##VIDEO ID:LM9ra3UnJCo## we have an intro Now Kevin we're getting fancy that would be kind of cool do we have to stand for the Somerville an yeah you ready Kevin uh checking I am no you're not this meeting's called to order in accordance with the open public meetings law adequate notice of this meeting has been published in the K ker news inst stall Ledger and placed on the B's website this meeting is uh Monday December 16 2024 notice of this meeting was placed on the bulletin board at B Hall a copy of this notice is available to the public and a copy of the statement shall be included in the minutes of this meeting mayor Brian Gallagher here council members Teresa boner here Glen Dene here Tom Mitchell here Randy pittz here Gus dravic here Roger verm here please stand for the salute to the flag iedge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible liberty and justice for all all right motion for approval of the minutes of December 2nd so moved second discussion roll call council members Teresa bonor abstain Glenn Den yes Tom Mitchell yes Randy pittz abstain Gina St obain Roger verm yes all right uh departmental reports and notices we have one and just a reiteration uh the reorganization meeting which is typically held at the at Somerville High School auditorium will be held at the Somerville Middle School auditorium uh at High Noon on New Year's Day uh just Mark that in your calendars if you would uh committee reports uh Tom uh yes mayor the Old Dutch parsonage will be presenting the following Saturday program Old English Christmas this Saturday December 21st at 2:30 p.m. enjoy a reading and discussion of passages from Washington's Irving's Old English Christmas uh and also YT colonial American protests of 1774 Saturday December 28th at 3:15 p.m. Michael and de Rob owners of te forall in Trenton explore why tea was the focal point of protest in America 250 years ago on the eve of the Revolutionary War and finally college or Colonial colleges U log tea burning and tea tasting Saturday December 28th at 4:15 p.m. enjoy a festive open house at the Old Dutch parsonage warm up with complimentary tastings of the historic teas that figured in the tea parties 250 years ago finally I'd like to say this is my last meeting as a member of this Council for over two decades I've worked to stabilize taxes preserve our history and way of life and honor our brave First Responders now I leave it to the rest of you to continue the effort thank you and good luck [Applause] uh we will be uh taking a moment a little further on in the agenda for you Tom you uh and I know you'll be here I still got a few minutes left yes you do thank you Tom Gina yeah uh the Somerville Rescue Squad uh report is 113 calls for November uh that includes 11 fire calls uh 10 cancellations and 11 rmas refus medical assistance so um the squad is uh always keeping us safe um the uh Health uh commission uh met two weeks ago uh no they met November um they are working on programming for 2025 um uh the county report uh is uh pretty non non-descript in terms of uh anything relative to Somerville um and we are working on a contract for uh 2025 uh for a health officer um so that's the news from Board of Health and rescue squad great thank you glad thank you mayor uh the fire department thanks everyone for coming out to support the holiday lights parade this year uh it featured uh was the largest yet and featured 153 entries in addition the Somerville apparatus uh fire department sta uh volunteers donated over 230 hours of service just to plan and organize this annual event so make sure when you see a member of the fire department give them a little bit of an extra thank you uh thank you Roger and those in the audience for all the time and effort you put forth to make that uh holiday tradition such a great uh evening and the weather certainly helped this year too uh as far as the environmental commission we did not meet this month but we will be meeting again on Tuesday the 14th uh in the new year right here at 7 o'clock awesome thank you thank you Teresa thank you uh the municipal Alliance and new Services Commission did not meet in December um uh we will be meeting again in January hopefully and uh the new Public Safety Committee will be meeting officially for the first time this Thursday at 6: pm here at the Civic Center um to address pedestrian safety traffic and just uh Public Safety in general um and I'm looking forward to getting that committee started and getting it structured on Thursday um the public Somerville public library has a couple good programs this week uh starting tomorrow 12: PM uh Navigator office hours will be uh open to help residents navigate health insurance open enrollment so that's a really important service that the public library is providing also uh passport services uh in the main reading room on December 18th at 