good evening everyone this meeting is being held in accordance with the public laws of 1975 chapter 231 an adequate notice of this meeting has been provided by notice sent Asbury Park Press tber times and Star Ledger and posted in the main lobby of Municipal building and on the municipal website please rise for the Pledge of Allegiance flag the United States of America to the for stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all Laura I have a quick question before we start I mean to ask this every time I read the sun Sunshine statement aren't they called the asre par for us the Two River times or no good question right have a homework assignment all right mayor Portman council member bonatakis here council member Cassidy is running a little late Council me uh council member facy Blackwood present council member fa Forest president council member janon president and council member Triano here have for sir thank you uh first off we have a oh here's councilman Cassidy rolling in just a little bit late welcome David you didn't miss anything he's here um we have a proclamation honoring Martin Luther King Jr day here in red mik where asked the civil rights movement of the 1960s has profoundly impacted the course of American history and continues to shape the direction and debate of our society and whereas one of the great leaders of that 20th century movement is Dr mortle for King Jr whose dream is no less inspirational and important today than when we first expressed it more than 50 years ago stirring to action Americans of every race and Creed and whereas even with the gains of the civil rights movement over the years there are many goals and needs that must be pursued to continue our commitment to achieve Justice in our society including a commitment to economic Justice in the face of increasing disparity between rich and poor and whereas as we look forward to the future with optimism inspired by Dr King's Legacy and informed by his wisdom and vision let us red dedicate ourselves to keeping his dream alive and be reminded that we are united together as one Community now therefore I will in Portman mayor of the burough of Redbank on behalf of the burrow Council to hereby Proclaim January 15 2024 in Red Bank as Martin Luther King Jr day and encourage all of us to recommit ourselves to the advancement of equality and justice for all Americans and to the full realization of Dr King's dream in witness whereof I appear and to set my hand this 11th day of January 11th 2024 okay he asked me to do it so I'll do okay um we have um some awards to give out um first of all we'd like to thank all of those who took their time to decorate their houses and enter the recreation department an annual holiday home decorating contest in 2023 big shout out to the students from the Red Bank Middle School and charter school for assisting Us in choosing the top three homes I was impressed overall with how many decorations I saw yeah but um here are the top three winners first is the Chippendale family 57 Elm Place I saw Ryan today at the high school said he's not going to be here um to accept so uh I've written a speech on his be he did ask me to accept on his behalf which I'm happy to do and I'm happy to just throw it in the car and drop it off on the way home next up we have um the Cohen family 32 South Street if you've ever been by the Cohen's house whether it's Halloween yes hallowen Christmas time I'm convinced that you have you can do nothing else except decorate your house around the holidays so um let's uh give you basket they all the same yeah how does it work you point you out there not let me get a picture mayor not look at me thank you the one that has the zombie hands in the window that move around at Halloween South Street people did you you have the zombie hands is that what you said oh yeah is that your house yeah oh my kid was obsessed with it I had to go to it like five times I was like they're gonna think this person's in front of my house like over and over and also we have at 34 East Place the Lao family they were trying to get out of the window congratulations guys is who we doing first let's plan this look at first thank you big te chins up more nice thank thank you very nice all right all right we are um have a motion to open the floor for public comments on agenda it items only so moved second second all in favor public the floor is yours for agenda items only yes come on up Tom I guess over there there's a microphone can you can you just state your name and address into the mics for the people following along at home I'm Tom Hanley the events marketing manager with the Red Bank River Center and I'm here tonight on behalf of our executive director Bob Suman and everyone at River Center we would like to thank the mayor Deputy Mayor and councel for the ordinance making the broadwalk a permanent seasonal pedestrian Plaza the broadwalk has Prov an overwhelmingly popular seasonal attraction but started off as an emergency measure to allow businesses a chance to survive the covid-19 pandemic has become a warm weather destination allowing Red Bank businesses and Red Bank in general to compete with beach towns by making the broadwalk permanent you have erased uncertainty allowing our downtown businesses a much greater opportunity to plan for the warm weather months River Center is excited to unlock the potential of this public space for businesses both on and off the broadwalk we have a number of initiatives planned including partnering with our downtown businesses to get food delivered from off broadwalk businesses to the broadwalk at our broadwalk community tent we're also going to offering new programming including dance classes yoga classes exercise classes and game days and we are very proud to announce a new initiative with Fresh Markets to bring a Thursday night vendor Market to the broadwalk which will allow us to offer items that are not currently available in Redbank our goal is to really unlock this space and find its true potential which while it's been an amazing opportunity so far we believe there's much more we can do and we cannot wait to do it so thank you so much for erasing uncertainty for creating opportunity and for giving us this chance to really unlock the potential that Red Bank has as a warm weather destination thank you so much for being great representatives of our downtown community so thank you great thank you thank you anyone else yes sir Mr poku Council William B 90 Bank Street the M please 90 Street Mr Mayor I have material that uh I have for you that will allow you to follow my brief presentation yeah I approach of course there I am addressing agenda items section seven 7 D resolution 24-9 and section 7 m 24- I'll start up by um addressing uh 24-19 which basically uh pertains to uh the ADP and uh tax property tax basically there are about five um about five municipalities in uh M County that do not use the ADP uh the ADP you have heard me speak about it in the past assessment demonstration program which basically does the assessment of our property taxes January 15 is the deadline for uh Petition of appeals for property tax and what I presented to you is basically something that shows that the ADP is suspect what happened last year the NAACP encouraged uh some of our property owners file a petition and some petitions were stipulated and the ADP did right with them in the sense that when a property is valued properly and is accepted by both the County Board and uh the property owner that assessment is supposed to stay in place for three years and you can see that the uh one of the property owners 123 Bank Street has been done right whatever was uh valued has stayed and for 2024 is going to stay the same and then it will be the same for 2025 however for something like 35 uh seed of Crossing even though uh the county stipulated um a value that did not change and uh the assessment has gone up again this year and I approached the assessor and the assessor says that there's a probability that uh that person might have signed a way but but at any rate it doesn't look right something something has gone I right with that so I would be expecting that maybe Mr Mayor I might make an appointment with you one of these days and uh and try to go a little bit more for forther if Council uh agrees that we should do that I I if you may the quickest way maybe to just be having