I call to order the meeting of the mayor and council at burough River Edge regular meeting um February 15 2024 7 pm at the riveridge library and remotely on Zoom ask everyone to stand for a moment of Silent reflection and perhaps prayer for all the victims of the shooting during the Kansas City Super Bowl celebration in Kansas City ask everyone turn to the flag ready salute I pledge aliance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all all right uh statement of compliance with the open public meeting act this meeting complies with the open public meeting act by notification on January 11 2024 of this date and time and location and access information to the town news and the record by posting of the same on the municipal bulletin board and the burough website and following notice of the same with the municipal clerk Madam clerk roll call Council coun here council president Mar here Council woman canel here councilwoman M here councilman Benson here councilman glass here there Pao here so the first item after roll call is item number five approval of the minutes could I have a motion and second to approve the minutes of the mayor and Council regular meeting and close session of January 22nd 2024 so move all in favor I all right we have two wonderful proclamations and the first is our own Abigail finnen who has earned the girls gout Gold Award which is for those of you who don't know it's the highest honor amongst the Girl Scouts and uh Abigail if you can come forward please stand over here and any member of her family would like to come up and join us over here uh the camera is picking us up over there and Abigail so Abigail I'm going to read it uh I'm going to read the proclamation into the record and then if you could talk a little bit about uh your um your project and about what it means to be a gold Scout a Girl Scout Gold Award winner okay all right so certificate of recognition the mayor and the Council of the bur River Edge are proud to present this certificate of recognition to Abigail Fin and honor and congratulate her upon her attainment of the Girl Scout Gold Award we are proud to have such a talented hardworking positive role model in our community and wish you the best in the future uh to council and myself the mayor congratulations Abigail um talk to us a little bit uh about the award and the process and I your mom was your scout leader and and and a little bit about that so people can understand what a tremendous um achievement this is so my process was different because I was a Juliet Girl Scout which means I was a girl scout with no troop so I was the only one in my troop my mom was just my leader and basically I had to do two Journey projects where I had to help around my community before then starting my gold word process where I had a pick an issue that that I believe needed help for me was um body positivity education and other Elementary School girls so I created a program where I was able to teach um body positivity like methods and it helped like girls be able to and I actually held it here at the library um and I have this whole event where I was able to do yoga Jenga I had workbooks with tips and some activities that they could do um and I was able to also donate back to um women's shelter because the first part of body positivity is selfcare so some women don't have so yeah that's amazing that's amazing and it's so so much in need in today with our with our internet world and so many young ladies feeling um judged and um and and put into a box and and so I commend you for that I really do you but doing it here in the library was not just some random choice you volunteer at the library don't you uh no I work here work here I'm sorry did you volunteer at one time and then go to work no sorry but we we really appreciate uh everything you've done in this in this task and we commend you thank you're welcome how about you all come up and take because these Awards and these achievements aren't done in isolation it is all the members of our family and our community that make this possible it was a good speech she was move forward and everybody behind would you take uh Caroline could you we need someone to take a picture yes would you do why don't we move forward a little bit so that you know more people can get picture a thank you you're welcome all right one two three cheese cheese okay thank James we have uh another noteworthy experience uh Jimmer Kellan has been in uh offering service to our burrow for more than 20 years 27 I believe I believe pretty close to 27 yeah and uh we he's uh just stepped down from the planning board and we wanted to acknowledge all that he's given to the town and thank him and so Jim if I could I'm going to read into the record the proclamation and then if you could talk a little bit about the town and your commitment and that be great awesome anybody want to be here with you uh my wife is hiding somewhere you have to carry someone else and come stand here no we that all right Proclamation whereas James Eric alen began his service on the planning board in 1996 and during his tenure he has served in the role of chair for five years over sore the planning board and Zoning Board merger into the current L use board whereas James recently decided to stepped down from his role on the lanyard board after approximately 27 years of admirable service and whereas James and his wife Tisha have been longtime residents of River Edge moving to the burrow in 1992 where they chose to raise their two children Marissa and Timothy who both attend the rivered school system whereas James served as a member of the bagota volunteer fire department for 16 years before becoming a member of the brige volunteer fire department where he volunteered As A Firefighter for 17 years I got too fat not anymore not anymore looking good all right but you weren't then either stop okay whereas James also served as Deputy Emergency Management coordinator for 12 years assisting Emergency Management coordinator with planning act uh activating and coordinating and conducting Emergency Management operation within the burrow and whereas James was appointed as a Community Development Central representative for the burrow River Ed approximately 10 years where he spent most of his time as vice president of the committee and brought in Grant Awards in excess of a million dollar for the burrow and whereas James also served on the committee for the Bergen County open space Recreation flood plane protection farmland and historic preservation trust fund where he steered many recreation grants in the B Burrow's Direction whereas James also exemplified the highest degree of morality and his guidance uh and insight were sought valued and integrated into public policy and whereas James has always been an admirable Citizen and a worthwhile asset to our community Through public service especially through his extensive volunteer efforts and his love for his family friends and the bur reg now therefore I Thomas papalo mayor of the burough of Riveredge on behalf of the burough Council and all the residents do honor thank and commend James Eric alen for his many years of dedicated service on the lands board and his legacy of accomplishments and contributions improving the lives of the residents of River Edge and the residents of Burton County we Al we also offer and extend our best wishes to him for his good health and future success James I'm I'm rarely speechless uh this is very heartwarming and very very very nice uh to be recognized um I love the town I i' I've done whatever I could during my time uh as you know I rarely missed a planning board meeting or or or a land Year's meeting uh the five years that I served as the chairman were very exciting and I was glad to well he's gone now thanks uh Han batana Chris uh who is a very dear friend as well um I look up and down kak Road and I see my fingerprint on just about every one of those buildings and it's it's it's just a great feeling and I know all of you are able to do the same thing as being Council people and I'm very proud of the work that you guys do here I'm very proud of uh the work that the mayor has done and my friendship with the mayor I just thank you very much y congs thanks for all the filming you did GL I finally get to be you all right on thank you thank you this is very hard War thank you very Okay so um without objection I'd like to move uh item number um 15a ston marker Memorial Park from uh from later in the meeting to before the KGB improvements is there objections hearing none it is so move Ray come on up Ray for the benefit of the public and for the record please state your name and address and your role in this regard okay Raymond stits 210 Mulk Drive in River Edge and my my role in this is um one of the veterans that organize Veterans Day Memorial Day and everything like that I do the flags over route four which is wonderful yeah um I'll put them up once all the winter storms are over yeah um and I'm here tonight for a special purpose um OT gof was a resident of riverid and he became a a senior Airman in the Air Force maintenance Squadron in Seymour Johnson Air Force Base but let me give you the background of Elliot Elliot was the typical boy I'm going to stop you there so that's Council and for the Public's benefit what ra here for is to ask for us to do some some more of Memorial plaque right