4M uh and that um the Somerville Public Library is an officially designated uh acceptance facility for passport um applications that's the word I was looking for uh you do need to make an appointment uh and you can schedule that at sclsnj.org backp passports and that's all I have great thank you readyy thank you mayor I have no committee reports but I would personally like to wish all of our residents a happy season happy holiday season thank you that's it Roger I I'd like to Echo uh Glen statements to the members of engine company thank you so much for your hard work and dedication uh in these past few years putting this awesome parade on uh I know how much time you guys spend on it and it it's seen with how many folks show up and and want to be a part of it so uh to the driving force thank you engine company for your hard work and I look forward to 180 next year you get to let PD know [Laughter] that um just a couple of points um number one obviously there's been a whole lot of uh disc discussion uh and uh and Intrigue and mystery about the uh the drones um there are drones I think we've all seen them um I attended a meeting uh down in Trenton last week there was probably about 300 Mayors at the meeting was held at the State Police and while they gave some information there wasn't a whole lot because uh I think essentially everybody knows what we know which is uh not a lot uh they are unsure of of what drones are whose um there are probably now a lot of drones going up to look at drones the drones that we don't know um there's a lot of confusion misinformation and uh what I will tell you is that we we collectively office of emergency management um we met as late as this past Friday just to monitor the situation uh to keep an eye on it to exchange information that we have from police fire rescue squad uh OEM State um we stay in contact with our County and State uh Emergency Management folks uh just so we can monitor the situation uh once we know something we will let you know um up and down the line they say there is no credible uh reportable threat at this point from the drones um we take them at their word and uh but we uh we will continue to monitor uh we'll continue I know there was a uh a phone call today uh OEM and Kevin were on that call that was with h Federal Homeland Security and uh I think a lot of the same information came out of that Kevin as well that uh that's correct the state and feds are monitoring um and uh you know as as more information evolves we will uh we will be sure to let you know um we will get the information to you as it comes to us but right now there's really no credible information to provide um but but um that's where we're at with that uh and then tonight we're taking action on on two items which I think are of uh of note uh and I think they're of important note because they something like this hasn't happened since the 1970s um tonight we are establishing an affordable housing trust fund uh we are anticipating a uh uh engaging in the uh the affordable housing program uh next year as the new rules come into play uh we have to file by January 30th and there's a whole series of dates but um of significant note um and and you know this is due in no uh small part to uh two developers uh uh in particular uh the first developer is the storms family and the storms family has appeared uh a number of times before the planning board before the governing body and uh they are a uh a a very big presence in our burrow and and it's not just the buildings that they build as a family they're present U they're here they're visible uh they work on their uh their their uh Apartments every day and uh uh they're good family and they bring to Somerville um something a little bit different than the typical developer and uh they have a heart uh because this is their home so um as a part of discussions with them um they have agreed to establish six units as affordable housing this is the first uh of its kind in Somerville it has not happened before um and that's a big thing and uh they did this U because they wanted to they felt it was the right thing to do and uh and it's a good thing and they're here tonight so I want to thank both the well two of the three are here the two of the three generations are here uh but thank you for doing that um this is uh it's a milestone in Somerville and uh um this is uh this is big and and I want to thank you for for uh for for doing that so thank you so uh at the same time we're uh we're also beginning an affordable housing trust fund uh and we have a developer here um uh Somerset development who has is in the process of donating $350,000 to begin funding that uh that trust fund uh that will help pay for some of our professionals and administrative fees and again um it's something that uh they came to the table uh they were asked and they agreed and uh