this conversation with with uh with Council here because I'm sure yeah I'm gonna have say's that tax pay the stipulation and then the assessment went up the following year okay and you're saying the freeze act should apply excuse me saying the freeze act should apply yes under sundar's decision I I understand the issue uh I can take this to the tax assessor a tax assessor and find out okay sitting here I don't know um I don't I don't I'm not sure but I can take this I'm basic I'm basically putting a bug in your ear yeah without putting the like I'm not goingon to say the address of the person's name you gave us but I pulled them up on mod four and I can see that the assessment went up from what the stick so so I can find out okay right in relatively short order because I think they would have to appeal again okay yeah it's not a mistake right in four days so right right I actually think it's due on Tuesday because Monday's a holiday but right right and anybody else that wants to do it I mean I have the forms and I can guide you through how to do it okay so that's for that issue the second issue uh is about the the lease of public property uh and I'm basically bringing your attention to the difference between uh fee simple ownership and uh a lease the borrow does own the property that it is leasing but when it comes down to uh property rights as far as Bo to the middle of the street on ad joining properties there is actually ownership and the the the borrow does not own those properties they have EAS them so I'm I'm bringing that with with reference to ordinance 6751 and 675 675 d1b last meeting I promised mayor and councel that I was going to bring an action against the town and it passed happen there is an action in chance Rec Court uh as we're speaking uh for 675 d1b and there's also an action already pending in Appel court for 6751 well there are many arguments that have been uh posited to the court and if you do recall when you were getting ready to pass that ordinance I was asking that maybe you hold off a little bit whil we have a little more of what you call it Council conversations and discussions about it five minutes time to try to sway the council is not enough counil woman uh facy back you saw me what you call it facilitate the meeting where an attorney for the other site was speaking Mr Canon you were there I did not restrict what time that person has and it put forth every argument that they wanted we don't have that here so the only vehicle that is available to someone like me is to meet you guys in court when uh we don't see eye to eye on certain issues there are some glaring problems with 675 D1 and 65-2 as we can see if you go through the pictures that I've given you the first one shows a trailer on public land as defined by your 6751 ordinance uh which means that the borrow itself is not able to follow its order which which just in case the photos are yeah one behind here okay right so right so that is the what you call recycling center you have a trailer sitting there unhitched the second one is a trailer right here on the uh what you call the borrow property that you have that okay now if that trailer was hitched as the ordinance requires I don't think Vehicles will be able to pass through our parking so you can see where there's a need for a trailer to be unhitched you go out there to 711 you try to park a hitch trailer on there you're going to ca a problem you try to drag a trailer through McDonald after a hot days work you want to go out there and grab a little sandwich I don't think you're going to be able to drag a trailer through that this one here I believe would perhaps interest the council woman where is she right here okay yeah this is uh DPW they they live in trailers there okay and and they on hitched they on the next one here is an unhitched trailer the street okay then you have at the recycling center and on H Trail so the point is we're now in court okay and all these arguments are going to be presented in court we need to rethink those ordinances we also have to think about an ordinance that says that when it snows you can't park on the streets in Red Bank whether hitched or not and there is a place on public lands as defined by the ordinance where you're supposed to be able to take your trailer and uh go out there and uh what you call it park it until the snow emergency is over when you get there I think you'll be prudent to unhit it wise other people are not going to be able to put their their vehicles on so we need to rethink this now Council woman uh FY Blackwood you are head of a commission to uh think about change of government and whatever I believe that it's time for us to have a commission to think about the ADP and see whether is really serving this community because I explained to you that what the ADP does is is removing black folks from Red Bank through over taxation so we have an ordinance there about an overpayment of tax but it doesn't State what block and block number so anybody looking at this is not really see what happen with that and I believe I will coming over to the clerk or something to do an OP to find out which block and lot that is receiving a refund and payment I thank you very much for listening I hope that we might be able to uh what you call talk a little bit more offline so we don't have to resort to the court to resolve simple disputes thank you Mr pcun you know you're always welcome in my office I will make that point Mr Po before you go um so you gave me four properties two of them the assessments kept the same for 2024 so right right for 123 123 was done right but the others I think I'm like I say give these back to you I don't want these people to keep them I have I have a a copy whatever you have I have okay the other two I'll take to the assessor and as you know since we're in court so much I have your email address and I'll email you okay very good thank you anybody that needs assist property taxes else like to comment on agenda items only yes good evening H 64 just really a couple of questions on the introduction of ordinances and one the resolutions um the bond ordinance for Red Bank station which says pedestrian improvements close to three more than 34 of a million do those plans actually exist at the moment for the actual improvements in that area are they being done for the benefit of the community yeah at this time we don't have any concept plans for that but because we were up against a timeline with the grant we had to put the funding in place well some to Comm no absolutely um the the HPC ordinance quite a big ordinance just come in um is that going to go through with further consultation to either the HPC or the the people of Red Bank or is it just going to be nodded through at the next Sor did you repeat the question again sorry it's 20 sorry 20243 the HPC ordinance I assume that's to do with the historical preservation commission is that going to go further is that available for further comment from the public or is it just going to be presented meeting and go through on the so there'll be two public hearings first will be January 16th that is that your review date first is going to go to the planning board and the planning board is going to um review it all for consistent with master plan they're going to deal with the historical element as well which is their purview um and have a fullon land use boort hearing discussion about it um then it will come back here again because it's an ordinance or a public hearing here before everyone is well um the planning board has changes we may even have to reintroduce and have another public hearing after that but there'll be at least two public hearings possibly more if there's changes that Bas on the historic preservation elements the planning board's working on thank you um I see um the sent was quite effusive about the reception of Brad bank and actually I think it's a pretty good idea that's basically ruined by lack of planning lack of investment but what I want to know is you're authorizing this Pedestrian Mall on the B have you are you going to make any further investment and particularly that will um alleviate the noise and disturbance problem for people people who live on streets that lead away I don't one the streets and you know Friday night flight from uh from broadwalk in the summer is quite hair raising and I just want to know is there be any further