in our Veterans Memorial Park on the south side of the park correct right near the vetan statute and um and so and so that's what you're you're here to present right and so you're explaining who the individual is who you wish to honor right go ahead okay Elliot really represented every boy every child that went through River Edge he went to the r River Edge schools riverdell schools he was in Boy Scout Troop 184 he played soccer he played baseball he was in the fire department of Company 2 but then he decided to widen his wings and join the Air Force and he he really enjoyed the Air Force and he was doing maintenance um inside the cockpits of the jet fighters but because of that he developed leukemia and he fought a long battle with it and he finally succumbed to it in on June 3rd of 2020 um he leaves behind a mother um Lauren gof who used to live in River Edge and she's a gold star mother a sister cheral who also used to live in River Edge went to rivell and everything and she is a a gold star sibling sibling and um their father um had died in March of 2020 because of covid yeah so the family was really really hit by this and I'm sorry I took so long for me to recognize it or you know develop something to be recognized for this uh young man and I went to cotch um Stone markers and they did uh Joe Muer's for us and as soon as soon as they heard about it they said we'll do it for free so it would be done for free it' be dropped off by the DPW and I'll work with Jason and we'll figure out where we're going to put it and um I really appreciate it um because during the um Iraqi War and Afghan War I kept track of all the the kids that were going in the service and believe it or not we had 16 kids in River Edge that went to service thring at that time period luckily he's the only one that didn't come home so I would really like it if if the mayor of council approved this project that I have and um we're trying to get his mother up here she's down in Florida now and I'm hoping to do this um Memorial Day I think cot said they could do it in that time period take your time and I think it would close complete the circle okay now who's working with you Ray because it'd be good for the public to know who is help helping you achieve this goal you you talked about the the um well Jason said he will help me okay as S as putting it in in the park I meant who with the VFW uh is is working with you on it just yourself me myself and I all right all right okay no worries because in riverid there's no more VFW okay there's no more American Legion so we're all at other towns now and then we come back but p Maran and I worked on all the veterans yeah I assumed Pete was helping you into that all right so um how big would this plaque be and where exactly would it be placed for the record well I sent approximately I sent everyone a back similar to it and I think it's 14 in or 12 in yes but we're we also need to do it for the public benefit so if you could describe it it's it's going to be a granite Stone um headpiece Stone and uh it will have his name his um rank as senior Airman the um the unit that he was in when he died and his date of birth and his uh date of death he was only I think 27 years old if I'm not mistaken uhuh and um and then we'll have the Air Force emblem and the Jewish star emblem on on the stone nice and um and and in regards to its placement where would that be for the Public's benefit well it it's going to be somewhere near the podium and every I just have to work out with Jason where he wants to do it just for the Public's benefit Jason uh that Ray's referring to is Jason molo superintendent of Public Works and uh right because Jason has plans um they're read read designing the Memorial Park or putting light stanions up or something so I want to make sure that this does not interfere with his plans yeah and that it it um it doesn't take away from anything okay so what you're asking is for the council to authorize uh yourself and Jason to proceed with the project uh given um the limitations of the park and the configuration of the lighting and and other uh elements uh and this would of course also include uh Joe Rico who is our rec director yes of course Joe come on forward would you sit down for a second uh and uh so we have our rec director here right and you'll be coordinating with him uh Joe do you have any comments or thoughts about this or questions no I think it's a great idea um and then you Jason yeah well iron out yeah just like we we've done in the past Veterans Day we always organize Veterans Day and and Memorial Day excellent so um does any member of council have a question for Ry or for Joe in this regard so uh if there are no questions then could I have a motion sorry just one question sure go ahead so it's going to be dedicated on Memorial Day that's the plan that's the plan okay so hopefully it'll be installed and it will be ready to go so that's what I um we're also talking about uh Jason malo's superintendent molo's connection to this so any other questions or comments is the council in um if the council is interested in approving this with uh under with the understanding that it would be coordinated and uh executed by our superintendent of Public Works our director of recreation and with under the leadership of our baa um could I have a motion so second it's been moved and seconded it is actually open for debate is there debate hearing none um all all in favor is good right absolutely by acclamation all in favor I any opposed any extensions hearing none it is so approved Ray okay congratulations Joe stay right there thank you R thank you for organizing this and getting it off the ground all right um Mr Rico toico our rec director uh you're here to talk to uh the council and the public about uh KGB improvements with uh Jason Flores who uh is one of our Engineers uh for Costa engineering uh should we uh start with you Joe or should we start with Jason yeah I think Jason and I are gonna all right two two time double team it all right so whoever wants to begin all right Jay you want to start uh down by the water and make our way around yeah okay just for the benefit uh let's talk about the background why are we at this moment um well kbg uh especially after the two floods is in a very poor shape um the parking lot just got done which looks beautiful um needs to be updated between fencing netting um potential pickle ball courts uh concession stand is very out of date um basically bringing the entire park up to date for the residents good all right please begin so um our plan for as of now as you can see the the middle line the middle dash line um anything under that where Jay's Mouse is um is the flood zone so that area right there is tough to um do any construction on so so hold on just for the Public's benefit from that line down represents the area that has been flooded over for for the last two occasions correct go ahead um so what we're proposing right now until we um are able to talk D and either find old records um we're going to work with around the areas that we can work on so right now the fence area on the bottom we would be uh um changing right now there's a 10ft fence all the way around the the the field um we would be putting a 10-ft fence on the bottom um straightening out that fence for the most part there's a very weird indent as you could see the old checkered line um would be making 4ot fence into a 10-ft fence um along the third base side of the softball field while putting um an additional 20 foot net netting around um the first base and the third base side of the softball field for foul balls um for bleachers and for cars and bleach as well on both sides um we' be moving um the old fences into uh in in closer to make them even dugouts and even uh around the back stops which right now they are ones extremely large one's one's like 8T big the other's about 24t big so even everything El um going up towards uh where you can see the piig wall that would be a a re a brand new 10-ft fence up until where you could see the little square and the arrow that says a 4ft chain Ling fence so people could be watching soccer softball baseball all Fields they could just be leaning on the fence not really a f territory so you wouldn't have to put the net or anything on there um that brings us up to the top corner where um in the Box uh a new entrance sign we have the old kbg park sign um we could refurbish that and make that entrance look a little nicer than what it is now um if we decide to go this plan that brings us to the pickle ball quarts so the pickle ball quarts um right now we have been work just getting prices with a company uh to kind of get a general idea of how much it would be um two courts right in that location where it got extended where the park got extended out um we're looking at a total of about $100,000 um for two pickle ball courts including fencing that can be achieved through grants correct the grants that we have right now no okay the grants that we have right now include fencing um sprinkler system um some grading but we can't do grading as of right now with the de section with the flooding we're waiting on that stuff and um drainage okay so the the grants that were written these were back in 2019 2020 they do not have pickle wall courts batting cages any of that stuff written into them and we can't go back and and change those