and that's a good thing to do um so more to follow on affordable housing as we hit uh 2025 um there's a number of different benchmarks uh beginning January 31st and uh and well not ending on June 30 30th um at least the ending of the filings on June 30th and uh so we've got six months of work ahead of us in terms of affordable housing and and reviewing plans and existing affordable housing that we have so um good stuff ahead thank you um from that I go to from drones to Tom Mitchell so so Tom um I'm not going to ask you to go down I'm going to uh I'm going to talk a little bit okay not that I don't talk enough right so Tom and I have worked together for 20 years um I've known Tom a long long time when Tom first started Tom and I had a uh what would you call it a uh we bued heads here and there we did um but always for the right reasons and uh you know over the course of a few years Tom and I both began to understand each other that while we may have had slightly differing opinions on things uh and we both dug our heels in on issues um Tom always had the best interest of Somerville at his heart and uh and he's maintained that for 20 years um Tom is extremely intelligent uh he analyzes every issue uh before it comes to this table he understands numbers um he reads the ordinances and and uh and and you know I'm G to miss Tom at this table because Tom was uh was always one at the tail end of a discussion he he'd put that finger up and just go uh what other question and it would generate a whole lot more questions um but it was uh Tom your time here uh was incredible and you helped to build Somerville into what it is today well thank you um you've done an absolutely fantastic job and we have to thank your family as well I know your son is here um and I thank your family for allowing them to share you with with all of so not just us but with all of Somerville and uh we know the time commitment it takes to uh to do what you've done and you know as you as you push away tonight you should be proud of everything that you've accomplished um and uh and we thank you so I I am proud and I thank you mayor uh it's it's been it it's been a highlight of my life working with you in this Council so I've got a resolution to read and this is uh on behalf of uh of the entire Council so whereas Thompson Tom Mitchell has been a resident of Somerville burrow since 1976 and was elected as councilman in November of 2003 serving continuously from January 1 2004 to December 31 2024 and whereas during his impressive 20 years of unparalleled commitment he has served as liaison to every department and various agencies during his tenure working with committees and staff on policies and projects that have made Somerville burrow a better place to reside conduct business and visit and whereas Councilman Mitchell displayed a strong passion for historic preservation advocating for the protection of historic structures and ensuring that developers maintained historic elements in the building process and whereas Tom's guidance and Leadership working with the finance committee Redevelopment committee and historic advisory committee has attracted smart development throughout downtown and has plac Somerville burrow in a strong fiscal position to ensure that Municipal Services can be delivered at the same level and quality of the past two decades making Somerville burrow the Envy of many other municipalities and whereas Tom has always found the time to volunteer his personal time serving as a mentor to Scouts from Troop 83 and Cub Pac 80 and despite his busy schedule continues to play an active role with C to assist with safety protocols during events now therefore be it resolve that I Brian Gallagher mayor of the burough of Somerville along with the burrow Council hereby recognize councilman Thompson Mitchell for his 20 years of service on the burrow Council and thank his wife Helena and his children for allowing Tom to commit countless hours every year making Somerville burrow two and a half square miles of awesome Tom thank you thank you [Applause] [Music] man than than you thank you so I also see uh mayor Sullivan is in the audience I don't know if you're here to to comment on Tom or if if if all right that's fine I was gonna I was going to let you come up now if you wanted I will good evening mayor and Council I I can formally use this title for the first time in public mayor Emeritus Sol it I just paid my $70 dues and got my certificate in the mail yesterday so uh it was $45 last year so I guess inflation has even hit uh the the ranks of the retired um you know I like numbers and I did a calculation at lunchtime today Tom how many burrow Council meetings have you attended whoa 5 four 5504 54 I was present for most of those and Tom you were invaluable you may remember that fateful day in the winter of 2004 when I called you to see if you