investment on this side the other place I'd like to see some some seriously expensive work it's going to turn out as imagine is the cross with River Road is it River Road there and uh and being able to actually properly adjust the traffic lights there at the junction with Wall Street to benefit people crossing the road and also so people that through the rotation of Co from Broad Street so all I want to know is are you going to spend any more money than you well no no thank you and 24 20 2405 that the ordinance to amend the salary ordinance it says um in there is a reference to um human resources manager has that Arisen as a new or is it filling an extended vacancy how has this need Arisen how have we managed so it's my understanding that that position once existed in the buau and for whatever reason was eliminated uh my background in Human Resources recognizes that that is incredibly important to keep our employment liability claims down um I'd like to Institute that position in short order because I think it's it would be effective for the employees here that we make sure that we're following up on trainings that we're providing the employees with Employee Assistance programs that taking a look at policies closer with somebody who's actually a professionalized individual in that field sure okay yeah I can see that I just want to make sure it's not one of these spit all ideas that comes up again without without really considering done and my last point I'll make the pledge to you to not come up with spitball ideas minute that please thank you right and my last point is on resolution 2427 Waring Professional Services from investigation work plan I understand the two s of the incinerator what is the remedial investigation work what what Professional Services do we need I actually uh had a conference call on this today as a followup uh basically in the first two weeks of being in the burough I realized that that was a project that needs to really take off uh looks like it's been obviously obligation of the burough for quite some time a liability of the Burrows um and we're coming up against some deadlines too with d so uh for prior to the previous step uh in the process VHB was the engineer we're working with the mammoth conservation fund as well and they identified VHB as the engineer for that project this resolution is just putting VHB in place to continue the work that site what's the cost of that I'm sorry I haven't seen the actual so it's a professional service so they bill us as the work is being completed so I don't having an exact boss for the work plan yet any other public comment on agenda items only anyone online Jim seven seven attendees nobody with their hand rais okay before I start I just want to make sure that appointments are agenda items or should I wait till the end it's not an agenda item on this agenda but if we want to make an exception we don't need to make an exception I just yeah technically we don't it's the only um I don't think we have any appointments on the agenda we do oh Animal Welfare we do we have a specific animal right I don't know it's not regarding Animal Welfare but it's about appointment so right technically that would be at the public comment at the end which I we will get to in short order hopefully anyone else have any public comment on agenda items only okay somebody's car right can I have a motion to close the public comment on agenda items make a motion I have a second second all in favor I okay um approval the minutes and reports for um I have a motion to approve the minutes from 12:14 to 2023 still moved have a second I'll second we need roll call uh council member vonas yes council member Cassidy yes council member FY Blackwood yes council member Forest yes council member janon yes council member Tano yes mayor Portman yes I a motion to approve the executive session minutes from 12:14 2023 moved I have second second well counc member bonais yes council member Cassidy yes council member facy Blackwood yes council member flis yes council member Janome yes council member Triano yes mayor pman yes I have a motion to approve the minutes from 1124 the reor meeting so moved second second council member bonatakis yes council member Cassidy yes council member facy Blackwood yes council member Forest yes council member Jano yes council member Triano yes mayor Portman yes thank you Lor next up uh an introduction uh 20241 amending the bond ordinances 20236 and 20238 for lead service line replacement for $ 4,960 th000 um can I have a motion to approve this ordinance I'll make such a motion can I have a approve on Intro by yes thank you can have a second second that a roll call there council member Bonas yes council member Cassidy yes council member facy Blackwood yes council member Forest yes council member Jano yes council member Triano yes mayor Portman yes public hearing for this ordinance will be on January 25th next up an introduction for 2024-25 65,000 can I have a motion to approve on introduction no moved I have a second second roll call please council member Bonas yes council member Cassidy yes council member facy Blackwood yes council member flest yes council member Janome yes council member Triano yes mayor Portman yes next up an introduction for 2024 d03 the HPC ordinance can I have a motion to approve on introduction that makes s Mo have a second I I'll second it strongly yeah second it whoever you want council member Bonas yes council member Cassidy yes council member facy Blackwood yes council member Forest yes council member Jan yes council member Triano yes mayor Portman yes um as our attorney mentioned before public hearing on this will be to be determined uh this requires planning Board review and they have 30 days to complete such a review next up for introduction 20244 authorizing in The Pedestrian Mall can I have a motion to approve on introduction so moved can I have a second I'll second that second roll call council member Bona takas yes council member Cassidy yes council member facy Blackwood yes council member Faris yes council member janon yes council member trano yes mayor Portman yes pass thank you and uh next up introduction for 2024-the on introduction I'm sorry and the public hearing um for the broadw will be January 25th I have a motion to approve 202 24-5 on introduction so moved I have a second second roll call please council member bonatakis yes council member Cassidy yes council member facy Blackwood yes council member Forest yes council member janon yes council member Triano yes mayor Portman yes thank you there'll be a public hearing on that ordinance on January 25th um is there anything we need to do separately here uh for the resolutions anyone or can we do them on the consent agenda budget I guess we can explain maybe just the uh public auction table payment table which one Eide Park payment one is that it's at the pick right right 2422 want to hold off on that I do because that issue that was raised today okay I don't think it's just covered under warrant now yeah I'm going to make a motion to table 24-22 um so it okay gets figured out okay we can do that there was some uh suggestion from the manager right the resident suggested that we hold off on that the manager was that from well it was brought to our attention by Resident but there seems to be some ponding that's going on on the court there so we just want to touch base with the contractor before we authorize phase three payment there okay it will be C covered under maintenance Bond um eventually but you want to touch you know we have short amount of time before the meeting so okay just good hold your money what's that hold your money and I also want to um just to explain real quick everyone 24-28 um authorizing an Oakland public auction for lease of our own parking spaces so we have um a couple of spots that the burrow owns over by beo um that um the cannabis shop that's there I believe wants to to um lease them and the law says I think right right we have to have a public auction for those spots in case anybody else wants them so that's what that resolution is about so there's a motion on the floor for 2422 to be tabled yeah I made a motion okay sorry second that motion second it okay you roll call that or is it we just right all all in favor I 24-22 is TBL for now okay uh can I have a motion to um approve resolution 24-16 through 24-28 without 24-22 um on the