okay um we can extend them we can't change them okay um but they've been extended for a while now um so that's what we're looking at for the pickleball courts um which two book ball courts gives us a nice open image when you come down to the park instead of if you were to expand another one where Jay's Mouse is um it would almost look like a giant cage you know um right there we you could put picnic benches um really the the options are open for that little grass area right there um as well as the other side um between the pickall courses and and the concession stand same thing uh you're able to put uh benches picnic tables all that kind of stuff especially if we are able to um have some we do have some money designated um for a concession stand and the Fieldhouse remodeling um so we're just waiting on a couple quotes from that as well I ask you a question why would it look more like a cage if it's three and instead of two the so that would be right now um as you can see where that top arrow is where it says the recognizing uh the re redoing the sign that that would be four foot fence and there's a four foot fence around that corner right there so right now you you you would pull in and you would be able to see open Park okay right now when you pull in if you either park by the baseball field or if you come down it would be a 60t tall fence I mean a 60t long 10ft tall fence along with the um the windshields like we have on this Tac right here so you will not be able to see in the park at all driving down until you pull into the parking lot whether you go towards the baseball field and DBW or if you come down towards the swim club so it would just be an open concept um and that's well one and pickle ball court would increase the price adding another pickle ball court but um it's just an eye-catcher really to me personally you know when you drive down you want to see grass you want to see right Fields you don't want to see the cage yeah a 10 foot fence um that you can't see through um other than that um originally the bad when uh you know previous years the bat and cages were actually right where the pickle ball courts are now we would be shifting that entire Back Fence um and and moving the Baton cages right there out of the way um and that's about it that's everything um basically utilizing that space utilizing the space that we don't have with yeah um which has an open space right now there's a couple bushes there tree bushes right there um which we could uh possibly pull up and replant somewhere else um I don't think they would need to I'm not a tree expert um to be down officially but they're not giant 100-year oak trees or or you know um but it's this plan is also repurposing more open area instead of congesting everything at once and those baton cages would be Universal yes it would be a 70 foot baton cage what we're looking into right now which is a high school level um but that doesn't mean little league softball anyone else to use them it's a batting cage so you just move the mound and stuff up um as well as the fence re refiguration along the back stop and the batting cages cuz that also one batting cage is 8 foot another one's like 30 feet big bring it all in make it all even Jo how many batting cages we're talking about one batting cage for now 17 I'm sorry I said batting cage I meant uh dugouts I'm sorry the two dugouts see those two little squares right there yeah yeah those are the dugouts sorry one was 8 feet one was 30 feet wide the batting cage is one batting cage that lighter green color to the left 70 foot by I believe he said 70 by 20 by 12 by 12 12 by 12 and Jay I don't know did I miss anything um no you know good evening mayor canel uh you know B representative and public in general I'm Jason Flores just for the record um now He pry much tou everything and we're uh I believe uh Jo R who is the new Rec director of the town now have uh the vision to utilize the you know the the funding that we have through open space Grant to do some improvement in the field since um you know the town already spent some money improving you know sidewalks uh par new parking lot new striping signage and that will enhance what we already did in town and it's not we're not changing anything drastically other than just moving fencing around uh making the fields you know uh the standard size and uh making it look pretty uh regrading some of the areas that we're allowed to and and the areas that we're not allowed to regrade we're still getting a couple of answers from in GDP to see what can we do to make it safer but other than that he he pretty much touched everything uh that we're going to be doing in the park and through the fencing um sprinkler system um that or fencing is covered under the grants that we have existing already um the things that would not be uh covered would be the pickle ball courts and the batting cages and the concession stands um but like I said we do have some money put away um from previous years for the concession stand remake so the general idea of the outlines of of the park is covered through the grants that we have if I could add in as Joe had explained there was an open space Grant both in 2019 and 2020 and that only covers um infield clay raiding drainage and fencing it does not cover the pickle ball core um or the batting cage or the concession stand the concession stand there was some money allocated in the 2019 Capital but it was never spent so the reason why we're presenting this we had to extend the 2019 and 2020 grants because we were obtaining information about the flood Hazard area the flood lines and that um we engaged with an environmental company between Costa engineering and the company and information was sent to the EP that's how that line was um Del delineated and confirmed so we have an extension until next February if we need an additional extension we could ask for it but right now we are in budget season and like Joe had mentioned pickle ball the batting cage and the sprinkler system is not included would and what's coming before Council aside from approving the concept is the funding portion for this year's Capital will you authorizes to put in all some of um the funding for these for the pickle ball court and the batting cage because right now the there's no current Grant right now like I said the 2019 and 2020 grants were very specific to this plan so if we move forward with capital we can work on on anything from above the line the pickle ball Corp in the batting cage this year if you want to go the grant route we could put the pickle ball and batting cage and maybe the concession stand in this year's Grant application but the award won't be issued and the funding available until next spring so it's all about funding and timing I don't when we originally talked about this a couple of months ago you you had thought that we did have grant money that we could use no we can't we would have to ask the county to repurpose it and it would have to go through a hearing and and when the county repurposes you're only um working with the original allocation they will not give you additional funding all right so um so this will this will be a discussion uh in um in two weeks for the budget correct well we have we haven't finalized direct capital budget yet because of these items in play so you're looking for the council to offer Direction yes uh so let's be specific uh first Direction on the concept of the U pickle ball core and the batting page you know the plan as being presented as the first step so we're not saying we're funding it but we're saying whether or not we like the idea even if we can't do it this year correct correct all right so let's put that to the council is there debate or discussion about the concept I just have a followup question about the concept um so that new line is addressing the flooding issue the new the where is them delineated right now the dra okay so so let me jump on it uh so this line that I where you see the cursor right now that's a flood way and the second line uh that you see going through the the top part of the park and the middle of the parking lot that's called the flood way the flood Hazard area line so anything below this flood weight line is very sensitive uh you PR you cannot do anything in this area unless you get ngdp permanent and now since we confirmed the line and the exact location so now we can you know see that with ngdp to see what can we do uh anything above that line uh we are in a title area which that's fantastic which that allowed us to feel you know to excavate to to bring F in and do anything so anything above this line is we are allowed to do anything we can do anything that we want to do um and this line was already accepted and approved by ngdp as well so it's to marking like a natural resource that has a lot of restrictions on it that you can't disturb or do construction it had to be with flood storage uh but you bringing field in you're taking flood storage from the river so that's the concept behind it um when you are on the flood way that's technically ngdp position is you cannot take flood storage out of it or you can uh uh you can provide more flood storage but you cannot take out and then you have to work with balancing uh what you take out let's say you excavate one bucket of dirt you have to figure out where you're going to put the bucket of dirt within