might be interested in running for the council and you remember what you said I I thought you were asking for my wife that's right oh you must want Helena not time I would like you to consider you know joining us and I remember you said well I'm not sure I can do the job well 21 years later the voters of the town and the history has proved that you were capable of doing the job you were a great companion to me in all my years on Council we put we spent how many millions of of taxpayer dollars over the years a lot but we did it wisely and carefully and prudently and you were a big part of that so I just appreciate everything you did when I stepped up to the mayor's seat you were invaluable your expertise your longevity your mentorship of the new people Randy you'd never think you'd be called a new guy right or a young guy but by comparison with some of us you were so Tom I I know like me you're a grandpa and even though I started before you you certainly passed me by you have how many grandchildren now five five so you might leave this seat tonight but your work's just begun thank you for the kind words on Tom's behalf um I couldn't have found a better running mate 21 years ago and now when we have a reunion of the elected officials who are in the Hall of Fame in the state of New Jersey from the burrow of Somerville I'm no longer going to be by myself congratulations Tom you should be getting your your award sometime soon thank you thank you mayor amera solivan well done thank [Applause] you well done Tom thank Youk you thank you all right we have another uh resolution this one I will come down for come on out gentlemen so so as uh as Glenn and Roger talked about um we had the firefighters the Lights Parade the summer Lights Parade let me tell you this is that on yeah this year out shown every other year it was unbelievable um sitting up on one of the the trucks looking at the crowds as as we went down the street it was Roger was up on a fire truck as well the the smiles that you brought to people's faces was absolutely incredible it really was um I don't know the the if people understand and recognize the amount of work that both of you and others put into this um but we felt it very important to uh to bring you up here tonight to recognize those efforts of bringing smiles and happiness and tradition because you got to do this again next year um to uh to Somerville because that's what Somerville is all about it's these these traditions and and you you guys have created a tradition that is just it's unbelievable um people can look forward to gridlock on a Saturday night before Christmas in downtown Somerville and you know what it's wonderful it actually stops everybody for a minute all the cars stopped they were pulled off to the side of the road they're out of their cars they're looking they're watching and it was wonderful so I wanted to thank both of you for that um and bring you in and uh and present a proclamation to the two of you a resolution actually so recognizing Joe Rodriguez and Dave Bowden for their outstanding efforts of coordinating the 13th annual Somerville Fire Department lights parade whereas the 13th annual Somerville Fire Department lights parade took place on Saturday December 7 2024 and whereas the Lights Parade has become a rich and cherished tradition in Somerville that draws hundreds of visitors from outside of the burrow and provides thousands of residents entertainment and enjoyment as they line the streets along the Parade route and whereas hundreds of emergency First Responders from from throughout New Jersey decorated many emergency vehicles that winded through the streets of Somerville for hours as Darkness set in and whereas Joe Rodriguez and Dave bow dedicated countless hours to this event coordinating Logistics working with other Municipal and County agencies and engaging and managing volunteers to ensure the enjoyment and safety of all attendees and participants and whereas their exemplary dedication year after year and hard work have made this event better every year each year Somerville residents and participants from all over look forward to the event as the holiday season approaches now therefore be it resolved that I Brian Gallagher mayor of the burough of Somerville along along with the burrow Council hereby recognize Joe Rodriguez Joe rod and Dave Bowden for their outstanding work throughout the year to ensure an entertaining and safe event and hereby congratulate Joe and Dave on the tremendous success of coordinating the 13th annual Somerville Fire Department lights parade gentlemen thank you very much [Applause] oh no you got a speech I don't have a speech I just there's a lot of people that need to be thanked I don't need that um a lot of people need to be thanked that uh besides myself and Joe um let me start off uh Rick from Verve uh the Branchburg