consent agenda so moved I have a second roll call please council member Bonas yes council member Cassidy yes council member fa Blackwood yes council member flest yes council member janon yes council member Triano yes ER Portman yes okay um anything for discussion for discussion and action we I I um I'm GNA hold off on that there's a couple at least a couple I have a couple items on mine um but I haven't had a chance to thoroughly review um but let's jump down to can I have a motion to open the floor for public comment and question make second all in favor I I okay good even my name is mimon Christian I reside at 15 Maran Street I have been a long time advocate and Community member M I've dedicated my life's work to advocating and making life better for marginalized communities around issues of Education systemic racism poverty and affordable housing I'm a proud wife and mother I'm the former director of Parks and Recreation a current Red Bank Regional Board of Education member and until my term ended on December 31st I was a commissioner and the elected chairperson of the Red Bay Housing Authority the Housing Authority is an autonomous commission that is not governed by Red Bank officials it is governed by the federal government more specifically HUD and the Department of Housing and Urban Development Commissioners are appointed by the mayor and Council and the mayor assigns a council member liaison to work with the commission Mr Cassidy Housing Authority Commissioners serve in fiveyear intervals or terms as opposed to other committees such as Planning and Zoning they typically serve for three-year terms this is because there's such a steep learning per when it comes to governing housing authorities and learning all of the specific regulations and requirements that are needed to properly govern a Housing Authority let alone the specific needs of a housing author Community it takes at least three years to learn what's needed to be known years P the Housing Authority was not paid much attention to previously aison held the title but never inter interacted much with the commission and never attended meetings several years ago councilman Michael Ballard realized that the Housing Authority became dangerously close to being sold to outside Developers so he set out to appoint Commissioners that would not let such a needed Community Asset be stolen from the Red Bank residents under my leadership over the last couple of years the Housing Authority worked tirelessly to safeguard the Housing Authority for the future hired competent employees to manage the agency tirelessly explored Avenues of Redevelopment for the community petitioned and secured grants to begin the work of repositioning and Redevelopment updated and implemented government doc governing documents that protected the agency and created and targeted I'm sorry and forged guidance and relationships with the highest level of Hud officials just so the real work of bettering our Housing Authority Community could begin so imagine my surprise on midday on December 31st I received notice from my executive director Lisa Richardson but she had just received a letter from the mayor stating that I would not be reappointed as soon as I received word I reached out to you Billy but it's been 11 days and I've not received the reply call from you since when interacting with the governing body I'd always made it very clear that there is no room for politics when it comes to affordable housing in Red Bank I find it very ironic so ironic that the individual that was reappointed to the housing authority and to other committies on January 1 were supporters of the Portman Triano campaign I was not a campaign supporter of Portman and most definitely not of K Triano but that did not impede my ability to serve the marginalized communities in Red Bank and choose to work closely with mayor and counsel I will just come out and say it this your act is politics at its worse and truly I know this is K Triano using her influence for vengeance and personal gain and Dam the work and the needs of the people I will say it again there is no room for politics when it comes to affordable housing in Red Bank shame on you Billy I had really hoped for more but what makes the situation even more egregious is that you and Kate went against the direct recommendation of the executive director of the Housing Authority Lisa Richardson and the recommendation of your fellow councilman and the housing Le on David cassid so you slow down progress and you impede growth for political Vengeance this is the same thing that you did to miss Adrian valal because she did not support you gate not once but twice again I'll say I hope for better for you but please remember this you are the mayor and Kate when I think of this term I think of you absolute power corrupts all the time and currently there's a chief of police that's being investigated and quite honestly Kate I don't know how it's not you I say this I have a lot to say when it comes to affordable housing quite honestly this has free me I'll be back and I have a lot to say and to councilwoman Janome and um I'm sorry say your last name for me I don't want to say it wrong Ben bonus bonus I don't know you I've never worked with either of you and I have high hopes for you and my request is for you all to begin leading from the front because you are elected to safeguard the people an absolute power corrupt absolutely and as women leaders I hope that you have the best interest of Red Bank in mind and not just political allegiance that's all I have to say for now thank you very much thank you um anyone else have public comments good evening yes my name is Alpha Reynolds Lewis and I am now the I guess you would say the def facto oh I'm sorry 11 West Sunset Avenue back I guess I would say now I am the defao chair of the Red Bank Housing Authority because I serve as the vice chair um I feel like Mrs Christian has laid out her case in the most eloquent fashion but um as the now chair of the board I just have some questions for you Mr Mayor because you you were the one that made this decision to not reappoint for suspension is that correct um collectively as a a council but okay great um so was the liaison Mr cassley was he consulted yes yes so I understand Mr Cassie that you told Mrs Christian that you didn't find out until that morning when the decision was already made so which one is he no I found out that day officially but I want to make this very very clear I do support the appointment of Ms Moore I do believe that putting a stakeholder we had a number of people from Cedar Crossing come through here we were asked to give a voice on that Council and that's what we give and that's what we did I do support M Moore's appointment but there was another appointment uh Mr DM Jones that has nothing to do with I support Mr de Mr Jones as I don't know him as I don't know him particularly well but I do support it he has good references from my colleagues off so let me ask you this you were the liaison you come to our meetings did you interact with Mr Jones at all at any of the meetings everything was through Zoom I interacted with everybody equally okay uh oh so you so but I would consider interaction with you but I'm speaking respectfully my interaction with Mr Jones is the same as my interaction with you at those meetings in that I and the same interaction with Mrs Christian that's correct okay um I guess another question for mayor and counsel did you will review the attendance records of the commissioners before you reappointed did you look at the records it's public record obviously I did not do you think that that was not an important thing to do um it it did not come up in my uh in in my discuss in our discussions any of the other council members have anything to say about that I think what I can share here is that the reappointment was not made and I will tell you that there were actual real concerns that led to that reappointment not being made I'm going to say I don't think it's appropriate to be talking about that right up here because I respect mimon and I don't really think that's proper but to say that anybody up here would do something because it wouldn't help the town or do something because of a personal reason is not true I didn't say that I'm not question I I completely address Christian when she was sitting here understood yeah and I I