that area as well you know if you bring one bucket of dirt you have to compensate it in a different area but Excavating the bucket of dirt so that's the concept so you cannot take flood storage out of the flood way which so the goal is to that line below that line flood line is to make that the same um grade as the rest of the that's what we're looking into right now between D and old yeah yeah um but that's trying to find old and go trying to get D um is takes a lot of time that's that is the ultimate plan that is the ultimate plan to make it all even but um this is proposing on what we could do now with what we know now yes what we know now since the grant money can be used for fencing could the grant money pay for the 35,000 fence because I heard you say to the wreck group that it was 65 for the pickle ball is 35 fencing no that was not including fencing so yes so can we money for the 35 um gr money it's specific to so we could size but you have to build the court first before put the fence so the 65 would just is just to lay the court right then the the fencing could be another 20 25,000 which yeah I guess it doesn't not say that you have to take 100,000 in we wouldn't have to put 100,000 inital the fencing could be to the I mean we did find um our Deputy Treasurer found an old encumbrance um of about 50,000 so it's not like if you decide let's not go for a grant for this particular item that's why I said we need to know in order to come up with the figures we would apply that found old money towards it and reduce the balance on what would be requested in the capital budget which could be somewhere around $155,000 if we're talking about 100,000 35 for the fence that brings us down to 65 which is what the pick and then we have 50,000 from an old encumbrance that leaves 15,000 and then we could well we're waiting for the bottom portion to square away the historical records and whatever regulation the DP does we could work on one of you know the 2019 Grant and work on the upper portion of the ball field with the pickle ball CU what we're trying to do is minimize the impact on the field and on the schedule of all the groups that use the fields um to do a project as whole as possible with minimal disturbance so only because it's it's my hope that the council will approve the pickle courts and that we'd move forward we'd be looking for 15 approximately $15,000 of new money to make the pickle bow courts a reality is that essentially true well with the pickleball courts comes the re the new spot for the batting cages because that's where the batting cages are so yes and no okay it's 15,000 for the like if we use that money for the batting C or for the the pickle ball courts but I have a meeting um ballpark for the batting cages ballpark because we just put some they were just put up in Roosevelt so two different ones though it depends on what so I would say anywhere between 80 to 100,000 why would we be putting up so a so much more expensive Batting Cage in an area that's still prone to flooding that area is not prone to flooding it's outside the flooding area and the batting cages like the little league and at the school is for a younger group of players and adults play here it's a smaller the high school plays here um College adults but you're saying that we'd have to spend almost $100,000 on batting cages and I'm wondering why we have to spend that much that seems like a lot of money yeah I mean could find a less expensive B that's what I'm doing right now um I'm in the process of but that's just the ballpark of what um that just seems like a very steep ballpark that's one company doing at all go ahead Jason uh no no I'm just I'm just trying to help uh Joe on this uh it might be cheaper than that to be honest because we're going to be doing the Memorial Park ones and there are two over there I'm just doing the M really quick it could you you're like for a new baring Cas you're looking into 60 50 another 50,000 so I will say for both of them without the fencing will be like around 100 for the pickable and the Bing cage without the fencing but Joe is actually working with 100,000 and we're saying we might have 50,000 in Old ordinance so we're talking about $50,000 worth of new money no we're look we're talking about 100,000 new money 100,000 new money for these to achieve these two goals yes all right so that's what the council needs to know Jason anything else engineering wise that we need to be aware of uh no I just want to put out on the record when we say we're going to improve some of the drainage in here is just to alleviate uh the floting that that the fields you know the occurring floting that happens on the field so we're going to try to put some train trins around the fields in order for the water to run faster but uh since we're in the flood zone there is no way to solve the ex the floting issue here at all there is no way we can alleviate it by redirecting the flow and draining faster but there is no way to solve the floating issue here uh it's not like bores that that the bores we were able to most we were able to solve the issue over there because it was not it was in a flood zone so it just need more flood capacity over here you're in the flood zone there is the best you can do is just redirect the flow in order to dry faster we can't solve it but we might be able to manage it a little bit better that's correct okay yeah the top part and the worst of the flood how where did they worst flood ever get up to in this field like two or last month they got up to halfway up a goal poost for a a a regulation size soccer net also parking did it get wherever the pickle ball courts are no it got to literally that line just about it went a little bit higher than that line but um also with the fencing go go back a little bit um along the waterline on the bottom left we will be putting Gates so it will open you know well if we know a storm's coming the water might rise we open the gates because as some of you may saw the fence did get rushed in the last flood so that'll be beneficial in the long run instead of having to spend alleviate stress yeah and having to constantly fix it that new batting cage spot isn't it more in the flood zone or or not no up top yeah on the top this line kind of no it it is it is it is roughly on the flood sun it's just that I I don't have the other line that it actually makes a sharp band uh but it it is like technically on the outside of the flood zone however even though ngdp notice this based on records that we have this area suffers minimal uh flooding in this area there is there is not much flooding happening in this area uh that's where the I think the GU the the container for the recycling the garbage and all the material that DPW has over here so this area is the flooring that happens in this are is minimal okay yeah minimal meaning it wouldn't affect the batting cage or cause any damage to it it it wouldn't destroy correct it wouldn't destroy it but it would it cost money to fix it I mean like the B cage created so that if there's a minimal flooding it's okay and we don't have to worry about it minimal yes it's created for that it would be stuff corre correct so because some drainage Improvement is going to be done around that in order to prevent that as well and that's part of the drainage as well is going around the The Big Field and the drainage Falls within the grant funding parameters correct um mentioned soccer field so there is striping there between pickle ball for the pickle ball and the softball field right there striping now for soccer um since I've been here for from last year they did not use that they had uh small field going yeah I believe striping stop right uh last year they did not so I can only speak on what I was here for and they did not do that last season um so we're not losing an opportun a use there an existing use because they went to Memorial last year so they had soccer they all all fall but they had two sideways so they had the little kids a smaller field right where Jason was but the opposite the other way going towards yeah horizontal and the other one was horizontal on the bottom they painted two smaller soccer fields okay but historically where that red box is that was used for soccer okay I can't speak on that since I was not here I'm just going based on the last fall where I was um they changed it due to the floods okay sorry I work my [Music] job sayate your name for the record Bri for have we have we thought of charging for the pickle ball court yeah pickle ball just like we have pickle ball courts we we have the temporary did you because of the you have a high demand because we already did two correct by the tennis boards well we we have temper striping temper and we have some residents or not so what then once we do that we back tennis and temporary is okay but it's a consistent putting money towards temporary tape and and Nets that aren't official supposed to be outside all all you know all that kind of stuff right and we you have a strong tire from numerous residents for for us to create a permanent site and they were saying they could make it into a tennis court later if by some strange turn of events pickle ball goes well it could be used for like also the rank like if down the road it could be used for a lot of different things just a concrete area really basketball but it looks like