rotary Steven stabel Brian Kelly and Lizzie eand uh Greg Jin Mike SAS Albert and Ashley Bowden Glenn and Joanne sheets the Somerville DPW um Somerville C Somerset County C uh all the members of the Somerville fire department and lastly but not least all the men and women of the Somerville PD without whom them they would we would not have been able to make this happen happened this year I mean everyone who was there saw it we even we were overwhelmed we didn't expect what we saw but with just with that being said I'd like to say thank you and uh look forward to somebody else doing this next year not gonna happen not gonna happen that's it good that's it no I mean pretty much what call I'll Echo what Dave said I mean like to thank everybody the generous donations like he said from Rick which has been every year uh Blue Sheep Bake Shop um and as far as the um what's it called the uh Branchburg Rotary Club I mean without them with the help of Steve sville getting us the food and Beverages and everything like that Dunkin Donuts on Main Street this year came through so without their help you know but all the members of suable fire department and the community too for decorating everything like that we just hope that the pr route gets a little bit bigger with the decorations we don't want we don't want to drive the PD crazy but but thank you we we greatly appreciate it and all our families for supporting us being away for so long thank [Applause] you we still have challeng stay but I got thank you again thank you greatly appreciated there I got find my glasses okay um at this point we will I'll entertain a motion to open the meeting to the public so moved discussion roll call council members Teresa boner yes Glenn Den yes Tom Mitchell yes Randy pittz yes Gus traic yes Roger verm yes all right meeting is open to the public please state your name and address for the record and please address your comments to make hearing n I'll entertain a motion to close the public session so moved second discussion roll call council members Teresa boner yes Glenn Den yes Tom Mitchell yes Randy pittz yes Janus dravic yes Roger ver yes okay uh ordinances for public hearing and adoption uh ordinance number 2751 is a amending chapter 102 section 116 of the land use code entitled conditional uses and section 120 entitled special regulations for certain uses and structures um this ordinance uh is actually an attempt to rectify a situation for corner lot fences uh folks who have Corner Lots uh were being penalized to some degree because they lived on a corner and they were limited in what their fence ability would be and if they did want a fence they had to go to the zoning board for approval which can be a somewhat costly event so uh this this ordinance revision uh begins to rectify that and put them on an equal playing field uh as to those who do not live on a corner lot in terms of trying to get a fence around the yard to give them a little bit of privacy so um I'll ask for a motion for to open the public hearing so moved second discussion roll call council members Teresa boner yes Glen Den yes Tom Mitchell yes Randy pittz yes Gina staic yes Roger FM yes okay uh public hearing on 2751 is now open hearing none I'll ask for a motion to close so moved second second discussion roll call Council memb Teresa B yes Glen Den yes Tom Mitchell yes Randy pittz yes Gina straic yes Roger ver yes all right motion for adoption so moved second discussion roll call council members Teresa boner yes Glen Den yes Tom Mitchell yes Randy pittz yes Gina straic yes Roger verm yes okay ordinance 2752 is amending chapter 102 section 117 of the land use code entitled General regulations uh this actually uh updates the corner lot the the visibility on a corner lot uh and actually puts a diagram into the ordinance to show folks what they can and cannot do in terms of uh of of plantings and fencing on Corner Lots uh motion for the public hearing on 2752 so moved second discussion roll call council members Teresa boner yes Glen Den yes Tom Mitchell yes Randy pittz yes Gina straic yes Roger verm yes all right 2752 is now open hearing n I'll ask for a motion to close so moved second discussion roll call council members ter boner yes Glen Den yes Tom Mitchell yes Randy pittz yes Gina straic yes Roger ver yes motion for adoption please so moved second discussion roll call council members Teresa boner yes Glenn yes Tom Mitchell yes Randy pittz yes Gina straic yes Roger verm yes okay 2753 is amending chapter 10269 General requirements uh this ordinance uh streamlines the process for for uh uh completeness reviews for planning board applications um motion to open public hearing on 2753 so moved second discussion roll call council members Teresa Bon yes Glen Den yes Tom Mitchell yes Randy pittz yes tinis traic yes Roger ver yes okay public hearing on 2753 is now open