will she can reach out to me anytime but I'm just asking because I'm trying to figure out as the now chair what the processes were for this decision because it seems like this was just some arbitrary decision and I completely agree and I'm not the only one on the council I completely agree that this was political you have my cell phone number you could have called me anytime no no I'm addressing this with the whole body I don't want to just single you out I'm not here to single you no worries I'm here I'm here to discuss it with the entire body that made a decision I would I would like to understand as the now chair and the next and the person whose appointment is up by the way at the end of this year so let's see how that's going to be handled because I didn't support your ticket either so I'm just wondering if the retribution will then come to me at end of the year but that's that's neither here nor there I'm interested now in processes and how this decision was made because it doesn't seem like it was a thoughtful decision it was thank you okay that's fine that's your opinion um my third I guess my third question um and you brought up the cedar Crossing issue so this that's a good segue as far as appointment of someone from Cedar Crossing um who we serve as the property manager for some of you might not know um what you may not know is that the SE Cedar Crossing um Cedar Crossing and the Housing Authority have a very tenuous relationship at least because the owners at CED Crossing feels feel that we are making decisions for them when it comes to their property which we don't which we do not our role is very limited and we don't make decisions for their board their board makes the decision but in the past they have dis disparage the Housing Authority as the property man and for the most part I would like to I guess ask the attorney um were you consulted with regard to the property management agreement between Cedar Crossing and the Red Bank Housing Authority um and uh about a possible conflict of interest of having a board member on both boards I'm just I'm going to decline to answer I don't discuss what I I can't hear you don't discuss what I discuss with my clients in public so I'm just going to decline to respectfully decline to answer okay um well I'm just want I just would like to bring it to your attention we also have a board we also have a board attorney um who's looking into a conflict because there might be a conflict of interest between having someone on the Housing Authority board and the SE of Crossing door so we're looking into that but I was just wondering if that was something that any of you consider if that becomes an issue then we'll find somebody else who's suitable and we'll point that individual okay okay um that was my those are pretty much my questions and um I guess as far as comments I know no one's going to admit it obviously but this like I said council members the The Authority Commission we feel like this was political and there's really not much that you have said to me today that has changed that um but I will say it was best said at one of our meetings last Tuesday we are as Commissioners are here to help people that that's our function seniors and marginalized people so that's why we were here and that's why you're supposed to so the fact that this person who was probably the best chair this Housing Authority has had in these years and who has done so much with his authority in just the three years a short threeyear term than anybody else the fact that she was not reappointed and that you reappointed someone that doesn't even although they have a h they have housing here is not even in the state he's not even in the state he is someplace else so he's not he cannot be handson with the housing authority and now we have a chair I can tell you right now you didn't consult me you didn't consult our executive director you didn't consult anyone that would help you make a proper decision and that's that includes you councilman Cassidy that includes you no one was consulted because now I'm chair and I don't want to be chair I will I will take on the responsibility and I will do it because I I want to serve but I didn't ask to be chair and the fact that none of you took this into consideration is it seems like you're taking a little bit out of the uh the GOP Front Runners uh Playbook this is like the red bang little revenge tour it's not appropriate so like I said earlier my appointment is coming up at the end of the year let's see how that plays out thanks so much thank you thank you anyone else have any questions or comments hello everyone uh my name is Chris pascarell I reside at 23 Cedar Crossing as I introduced myself back in November I'm the president of uh the cedar Crossing Condo Association um in that meeting I invited all of you out to our annual meeting on December 3D and I just wanted to give a brief update on how things have been progressing so on December 3rd we were able to hold our election and so we added two new trustees so according to our bylaws we're supposed to have five trustees that serve on the board so we were able to get a full team together which was very exciting we also to P able to pass the budget um and so we're able to H in uh now so I think um you know organizationally we are stabilizing a little bit um and two of the bigger kind of goals that um I think that we have um as a board you know for this year is to continue to uh facilitate a collaborative and healthy relationship uh with the Burba and a couple commendations that that we've had already was um just bringing some attention right winter has been is coming or is here um and just bringing matters up uh with public works and things like that to just get our get our community on the radar there as well those conversations were positive so we're very thankful for that um you know as the board we have worked closely with executive director Lisa Richardson at the housing auil and um you know she's been fantastic um for us and so um I really appreciate that and the tireless work that she's put in as well for our community um and so there's continued you know growth uh there and and we'll continue that Journey um the other um big thing is you know obviously we do face significant challenges um and so we have been organizationally stabilized and we're continuing to learn together as the board and grow because we're all fellow homeowners like everyone else in the community so we're learning together um but uh we're seeking you know to uh stabilize financially right um and there's there's big obstacles there um I do feel like we are trending in a good direction walking in a good direction um but we do seem to have some um just things from the past that can be um difficult to carry right the future and so I'd love to continue those conversations um as I begin just mulling on you know what do we do how do we how do we tackle this because again we're all learning together um as our as our board there as well um and um that's it yeah good so any questions for me about Cedar Crossing and updates from where we where we said I just wanted to say congrats it's great that you got it all back together I know that was a lot of work on your part and heard the status that's awesome nice job Chris it was a pleasure of being at your reorganizing meeting no ncy was there as well the housing I do think that one of the the bigger inspiration s you know that I've found as I've looked at the master plan is the commitment to affordable housing for this area um you know that seems to be that's that seems to be unique um and and just a great thing in Red Bank um you know and not maybe as widely championed um in this area um you know as other places but um you know I do think that cedar Crossing we have open units that we would love to fill um obviously there's processes there right um with all of that so I understand that but um we want to be a significant contributor to this community you know I do think that again for a place that's a great place to live we do have some open doors you know to help people with that and so we're I'm inspired by that Vision um for affordable housing and I think Cedar Crossing can play a key role in helping fulfill that Vision moving forward but we're probably going to need continue just conversation help along the way um as we're all together so thank you thank you thank you