it's GNA have a last I I don't see it going down hill anytime soon pickle ball yeah I would say oh okay so um so we can are do we want to ask more questions about the concept or do we want to that's the first do we do we find this concept to be uh to be acceptable we on the line but I have a motion and a second to uh approve the concept so moved second it is open for debate Is there further debate or inquiry or comment hearing none all in favor any opposed any extensions hearing none it's unanimous okay what's the second thing uh that was the first thing we needed to do what second thing to authorize us to either put the balance of this funding in this year's Capital or put it in a Grant application in which the funding won't be available until next year well I think we would need for for yourself or the finance committee to talk about what we're talking about in general with our Capital um and I don't can we can we speak to that at this point in the process um not yet I gave Chris a ballpark figure a much higher ballpark figure just to hold in coming up with the capital plan but um all right I need direction to narrow that down let me rephrase that then when must we decide whether we would want you to go up for a grant for the pickle bable courts in the batting cage um by before our right around when we have our budget meetings in March because we have to know notify the county with a letter of intent by April first week of April but I we're having a budget committee meeting two of them uh the week of um March March 18th and 23rd is it possible that we can wait until at least after the first meeting is that possible um it is it's just we want we'll work we'll finalize the rec Capital plan and then depending on the discussions of the budget it'll either be put in this year or submitted for a so let me let me share with Council my thinking and and maybe the members of the council can share their thinking so I've had informal conversations with the chief of police chief of the fire department and uh our superintendent of Public Works um and uh our ba and I are going to try to sit down and talk about the overall Capital um our capital budget this year like last year is is going to be large um $100,000 in a large capital budget you can see it one or two ways you can say well if the capital budget is $3 million 100,000 is not all that much but uh you $100,000 is also a lot of money um so so these are not easy questions for us to answer at this time but I would I would think is especially with the pickle B Court more than the batting cage that we might want to at least consider putting uh that process into this year and maybe put the batting cage into a grant uh that would reduce the amount of money that we would be looking to put into the capital budget to less than $100,000 and um but that's my thoughts so those those are my thoughts what is what that do you want to comment on what you think about that uh at this point well I defer to our rec director because this is where the pickle ball court proposed location is where batting cages are currently cited so I don't know they would have to be removed and those are the only big s d right so then you wouldn't have a batting cage then for they couldn't use the one at Roosevelt it's a big this one is 70 foot so that's for the the older kids specifically for like the college colle the high school players ones at the batting cages at Roosevelt are not buil that so there's no option not to have it for a year we need it I would say so yes okay well then that that wouldn't work so then we'd have to we'd have to what we might want to do is this uh might want to I I might suggest that we try to do both at the same time that we uh we begin uh looking at the grant language and writing the grant propos proposal but hold it back until our first meeting and then decide at our first meeting whether um whether we whether we have the ability to put the 100,000 in this year's budget or not what what do we think about that idea I thought we were going to do Capital at the Saturday meeting yeah we can have a general discussion about the overall Capital amount okay and whether at that point you know if we're looking at capital of $5 million well then the 100,000 cannot can't take about but if we're looking at an overall of maybe $ two and a half million dollar and maybe but I don't think we have enough information right now to make a decision we don't unless the council feels differently I just have a question sure sorry um no sorry you're person tonight's agenda there's a resolution regarding purchase of Bing cages a memorial par and I'm wondering how that plays into this at all that does not play into anything with uh kbg that's replacing the old Little League batting cages which is paid through grants that we already have and that shows an amount of 153,000 for two for two batting cages for two 55 foot batting cages yes yeah but we had we had put it in previous year's budgets and you know so so it's yeah and they are smaller than the one you would be getting here because they're meant for the younger kids is the one at the high school the one of the high school is should be 70 foot 60 Fe 6 in is the distance from baseball so got be a bit larger than that be like a legitimate bad cage thank you sorry no no I'm a I'm a basball but that helps us understand the size of it because we're talking about the distance from and I coached I coached from so so that the little guys have the small or the little women have have the smaller they have the smaller cage can we can you live with that compromise like go we we know how to what direction to move finalize our Capital request my hope is that we can do it this year absolutely and I mean just through the town the amount of people wanting a pickle B court has been overwhelming yeah so absolutely but if the if capital budget is looking like five million and we're going to have to start cutting back from that then we can't but if the capital budgets of like two and a half million then we could right and let me just mention too the pickall court and batting cage that construction will not affect having to close the fields um yeah you know it will not affect soccer B baseball um any camps that run in the summer or whatever they would just mark off that those little areas um so which is a positive um if that decides Jason you agree with that that the pickle Bow Court can be put in while we're while we're using the fields actively correct yeah you just station around it and then that's it I mean that's what we plan ahead of time with also with the superintendent that yeah they can be done great and not that I doubted you I just wanted the engineer to be on the record saying that it could be done all right um go ahead I just have a quick question Jo um is there any timeline have you gotten any timelines for approval for grading the field from nothing where I'm pulling old records 95 96 97 2000 I'm finding stuff but it's still researching like again and and reaching out um to other old engineer companies a bunch of different things I'm on a trail so that's a followup question I have I think that's exactly what what I was thinking like so are there any dependencies from the the still coming to us and giving us a response on anything because I know that took forever so Jason has reached out to D but we're also going like I said the route that I'm looking at the older specs from years and years ago to see what that grade was when the field originally where the park was originally built what the current regulations are right right so I think I think she's referring to the previous application that we have done so just just to clip on the record okay so we did two applications maybe like two three years ago correct so one of the application was to determine uh the floor the flood weight line and the floor the floor elevation which you see on the plant that had been already approved and accepted at ngdp and that's that was the response the second thing was the wetlands uh Wetlands is still with them I know it's been already like two years and a half on NG GDP hands and we have not got an answer Wetlands yet but uh there are some um indications that there are wetlands by the pistol range in that area all the areas uh you know from the fence below there are wetlands uh there presence of wetlands so we're just waiting on a responses from ngdp to confirm where these Wetlands lines are within the field uh that we have not got an answer yet I actually follow up with somebody uh three weeks ago uh ngd Department no answer um I I I was able to speak actually today with somebody that is responsible uh of river H area and she promised me she's going to look into this and get back to me within three weeks uh I at least just to see where the process is at uh on that application of the wedland applications yeah I mean I'm asking because we're approving the concept right but what if the DP Wetlands throws a wrench into this and now we're making this decisions that will impact the capital like the timing is against us in both ways I think and that is hurrying them up only has has a negative effect yeah correct so basic call people that know people but that does not help your situation because then the DP tends to say well in that case no yeah yeah if you pressure then of course that's that's my concern given the timeline that if the