hearing none we'll close 20 I'll ask for a motion to close 2753 so moved second discussion roll call council members Teresa boner yes Glen Den yes Tom Mitchell yes Randy pittz yes J straic yes Roger ver yes motion for adoption so moved second discussion so we just want to make sure that um the um items in K are included somewhere else in our yes they are absolutely yeah it's a redundancy there was some public question so I just want to clarify that there is uh roll call council members Teresa boner yes Glenn Den yes Tom Mitchell yes Randy pittz yes Jus dravic yes Roger FM yes okay uh we have one walk-on resolution which we will take separately as a walk on uh and any to be pulled off for uh for further discussion 374 371 and 372 please okay okay all right uh 365 approving the 32nd annual St Patrick's Day parade for Sunday March 16 2025 starting 1:30 p.m. and approving request for road closure 366 is approving a bond reduction for Somerville urban renewal phase 3 LLC Veterans Memorial Drive block and lot as noted uh 367 is authorizing transfer of funds to fund certain line items in the 24 budget 368 is approving change order number one extending contract to end on May 30th 25 with SNL contractors for North a nav reconstruction and drainage Improvement projects 369 is cancelling uncollectible sewer utility charges 370 is authorizing submission of njmvc cir limited online access program for motor vehicle records 373 is authorizing the burough of Somerville to apply for a supplemental Grant from the Hazardous discharge site remediation fund to the New Jersey Economic Development Authority for the completion of remedial action work plan for the station and landfill BDA properties do have a motion so moved second roll call Council memb Teresa Bonner yes sorry Glendon yes Tom Mitchell yes Randy pittz yes Gus traic yes Roger ver yes all right 371 is authorizing a contract with Millennium Communications Group for burrow camer project at various locations throughout Somerville as detailed in The Proposal dated December 5 in the amount of $98,400 as per proposal under the tips contract numbers as noted available through the interlocal purchasing system do we have a motion so moved second discussion yeah but I I had a question in various locations where where are these going to be generally speaking uh there's uh Le Park is one location uh g j walkway is another location farman's walk is another location and the final location is the land around bur Hall very good so they are none of them are in residential neighborhoods no yeah all right uh roll call council members Teresa Bonner yes Glenn Den yes Tom Mitchell yes Randy pittz yes denus traic yes Roger ver yes 372 awarding a contract to Daner LLC for the installation of specialized furniture for emergency services facility 85 North Gaston AV in the amount of $2,240 120 do we have a motion so moved second discussion yeah I wanted to wondered what uh specialized furniture uh was being covered by that the the uh Furniture is um Furniture that's used for the detention area um so they do have um you know the furniture that that allows for handcuffs to be handcuffed and for folks to be able to be properly uh detained um in accordance with all the requirements that the police department does this is all on uh the police department side of the building per se okay all right roll call council members Teresa boner yes Glen Dene yes Tom Mitchell yes Randy pittz yes Jus traic yes Roger ver yes 374 is authorizing the execution of an affordable housing agreement by and between the burough of Somerville and Donald R storms and mine J storms do we have a motion so move second discussion roll call Council memb Teresa boner yes Glen Den yes Tom Mitchell yes Randy pittz accuse Gus straic yes Roger V yes okay and then 375 which is the walk-on is H requesting permission for the dedication by Ryder for an affordable housing trust fund required by uh New Jersey statute as noted do we have a motion so move second discussion roll call council members Teresa boner yes Glen Den yes Tom Mitchell yes Randy pittz yes G mravic yes Roger verm yes all right uh bills and vouchers Roger all right uh for the final time this year I make a motion in the amount of 1,692 19972 to pay bills and vouchers second discussion roll call Council memb Teresa boner yes Glen yes Tom Mitchell yes Randy pittz yes Gina staic yes Roger ver yes all right and Tom I think it what did he what did uh Dennis say this is the 52nd 54th I believe 54th uh for for the 504th meeting uh I would like to ask you for a motion for adjournment for a motion for adjournment I would like to First just say a merry Christmas happy Hanukkah happy K Quanza and happy New Year to everybody in town and move for adjournment second all in favor I opposed uh Merry as Tom said merry Christmas happy Hanukkah uh and uh great holidays to all and a