any other questions or comments from the public yes evening all Adrian B 6 stre um I'm addressing Nancy Blackwood and Mr fors remember I came into and spoke to you about the parking spot on my um that was on December 13th I have not heard anything from either of you do you have any kind of update is what's going on or what did you do look into it or what yes um I had asked if you could send me your email or your phone number so I could give you the update and I didn't get it but I did get a response from the um acting manager at the time and he said that he had spoken with you before that about painting that strip and he said it would be addressed when they paint the when they do their regular paintings um update of striping and stuff so that's what he had shared with me and I just didn't have a way to get it to you because I don't have your contact information picture that I sent you no I didn't I'll resend it to you I appreciate if you would okay but we spoke if you didn't get it I mean I'm in the group whatever you could have reached out to me before then so I appreciate it I'm sorry I didn't I didn't catch you your name Adrian Mal Miss Mal if you want to send that to my email I'll be happy to give you a card yeah there you go so that we can we can exchange and follow up with that yeah thank you because that's what I'll do I'll be sending it to him anyway okay thank you thank you anyone else have any comments or questions Mr Mr thank yes there are two things that i' like to mention one is um I want to encourage everyone on the Das to please get close to the microphone oh okay all of you that would be most helpful thank you um the other thing is um with respect to resolution 2419 which is the authorizing tax refunds for overpayment of taxes note that the two River theater um has um um received a refund which suggests to me that they are paying taxes of some sort and um because um I didn't know that um I wanted to ask our two um major theaters um here in town the Two River theater and the CAC Center for the Performing Arts but is the nature of the taxes that are now paid by each these ORS I guess I'm addressing this to Mr Mayor Andor manager Jam if he's not up to speed on the on the local tax situation um and I don't know the details of it I do remember um I know the count basy for one had purchased some additional property that they were paying taxes on I think it was a house on Maple if I remember um I know they were paying taxes on um and I'm not sure what that refund is for um not so much concerned about the refund as I am about the issue of whether our fers are paying taxes that are commensurate with um what they should or or need to be paid I will come back and ask this question again okay yeah we'll take a look at um I'm gonna do my homework couple things iate asking about sure you will and the pilots that derrive from these questions thank you thank you anyone else questions or comments no anyone online Jim yes hand raised yeah I'll be uh bringing Barbara Mary Monahan into the discussion here okay hi can you hear me yes okay Happy New Year Year everybody um Barbara Monahan 30 pink me Road and I just have to comment that the act of taking Revenge political or otherwise is a banal Act of a stupid person and Kate is so far from she's just magnificently smarter than doing something like that that's been my experience the entire time I know her thanks and have a good night thank you anyone else line no mayor not not now all right anyone else in the chambers have a comment okay can I have a motion to close the public comment make a motion have a second second all in favor I I okay um I guess it doesn't matter what order you want to do your comments now and then we'll do mayor and Council all right the manager report yeah so as you can imagine over the last two weeks or so uh I've trying to take everything in in Red Bank as much as I can um and there's a lot going on which is incredible because it's a great challenge for both myself and the burough at at whole but I visited with the various departments um as a meet and greet throughout uh bur Hall here and in the offsite locations uh several sites in town I've gone around with Chief McConnell Marine Park dpu parking authority U Riverfront count basy Fields the east and west side and the various burough owned infrastructure uh give an overview of the multitude of in progress and on the horizon projects and it's great to see that there's there's a lot that's that's going on here to gain a full understanding of the priorities thus far um we conducted a department head meeting I conducted a department head meeting with my staff on January 4th so we hit the ground running with that where we discussed our challenges and our goals uh within the various departments I wanted to find a way that I could be a great resource for them and offer them as much support as possible in what they're looking to accomplish in 202 before I've met with our Engineers tnm CME Ingenuity thus far in separate meetings to be briefed on project status our meetings focused on uh moving greine Park forward uh the Sunset Avenue remediation forward uh the lead service line projects and discussion on the various Road Improvement projects that we have coming up uh I've met with the River Center executive board at their executive board meeting and plan to go to their monthly executive board meetings as well as a member I've met with Pastor Porter of the Red Bank affordable housing commission and Shauna Ebanks to discuss the status of affordable housing in the burrow so what January will hold for me moving forward uh you know I plan to meet with um the mayor and individual council members because I I think meeting individually to hear what their goals are is important for me to get a full understanding of what we want we want to accomplish for the year so I will be reaching out it was important for me to meet with the department heads first uh to see you know what they what they needed going into the year I want to identify areas for efficiency and areas that are working well uh I want to continue my efforts to meet all of our Professional Services that represent the buau I want to set the course for marine park the renovation and overhaul I want to further investigate the DPW challenges that we have there and opportunities to address the infrastructure issues on site there as well and develop a plan to communicate with the community uh to increase our effectiveness of public information and give our website a good overhaul uh I want to review the structure of our human resources and make recommendations to implement change if needed with a focus on keeping employment liability claims at a minimum through Best Practices policy development and Personnel training so there's a lot to do um and that's really all I want to accomplish in January but I know that you know we we have a tall glass here and and I'm glad that it's it's definitely more than half full um and I'm looking forward to uh to working with everybody so more to come at the next council meeting manager report all yours mayor thank you I'm trying to be very very close to the mic if I can read at the same time because I actually prepared a few words uh regarding the historic preservation commission and the the ordinance that we introduced this evening um I know there are folks who are following along whom this is is interest so I did just want to speak to what goals are trust me I know how long it is so it might take some time to digest and I do uh as Greg mentioned hope that we will see public comment as well um in the follow-up meetings that we have planning board and then here as well um but as you know we've been working on this for many months in order to set the preservation commission uh on the right foot I want to thank everyone who has provided their input along the way residents both within and outside the historic districts Shauna Ebanks our expert legal council and of course my fellow council members this new empowering ordinance not only defines all the Myriad ways the historic preservation commission can add value to Red Bank how they should operate but also for really the first time builds a strong foundation on the New Jersey municipal land use law so the town can maximize the powers and protections it offers we streamlined the permit review process for owners of historic homes and buildings and outlined