time that it takes them to get a response whether this concept then all of a sudden the Wetland is like you know above like are we then have to go back to the door B the problem is is that this is not a sustainable site when you talk about 50 years yeah but we have nowhere to go so we have to do something that's the truth it's it's but you see what I'm saying I mean it takes absolutely what if they come back going to say oh we you know the record say that the wetlands actually are all the way to the arrow so now what what so that's my that's my concern I I'm off for it hopefully we will have the information before or during the budget but listen it's very responsible to express our concerns so the public can hear them so that our our our our staff our leadership can hear it um I I think you're right to say it anything else Jason no I don't have anything else Lizette where are we can we move on or do we have more to talk about no we can move on we have plenty to talk about all right thank you both for coming we appreciate it thank you um these are the best decisions we can make at this time absolutely thank you thank you thanks Jason thank you thank you thank you thank you good night have a good night all right um could I have a motion from someone on Council to open to the public on any item on the agenda and then a second so move second it's been moved in second all in favor please say I I so any member of the either uh we're going to start here does any member of the inperson audience wish to ask question or make a comment about anything on the agenda seeing none is there any person on our uh remote or virtual audience that would like to uh ask a question about something on the agenda and the agenda only uh or to make a comment if you would like to just raise your hand and I'll allow you to speak we'll give you uh some time some about 30 seconds that actually is a tremendous amount of time does not look like there are any questions we'll just give them the full 30 seconds okay seeing none could I have a motion and second to close the public on any item of the agenda second all favor any oppose any exstension all right appointments and Personnel changes could I have Motion in second and a moment to approve the resignation of Anthony how do I say his last name scatia um crossing guard effective February 6 2024 moved in second all in favor please say I I any opposed any exstension we have monthly reports uh for the Public's benefit if they would like to copy please see the clerk Environmental Protection commission and green team uh tax collector historic commission Library Board of Trustees uh Board of Health um and they are all for January all right um agenda item 11 first reading and ordinance in a moment could I have a motion and second uh the motion that the following ordinance be introduced and passed on the first reading and Set uh February 29th uh 2024 at 7: p.m. or as soon thereafter as the matter can be heard as the date and time and zoom as the virtual platform for the hearing on ordinance 24-1 an ordinance to authorize a special emergency uh appropriation njsa uh njsa 40 uh 4-53 so move second it's been moved and seconded uh if madam um um administrator could you please for the benefit of the public uh just describe what we're trying to achieve with this ordinance absolutely our Department of Public Works has been mandated by our favorite state agency the D that they have to implement um as part of our storm water regulations uh a GIS system which is a type of mapping system and um because of the cost of this mapping system um our CFO consulted with the auditor and bond counsel and the best route is to authorize a special emergency appropriation in which it allows the burrow to pay it off over five years however also on the agenda there is a resolution to um cancel Capital balances and these are balances for projects that are already completed or equipment that has already been purchased so these balances will go into Capital fund balance and that Capital fund balance will be used to pay off this purchase through this ordinance over the fiveyear time period so it's essentially an offset correct and we're talking about resolution 24-85 correct correct all right any member of council wish to make a comment or ask a question this is open for debate is there debate seeing none I call the question all in favor please say I I any opposed any extensions hearing none it is so approved could I have a motion and second from a member of council to open to the public after I read into the record the following ordinance published here within was first read by title only on January 22nd 2024 and post on the bulletin board outside the cler's office ordinance 24-1 an ordinance to amend uh chapter 33 of the revised General ordinance of the ver River Edge entitled fire department so move it has been moved and second did to open to the public before we ask the public and any member of public please raise your hand as we're they're looking to raise their hand uh Madame administrator would you please explain to the public what we're trying to achieve with this ordinance with this ordinance we are increasing the the maximum limitation for the clothing allowance that's reimbursed to our volunteer fire department as well as change the dispersement day from January 15th to the 31st because that is processed through payroll excellent uh so we are open to the public any member of the public who is present today who is live uh not who is rather in person do you have a question or a comment about this seeing none any member on uh the virtual platform who would like to raise their hand and ask a question or make a comment seeing none could I have a motion and second to close to the public so Mo second all in favor please say I I okay could I have a motion and second to adopt ordinance 24-02 second it is debatable is there debate seeing none Madam clerk coun yes president yes counc yes councilwoman yes Council Benson yes yes all right could I have a motion in second to move resolutions 2479 through 2489 so move second it is been moved in second it is now open for debate inquiry or comment is there debate inquiry or comment I have a com question council president uh 2482 why was why was there uh the increase for 4,500 they said the increase um was was due to um additional revisions that needed to be done before final anzing the report and the traffic engineer came up for Onsite person meetings a couple times before the end of the year and then to appear before the governing body last month so this what this additional work wasn't in the original of the update that we got yes okay thank you any yes question about um 2484 go ahead um the architectural services does that so moving that location does that then affect the overall price of the renovation yes there will be a change order I don't know the extent of it yet because they have to design it they were working with the elevator company um on the idea and the concept of a potential site to relocate um and what would be approved by the state and then um now that they have that information the design will determine what additional cost and um time there will be to impact the project but there there's not even a ballpark figure whether it's like 2% 10% you know that I don't know it's premature to say does any member of council have any another question or comment or debate does any member of council wish to hold out for a separate vote any of the resolutions currently on the table okay could I have um we have a motion in second all in favor please say I I any opposed any exstension uh Madam Finance chair would you please move 24-9 and one member of the finance committee please second yes payment of bills at a regular meeting of the mayor and Council of the burrow of Riveredge County of Bergen state of New Jersey held on February 15 2024 be it resolved that the mayor and Council of the Bureau of Riveredge approved the following expenditures current fund 8,487 22 General Capital fund $976,000 6 Animal Control $174 trust other $ 29,42 of12 open space $ 57,135 developers escrow $75 Recreation trust $16.42 so moved second it's been moved in second in all favor please say I I all right we've completed uh 15a which is uh Stone marker is there any other new business yes may I have yes um the uh the fire chief is asking if uh they can serve alcohol at the St Patrick days din dinner for company one firehouse and for the company one members on March 12th um the fire chief has said he won't be partaking and Company to also will not be partaking and be available during that time so the will be able to uh respond to its own calls so it will stay uh live in regard to that okay um you are making that as a motion yes it has been moved can we have a second second it's now moved and sected is open for debate discussion and comment seeing none all in favor please say I hi any oppose any exstension all right old business cannabis overlay Zone who will be speaking to them um I guess I could I I think everyone saw there was a note of a typo in the draft ordinance that got sent around the suggested hours were 10: a.m. to 10 pm so that we miss the morning rush and um if anyone has any thoughts on that let me know right now well we also have to decide we're going to put it up for an ordinance uh for first uh for first hearing right so we have that as a second so