situation on Thorton Avenue with the parking I don't know know how these individuals get uh these Vans and have regular plates on them they're not commercial but you can clearly see that they're commercial because there's ladders on top of them in all kinds of debris they have inside the the trucks and so forth and they continue to park on that street you can't even get through sometimes it's ridiculous and I don't know what the law is I know they said they can't tick it unless it's a commercial plate but I don't even know how DMV gives people these plates and clearly see that it's not uh a regular vehicle it's a commercial vehicle so also I'd like to address one thing more the property on the corner of Thorton and park has been vacant for 10 years 10 years it's I see the owner they do come in when I complain about the grass being cut or the snow not being removed okay then they get out and do what they have to do but why is property it's a huge piece of property I don't know what she's waiting for to get an offer for apartment building probably be built there but the the people stop and ask ask me is that house for sale because it's been vacant for 10 years no activity nothing so hopefully it gets a addressed in some form or fashion thank you thank you for your comments Stuart siden shrier 225 watching Avenue I am of course disappointed for you to pass in U 20 2450 and I suggest that you would get in touch with the folks that were displaced our organization can help you do that uh from my understanding working with them for about a year and a half just one council person talked to to this whole group and I suggest that you take a look at that but mostly I'm concerned about the Democratic process going on if you put something on the agenda says consideration of public hearing and substantial elements were brought to your attention and then you can't discuss because one unelected official stifles the the discussion maybe this should not be on the agenda you can just make a decision this some we to decide and close doors and that's what we're going to do as a body it's fine but don't put on the agenda you're going to have a discussion and then you're going to stop the discussion none of you had any questions to do nobody had any to add to it it was just voted on I think that there's a problem with Democratic process on that that my opinion thank you sou corano 1284 Front Street Council president I will not address the comment from councilman Graham um there was mentioned the 500 units and I am a realtor I do know what the properties were renting for in 2018 six years later they're 40 to 50% higher so to be worried that financing may not be in place with 50% more rents while I understand the cost has increased uh no lender if your stable enough company would deny it the first billion investment in Playing Field I commended the administration I personally commend it Mr map many a times behind the scenes um but wondered when will we negotiate better terms for Pilots why does it have to be 30 years many of us in this room have a 20-year mortgage or a 15-year mortgage why does it have to be 30 years uh why does it only have to be 10% affordable housing why couldn't it be 20 there are many I don't think for the second billion investment uh the negotiators are good enough I think they need to be it needs to be addressed the prices from approvals to actual renting um have changed dramatically and it's pushing people out of this town it's proved one thing genic comes in all sizes and colors green is the color that needs to be addressed and I think a balance needs to be struck more for future I understand you took a breath and you took it for a month but understand I believe we could negotiate better terms with developers we're continuing to act as if we're desperate for development versus in my opinion versus we are strong we have available properties and we would like all parties to profit from that thank you okay we'll close public comment in person there's anyone online we have two people with their hand raised virtually okay please unmute them they should unmute themselves name and address for the record callor ending in 825 I think it's Mary burwinkle again can you unmute yourself okay come back to the go to the next caller maybe she'll unmute herself um and the second caller just dropped their hand okay so all right go right back to Mary B work and see if she's uh available she still hasn't unmuted herself this entire time okay all right well I'll close public comment uh if the any dire s have any outstanding uh items that they wish to address from any other comments that were heard during public comment uh you have that opportunity now yes good evening there were there were several issues that were brought up during public comic one being the noise downtown uh regarding mamana Cafe all right the first thing that happened was there was a tenants meeting over on uh Westervelt Avenue that uh several uh several of my officers attended along with the residents of that building we have since met with the uh individuals at M moana's Cafe and we're working out these issues where they understand that some of their activities will not be allowed anymore in the downtown area that noise uh pollution from that business will be turned down and that issue will be taken care of and that's that's what I'll say on that I'd rather show you than tell you in terms of mutual Aid in the city of planfield the city of planfield has various agreements with the county and the state actually we are one of the unique municipalities in this state where we have mutual Aid agreements with North planfield which is in Somerset County County and South planfield which is in middlex County so if there's ever any issues in the town and and any of our uh services are tied up including AMS there's always somebody here to respond respond to emergency within the city of planfield I want to make sure that's clear um in regards to Fort and Avenue and the Vans I will alert My Traffic Unit to that we have been working on some of these issues overnight in the city and we will continue to address this problem with vans on the streets in the city of planfield thank you thank you oh please please go right ahead um just in reference to affordability we accept affordability since the mayor's go of a th000 affordable units which was actually a year ago today we will be announcing an update and breaking down clearly how many affordable units we have at the next council meeting I can say that we accept the range anywhere from 10% to 100% affordable we are well over 600 affordable units by agreements to date I Believe by Our Last council meeting we will exceed the mayor's goal of a th000 affordable units and Mr Front Street there was a question about Front Street that's being Mill and paved the whole area is being resurfaced sidewalks curbs Etc and the entire pretty much all parts of Route 28 which is part of most of Front Street is being addressed between now and uh next year and early next year so that's all being address on Front Street for the young lady that asked about it and CC president if I may add to that it has long been the position of this Administration that we will use plane field taxpayer dollars to repay planfield roadways and Route 28 is a state highway and we were not willing to put plane field taxpaying dollars to repay to rebuild to resurface a state owned Highway which is Route 28 and so we work hard to get Grant funds to do do that so that planfield taxpayers wouldn't have to foot the bill and we were successful in getting millions of dollars hence you will see Route 28 being repaved with handicap accessible sidewalks new lighting um traffic you know signalization and the goal is to use those funds to come from one end of Route 28 to the other end of Route 28 through through the entire city but with Grant funds from the state and federal government um just one last comment um because there was a comment about tax abatements and um just so everyone knows we did have a Pilot 101 workshop on Saturday that presentation was published on the front of our website so it's able for download to review so it explains all the stages of redevelop vment process and the pilot abatement in that presentation it states that we not only give out 30-year Pilots but we also give fiveyear and 10year tax abatements and we will be able to provide those statistics as we move forward in the presentation okay thank you all right I'll entertain a motion to adjourn but the oh yes John Lou wanted to thank you for the reminder if it's illegal to uh dispose of solid waste type 10 so without knowing all the particulars your best uh would be to contact Property Maintenance inspections and they would come out well that would be the process and whatever findings they have it I know are you done yeah okay that would be it thank you okay well Ma I invite you to speak with the director after after the meeting so you can have a back and forth exchange okay I entertain a motion to adjourn so move all in favor say I I for