a consistent process for designating historic assets going forward we were thoughtful about how this commission will collaborate with other land use fors and support our master plan which is our community vision and perhaps most crucially for me personally we added strong and tested Protections in the event of a proposed demolition because ultimately when we lose a character defining historic structure we can't get it back make no M AK our commissioners have a lot of work ahead of them steering the creation of design guidelines revisiting our historic inventory but I do believe that this new ordinance sets us off in the right direction I'm an ex and I'm excited hopefully upon adoption see what this group can accomplish thank you thank you David I I I I do want to actually just piggyback on that Christina you've put end to so much work on this and you made it a collaborative process um and now it's going into a further collaborative process it's going to planning it's going to public comment it's coming back here it's not done it's not set in stone um but we're at that point where it can get to this next step and you were the driving force behind it and I just want to acknowledge your hard work and and just how much input you took from everybody um on it and I didn't have anything else but I do want to say um to my colleague at the end end of the day I said I mean I understand disappointment I understand anger but Triano is a person of integrity and I value her and um I don't think that well I think disappointment is is is is is Justified I don't think that the opinion expressed was was warranted I think that she has done too much for this town and for people selflessly to uh to Warrant that I love you Kate they can't hear you can we say that again I I don't know if I can should I I I I I I I stated that I that I that I that I value krio I respect her and that I know her to be a person of integrity and a couple other words but that was the gist of it thanks D than um can you guys hear me I'm back okay great uh the EC green team is starting off the Year by continuing to do their work uh on sustainable Jersey actions for their certific ation and one thing that I personally do like about with the sustainable Jersey actions is that we have a really good way to implement interesting ideas and programs that benefit the community that benefit all the residents they have excellent um actions related to Municipal land use as well as um one of my favorite ones that I'm I'm looking at I'm work collaborating with Laura Shauna and the senior center is um health and all policies so therefore it's to set a if this if we organize it right this will create a policy by which when the borrow is looking at um ordinances and resolutions that we are considering the health the safety of all the residents of town and I think that um once Laura and Shauna and Jackie finish their training you'll probably have a lot of information to share um one of the other things uh that I do like within sustainable Jersey is they're doing food they have a lot about food waste and food um farmers markets and ways to get food and I read in the paper today that in Maman Ocean County the food bank demand has doubled and so therefore we have to continue to find ways to make sure that people are fed and find innovative ways particular particularly in the summer months to make sure that maybe people can grow their own and um I know that our community garden is not functioning right now and I um you know that's a DB issue that I'm not even going near at the moment but you know we do have to find ways where people would be able to grow food even from a Terrace or from their window um the green Fair the annual green Fair that's put together by the EC Green Team they did set a date it's going to be on Earth Day this year which is Monday the 22nd of April they'll be collaborating with the middle school as well and um our past experience with the middle school it's a really great draw the parents love it the kids love it and we have a lot of people that come in to share to live more sustainably but still have a rich life so um all recommend that everybody stop by when that event happens I'm happy to see the YouTube channel for the the borrow is up I came across it one day and I saw the planning meeting the zoning meeting the council meetings so um I'm pretty sure that as we have a new manager we'll be modernizing our Communications as well I'm proud of the work done by Christina Shauna Greg and Michelle for the um sorry Greg Cannon and Michelle denado the attorneys as well for the um historic preservation ordinance I think it sets a firm foundation where it is clear um what the roles and responsibilities are and um I think you know good job and to and regarding Kate Triano I do have to go on the record and say that my experience with Kate has been that she's a person of Integrity I've seen her take actions for the PE all the people in town and there's not one day when she's not walking around town trying to help people so thank you that's it counc so I'll start off with the former Housing Authority Chairman's comments uh thank you for taking my call that night working no you had you just turn it you weren't here at the last meeting but I meant it very much that I appreciate apprciate you I appreciate what you've done at the Housing Authority I know the complicated Waters that all of you navigated through the privatization nonsense the mission of providing housing to people and human beings is nothing is more important um now thank you for your service there thank you for your service on the Red Bank Regional Board of Education now and thank you for your service to the buau and other capaces so I'm saying that now because you weren't here so um I also said to you and I'm want to say here that I did struggle with this decision I did vote obviously for the change but that no way you know I'm so grateful for all that you've done and continue to do for this town um we did deliberate it wasn't casually made you know and people will disagree on things um and I don't want to go into any more than that about um I have great respect for my colleagues up here and uh we listen to each other and I'll leave it at that and thank you m Adrian I apologize for not getting your problem fixed sooner I think uh it was partially caught in the vortex of changing burough administrators thank you for coming to the senior off center and sharing the challenge indust Street I actually did drive by your street and take a look that day I think I have a picture actually um let's see um I wanted to comment on broadwalk um I did vote Yes on the introduction I do think that well um there are some downsides to having the broadwalk open the positives outweigh the negatives and my core view on this is that you know unfortunately I didn't grow up in Red Bank like some of you but I moved to Red Bank because I want to real live in a real town I used to live in ch Falls you know you had to get a qut of milk you had to get in a car and this is much better and I view living in Red Bank is part of a system where you have the residential neighborhoods and you have a downtown and you have to make some at least my view is you make some compromises to accommodate the down town and hopefully they make comod accommodations for us as well because I love being able to like walk here tonight I actually go to the downtown more now that they actually have activities and things to do you don't have to pay for everything um I do think it is a work in progress and actually when things aren't working down there I appreciate that um many of us and residents REM mind River Center remind us that we need to do better at picking up trash or putting more content there for everybody or maybe bringing food that's not necessarily an expensive restaurant or having a band there and when I was there it was this amazing band playing you know for everybody to enjoy so I think it actually adds to our quality of life very much I'm sure it adds somewhat to the traffic although you know even when it's closed I see a tremendous amount of traffic around town and it makes me mad um and I I look at most of the cars coming through town and I I think most of them actually people passing through Red Bank not so much Red Bank residents uh um but anyway so I support that thank you River Center for the fine job in managing that