for the Public's uh benefit uh councilwoman Coffman uh what was the uh original uh what was the original language and what is the corrected language the original language was 10: am to 8:00 pm and I spoke with Mr Lagana and he Mr Lana are legal legal advice for this matter and he had initially said 10:00 a.m. to 10: p.m. is what he recommends and he still recommending that okay and so the council has seen a rough draft copy of a possible ordinance and this would be a correction in that rough draft ordinance yes the public will be able to see it if we choose to uh put it on the agenda for the next meeting so this is something um uh it's it's it's not necessarily a motion but it is something we we do need to discuss first of all is there an objection to any uh by any member of council to changing uh the draft from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 P.M to 10: a.m to 10: p.m. no I don't have an objection but uh will the chief be able to see these twoo or has it been um I think so yes yeah absolutely can he see the answer yes yeah because I'm asking about the the over the the overtime and the timing you know 10:00 and all that I think he should well that won't affect us I've talked to the chief of police you're talking about Chief Walker yes and I asked him specifically would there be a uh would there be a financial burden to uh due to this he said he said it would not they would would be required to provide their own security if they use any of our officers that would be paid from their budget not ours in fact we would benefit because we benefit from overtime coverage uh and but it would not it would not alter or change uh the squads or the way the squads are designed or any man power requirements yes um I don't have any intent to comment or wonder an opinion on Ming with us but I do have multiple questions and comments on the the language and the or this is the appropriate time for those comments go ahead so one in multiple places refers to planning boards you do not have a planning Bo we have a land for so that would be a correction that needs to be made um uh Mr should see he's taking in um so just how strange it would be article E2 H um location is restricted to 1,00 Ft from an existing primary and secondary school however not restricted from uh there's no distance restriction with respect to preschools I'm wondering why that would restrict uh within a00 fet from primary and secondary school for conss if you could just speak a little bit louder I'm sorry councilman did you hear any of that uh some of it we start over so we have a restriction on the location of an establishment uh of a thousand feet from a existing primary or secondary school however uh explicitly excluded from that retion is preschools and I suggest we include preschools or consider um including preschools and that restriction um it says uh this is article I the uh 2 I we refer to a secur building I think that should be defined and to um yeah the council woman is find just a few minutes ago there's no description of security that's required also I understand that this would be on exclusively cash transactions and there was going to be a requirement forol I don't see that that's because I believe that's under the state statute and we it it would become redundant if we put it in though we absolutely could put it in we occasionally will recite we will cite State Statute um if you'd feel more comfortable with that that could be done if it's a defined turn of secure building means and if the uh existing statutes explicitely require a could you have a conversation with Mr and there's I don't is there any objection to us restating the state statute uh in order for for the benefit of clarity hearing none we can absolutely do that anything else specifically stating what the security requirements are like or was just an inquiry about what res be needed from the police department but there's nothing in there as far as what we're requiring as far as onsite security again that's because it's by State Statute uh but it certainly could be put there councilman are you asking for example like how many armed security Personnel need to be present at at any given time also we talked about having de s State Statute I don't know if that's in the statute if it it fixes exactly well because it depends on the size exactly and it's and even if we wanted to put it in we if we if we created language as such and then it was I think they have to have like an approved security plan with or with the police department with our police yes right right right so so so that so so that's what's gonna I think what would happen is by Statute they're goingon to have to work with the police department to come up with the security plan that our police department will approve so the danger of putting it into the ordinances not locks us into a certain amount whereas if we leave it if I understand it correctly that the state statute where it has to be approved with the chief that gives the chief uh discretionary Authority for saying hey this is not enough and of course if they refuse they don't open so and also we talked about having uh fulltime presence in the park you know dirting traffic line traffic line at least initially I believe that that would also be I believe part of the chief's review for what would be because the Chiefs is our chief Public Safety Officer so what you know entry Eis and but if it's included in the plan I think may I think that language will be included in the plan okay um there's a type of it's going of suck and one last thing um a couple of things so we say no Canabis product shall be smoking or otherwise consumed or adjusted on the premises of any cannabis establishment I'm wondering if we could also include in our ordinance that there should be no open Package there's no way to enforce that okay so thank you okay um yeah I know we talking about that so minor type of we talk about um page two or five of the uh part about the fees the the license and top page5 we have to set an amount there yeah I right it says a cannabis establishment permitted to operate in the burrow shall pay to the annual fee just a minor title yeah so um so it's a blank because we have to set that Mr Lana had said that the well I can't remember you remember in the document I thought it's that's the suggestion it looks like but I think what the councilman saying is it should it should say a cannabis establishment permitted to operate in the burrow shall pay to the burrow and annual license Fe thank you oh excellent that's a good catch and then one final thing this is a little fuzzy but we did get a public comment about signage and um it was a concern that on some of these establishments there signage that kind of reduces underage East I know well it's the lanard board would would be the governing body in that regard so when they go before the lanus board for their site plan the lanus board has the authority to deny their signage and to um restrict their signage okay I just don't want to be arbitrary if the land boord takes land use board takes an action none of it's considered correct me if I'm wrong none of it's considered arbitrary with the land use board land use board deals with each and every applicant separately and independently from each and every other applicant so no there there is no precedent that needs to be overcome or created would that be correct it's the only cannabis business in town I'm going to say it's it's a singular use thank you but if you want us to look into it more deeply in some way we can um you need to be satisfied councilman that works for me and like I said all of my comments are just um with uh the intent of uh trying to firm it up have the best possible Awards we can not not in any way reflecting support or uh the opposite with respect to the plans no so that we we create a professional document that both the public and the council can conf that's say Titus yes thank you no that was wonderful any other member of council wish to make comment or ask a question or suggestion I almost forgot that there are a bunch of uh inconsistencies they it refers to Township Clerk should be borrow clerk um we are not a Township that's a different for government there is uh so Township Clerk and I say that for the Public's benefit the reason public may not understand that there are essentially 13 forms of government in state of New Jersey burrow form is different from the township form City cleric also so it's just a some inconsistence need to be addressed okay anything else well I think this is excellent work we're doing um Okay so the council needs to decide uh does the council wish to have the um the uh the revised version of the draft to be brought before it for consideration at the next council meeting I would like to make a mo Motion in that regard okay we have a motion to bring a revised version of the ordinance uh of the draft ordinance before uh the public and the council at our next meeting is there a second second there is a uh a motion and a second this is not a formal motion and second but I would like to treat it as such we are now open for debate comment or question is there debate comment or inquiry may can I just ask what the date of the next meeting is going to be the 29th is that 26 26 we have an emergency meeting on the 29th to deal with an emergency expenditure but um we are keeping we're trying to keep all of our meetings consistent with what we publish so that if any member of public wishes to attend they will not be by by an unnecessary change it has been moved second is there debate comment or inquiry just comment I will not be um here to attend that meeting okay and I'm also not I'm going to be out of the country do we still have a quarum yes we would still have a quarum and you can provide comment uh based on the version that uh of the ordinance uh when it's sent to you and that that comment can be read to the record read to the record and that comment can include things that if I was present I would support it or if I was present I would not support it okay okay or I would wish that it be delayed so that such and such could be considered okay okay all right any other and of course for the Public's benefit as as well just to remind the council this is step two in the process or step three if you count today as step two uh step one was to bring it before the public for a public hearing the idea the concept step two now is to uh to decide whether we're going to bring it to the next council meeting step three would be um the first reading of the ordinance step four would be it go to lanus board to see if it was consistent with the master plan plan step five would be an open public hearing and approval of the ordinance of the second reading and then that would begin a whole new series of uh we would then uh if there were businesses that were so interested they'd come before the council we'd interview them and if that happened they'd have to go before the luse board they'd have to go before the state uh state board they'd have to go uh the police department have to review so um this is not being rushed through this is being done very judiciously and very deliberately um and at any point uh the town can simply say you know we thought SEC better of it and we say no did we take a vote on the motion no but we're still in debate inquiry or uh discussion okay any other questions uh comments or uh all right uh again this is not a formal motion but I'm going to treat it as such Madame clerk please pull the council Council C yes council president mon yes Council canel yes Council Mar yes councilman Benson yes counc glass yes all right so uh the first reading will be placed on the agenda of the Revis draft and our attorney Mr shidan did I say right this St perfect get there later Mr shanian will speak to Mr Lana and uh the soonest that the council could get U the revised copy the better so that uh especially council president monsan Cohen and councilwoman uh um canella can um you know draft their comments and send them through the burrow administrator or the clerk to the council perfect okay um all right well here we are uh could I have a motion to open to the public on any item anything they wish to discuss so move second all in favor please say I any member any member here present who would like to ask a question make a comment no okay any member oh come on up yeah please State your full name and your address for the record uh my name is Omar Hassan and I live on 727 7th Avenue River okay Omar you have two minutes oh so I've been living in rivered for about 8 years now um just um last year um some of our neighboring towns had this um celebration for I'm a a person from Muslim faith so for the month of Ramadan they would have like um uh Crescent lighting um event it happened in um about more than 25 towns in Bergen County last year so also they're doing it this year um the month of Ramadan starts from March 10 um till April 10th uh so um some would do at the beginning of the uh month or through the month um it's like um we have u a display of a crescent about the size maybe U like four to 5T tall and uh 2T wide uh with the lighting and it's usually placed u in other towns it was placed in some place in the Town Center or uh borrow Center could be um a place of a public uh like you know uh uh importance or Center and um it was uh it would be lighted through the um through the month um and displayed I mean our town has um is as we're I'm a proud resident of this town because it's diverse and has a lot of different background um and religious and racial background so um we would I would love for our town to also have uh similar initiative so it's more of an inclusivity and and celebration of diversity uh I think um I did send an email but I I apologize it's last minute that I sent out probably didn't come to um your um U notice yet but um you know and I don't even know what the steps that could be taken to to do it but I'm willing to work with uh with the town with the borrow um in Departments of um wreck or um cultural to to set it up so uh we do a manure but a manora is considered a nonreligious um uh item we do uh a Hol tree which is considered non-religious is would this be considered a religious declaration item like we don't put a cross yeah well we don't use um Cresent as a religious symbol uh anywhere but it is uh essentially like the new moon so uh um in some towns it's used as um as a beginning of the month um um identifying as a beginning of the month so it's not like you know we were um a Cresent um to show our religious Faith so it's not necessarily a religious symbol but um you know it has been um used for that uh time to as a cultural um um icon or a cultural symbol okay so Mr shanian uh can you advise us on on at this point or do you need time to research this uh I I was just gonna actually do a quick uh research I have a site that I know that has a lot of these listed but I I as your question mayor to research whether or not this is a religious symbol the Crescent yeah because we don't put religious symbols on the property we we have a essentially it's a Christmas tree we call a holiday tree and we put a inur because anuras are not considered necessarily they're not like an that candle or something like that uh myself being Catholic um so um we uh you know um I I I think the town is open to this if we can do it that's great um you know but we we we need to do some research of course because we can we do not uh place um overtly religious symbols on the on public property absolutely but we we do cultural symbol we we celebrate Dali right and and things like that so but not with symbols we just celebrate as the day yes yes um so we'd have to we'd have to research that sure um will if you could um provide your telephone number and um to our bur attorney and my card give he'll give you a card and we'll look into it our next meeting uh is is a February meeting and if we could put this on the agenda for old business and if you could come back at that time that'd be great also uh what kind of expense would this be I mean this so um this item I don't think there is much expense for the town um U to uh to I think um the Cent would probably be couple hundred dollar $3 $400 but it would be uh lighted so I mean the power uh connections and and all that and is this something that you'd be considering donating or something that you want the town to provide no I mean it would be something that we could also arrange for donation but I would want the town Rec Department to have it so it could be like an annual uh event and um you know um would be um nice to have um you know kids and um you know families recognize okay so let me leave it this way you're going to take our here um we are going to look into it because uh we certainly have a past practice of uh cultural items that we do display so it would be within keeping of what we've done absolutely but we don't do religious items uh and then um so if this is something that we can do then the council would consider it at the next meeting uh any further information you can send to us like other towns that do it or what they've done or any images of what they've done Absolut uh so the council can you know review that actually I sent an email um and at the bottom of the email there's a reference from um from the Bergen Town uh Bergen Town Newspaper uh I'm sorry um um New Jersey North uh or nor Jersey uh.com there's a news article um that was published last year and it has references to that and I can also provide with the further um uh details of the um of the dimensions and and requirements yeah I don't I don't I you sent it to me you sent it to so you for it to the council so whatever because we we we're not we're not making decision at this point we're collecting information seeing if it is something we can do and then Council will decide whether it chooses to do so great tell me your name again Omar Omar Tom hi so um okay thank you so much thank you for coming my first time seeing all of you outside of the Electoral U you know so it was nice to attend the meeting it was nice to meet you Omar and I'm glad you attended okay any member of the public who would like to uh ask a question make a comment just raise your hand and I will allow you to speak if anyone has a question or comment all right well I'm going to assume by this point they've had uh ample opportunity um okay could I have a motion in second to close to the public moved second all in favor please say I I okay Council comments are there any comments from any member of council right I like that because that means we're moving on have could I have a motion to adjourn it's been moved in second all in favor please say all right great okay good evening everybody