although there's always room for improvement um my Parks and Recreation report actually I'm the A's on to that the mayor gave that report tonight and thank you so much for the nice job and and the uh prizes um also on affordable housing I just want to report to the council our new manager that I would like us to get maybe some kind of I maybe it exists already I think there is something on our website some of affordable housing thing um I did have a communication with a Stacy burer of the Housing and Community Development network of New Jersey and you know there is some funding she says and things like that for towns to do more affordable housing and as a as discussed by many at this meeting you know we're fast becoming a non-diverse town certainly on a financial level I mean houses on my street are going for absurd sums of money and you know I really like the fact that Red Bank is a town of many many people from many backgrounds and I like it to stay that way and to keep it that way we're GNA have to fight for it because every time a a house flips or a apartment building comes down there's probably going to be much fewer affordable units built and then it's replacement at least I certainly see that on Locust Avenue um and I think I might have covered all my things uh mayor thank you so much for your patience thank you thank you Mone hi um I um wanted to report on the Animal Welfare committee we had a drive over December for food for cat and dog food for the lunch break and we got close to 700 pounds of cat and dog food um that we donated to lunch break um and someone n brought this up tonight um Paul our chair went to lunch break a couple weeks later and most of it was gone so there is a real need in our community um for not just food for people but food for animals so we're going to try to start doing that quarterly the drives um the other thing that came out of that is we brought up um chemicals that being put in a lawn that could be dangerous to some of the animals in town so we've been working with our manager and um the Green Team on that looking at different Burrows and what they've done um to take chemicals off along um also we've had office hours this week and it were very busy last Wednesday office hours but I think everything got addressed thanks to everyone who helped with that um and I think that's it I also wanted to say that I respect Kate trigano and enjoy working with her and I don't think that she's political thank you thank you um there's going to be a downtown Coco crawl on Saturday January 20th from 1 P.M to 4 p.m. there's a quite an extensive amount of businesses that are participating um they'll be treats discounts things of that nature um I think we all realize that it's a symbiotic relationship between our residents and our businesses they support our kids they support our community we're going into one of the slowest seasons for our small businesses and so if you can get out and support them through the Coco crawl that would be much appreciated um I want to give a shout out shout out to all the local First Responders and everybody for um responding to the storm um Red Bank All Things Considered there were a couple of things but we were truly blessed we were hunkered down the firehouse kind of waiting to get out for a call while we listen to the area scanner go off in all directions um but thank you to everybody who out there the DPW workers were out there cleaning out the storm drains um it's a lot of extra work um what else did I have oh broadwalk this is going to be the fifth year right it was 2020 happened in 2020 happened in 2021 202 fifth year um so I just feel so elated uh that we are able to give our businesses and our residents the heads up and build a real foundation for a strong season this year uh to have a manager who is you know going to be integral to that and that communication um it's truly appreciated um by me my family my friends um to have communal space like that downtown um I was knocking doors and during an election and I met a couple and I asked them they're your neighbors and I asked them I said uh what what made you choose to move to Red Bank they're around my age they're surgeons very accomplished have a little kid and they said the moment they realized they wanted to live in our town was when they were in the broadwalk they said during the pandemic that feeling of community the vibration that they felt they said that is when we decided this is where we want to raise our kid and I truly feel that every time I'm there and my kid is riding up and down it I'm running into people I'm sitting out there um it's created a real heart of our community um and I wouldn't trade that for the world I don't mind if it's going to take me two more minutes I don't mind that because I feel a lot of love when I'm there and lastly I'll just State um I'm grateful to everybody who has ever served this town um that includes every single person every single person that's ever served this place um let no man pull you so low as to hate him I wish everybody well here you are all my neighbors and I mean it you can call me anytime you can come and knock my door and I am open and I am here I love this place more than anything and that includes everybody in the town that includes my family so I just wanted to reiterate that that I'm always here please reach out and keep on serving thanks umy backing off of what Nancy just was talking about um Bonnie Featherstone from lunch bre came to my office hours a couple weeks ago and they're looking to start a community gardening program so we can get um people in food and security access not just to package good to frch brood so um if anybody is has extra space in their garden and they want to set up an extra gardening box uh please reach out to Bonnie Featherstone at lunch break um there's a definite need for it so um that would be appreciated I just have to say I had a great day in Red Bank today I got to marry a young couple this morning that live here in town um they've been together since middle school um so that was a really nice event um the highlight of the day though was I was over at the um High School talking with the Boys to Men group um which are were mostly uh young men from Red Bank um and we had a really nice conversation you know they had a a lot of questions a lot of interest um I reminded them to call me if they have any questions you know um even if they're not voting I'm their mayor also um and yeah it was really it was great to connect um with them then I saw when I was walking the dog later I saw a of them they waved so um yeah it was a highlight of my day it was great to be spending some time with with Red Bank kids basically and getting to know them and and hearing their questions and concerns so yeah a great day a great day in Red Bank um I think that's it we ex session I wrot legislation litigation oh yeah I forgot one thing yeah you've been office basically a year now yeah and I just and this is a good meeting for that you can't please everybody and we don't always agree on everything mayor um but I want to say how grateful I am that you've taken this up um you came into a complicated situation right smacked dropped in the middle you know it was challenging time for many on many levels with will change whatever you want people who don't like it people do like it political nerds and you know Nancy and I were at the charter study commission it's a mess and you came in the middle of it and became our mayor and our all in and I do appreciate that your office is open to everybody I do appreciate that you reach out to us and get everybody here has you say can't please everybody but I want to thank you for your year of service here and I noticed it I remember sitting there when when you first arrived as a as a member of the public thank you very much and it was a very pleasure to meet you at your door I knocked on your door I think it was a charter yeah yeah and sorry about that Billy sorry I started probably wrecking your life at that no it was it was Nancy's scorn at my door she couldn't hide it but I only had a 110 volt charger for my electric car I didn't have a fast one she was like I was nice about this must take you forever to charge I think she even went to an English accent she might have anyway thank you Ben um can I have a motion to adjourn so moved have a second all in favor I I all right thank you