good s you ready okay good evening welcome to the special meeting uh February F 1st this is the fourth meeting of the year um we are going to be going to um oh sorry there is no closed uh session uh Alyssa can you please read the statement of notice in compliance with chapter 231 of public law of 1975 notice of the special meeting was given by way of a special meeting notice filed with the burough clerk the home News Tribune on January 15 2024 and posted the burrow website the criminal justice building at 61 Main Street South River and posted on the bulletin board in the burrow South River Municipal Building roll call please mayor gindy here councilwoman Ballas here councilman Cula here councilman desian here councilman gensi here councilman krenzel council president Ola here please rise for the salute i al to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic which stands one nation under God indivisible liberty and justice for all moment of silence thank you be seated we are going to have a presentation today it's going to be uh conducted by uh council president Jason Aliva can you Alisa can you please read the uh header it's going to be the presentation for gregowski Park completely inclusive playground Green Acres Program Jake's law playground Grant application J good evening everyone so I finally get to combine my real life job with my Council job so I'm really excited about this so to make everyone's life a little bit easier for those of you watching on TV uh we have created a PowerPoint uh that we will be going over we will be sure to put this on the website uh for you to be able to follow on as you um are hopefully watching on tv35 so what this meeting is about is uh South River uh with the help of dawn McDonald we applied for a um a grant which is known as Jake law playground Grant application in today's presentation we're going to introduce Jake's law we're going to discuss the location of where this will go we're going to show everyone the concept plan we're going to discuss the impact anal Anis and mitigation measures that were taken and most importantly we're going to open up to uh public comment to get some feedback from our residents so to start off you know I've been talking about this now for two and a half three weeks I think we had our first public forum if I'm not mistaken right before the holidays and one of the questions that you know we are continuously asked is what is Jake's law so Jake's law incentivizes counties and municipalities to build inclusive playgrounds for children and adults with disabili ities um this is very unique opportunity for us in the past Jake's law was only open to County at the county level for County Parks and recently it was open this year it was opened up to municipalities the state is really pushing or you know for all the buroughs and towns to apply so there's no reason why we shouldn't have submitted an application and that's exactly what we're doing the term Jake's law refers to Jake's Place which is a playground in Hill which was created in honor of Jacob Jacob Cummings noo who passed away due to complications of heart surgery at the age of 2 and a half so on page four of the PowerPoint um I wanted to include of what Jake's place looks like um this is an uh all-inclusive playground equipment in Cherry Hill uh all-inclusive playground in Cherry Hill New Jersey that was opened on behalf of Jake for South River when we looked at multiple locations we scouted we were able to see what park didn't work what worked um we decided on owski Park and unfortunately you know for the residents that are here uh Bruce do you have your Maps um so yeah if you want to just grab that you're going to see on page five of the PowerPoint there was a CME uh survey done of Edward Kowski Park and in the lower right corner by the uh concession stand you're going to see a box with an x on it and that is where the park will be located when we had CME do this work um multiple factors were taken into place uh we wanted to make sure the reparan zones the buffers all that stuff was in compliance and I'm going to get to that in a little bit but on page six we have our concept plan of what our park is going to look like what I'm really excited we really uh are targeting multiple disabilities with the playground equipment that we chose not only do we have wheelchair accessible equipment we also have sensory items we also have a uh vision board for um children that aren't children or adults that aren't able to speak they're able to point at certain items uh but most importantly it's a park for our our children to be able to come and really just enjoy themselves and it's going to be inclusive and it's not going to limit someone that is disabled from participating so if you guys recall when I it's been what three years Peter um I first talked about an all-inclusive playground uh my wife is a teacher with students with disabilities we really don't have one in town so this has really been a dream come true not only for myself but the wre Advisory Board they provided a lot of input on this and we're really excited to bring this to life on page seven of our PowerPoint we have another view of some of the equipment that will be there Ben Schaefer Recreation has provided renderings for us again for those of you that are here I apologize it's not the best renderings um in a PowerPoint but for those of you watching online please visit the burrow website because this will be placed on the burrow website now page8 is another rendering from a a different view now we get to the impact analysis so in order to be eligible for this grant uh multiple things had to be done first we had to work with our shade tree team I know there's some of you guys in audience thank you guys for attendance we had to work with our burough engineer to do an En environmental impact assessment and here is an impact analysis so potential impact to trees in Project area where the playground will be going in uh there is one tree the committee um has put in an application to take the tree down and it has been approved by our shade tree team but in lie of the tree that's coming down uh the burrow will be replacing the tree with additional trees uh and we'll be working with our sha tree team to do exactly that uh New Jersey D regulated activities and permits uh we will need a repairing Zone permit uh freshwater Wetland transition permit uh there is no sea level rise impact and short-term limited use of parking during construction of course as they're building the playground they're going to have to take some spots away it will impact that area and most importantly it's going to uh once the Project's complete this is a great impact it's going to increase the use of the facility so you know we are going to suffer a little bit through construction but at the completion of the project we will be able to have a facility that is being used by multiple um children and adults now in addition to the impact analys analysis what mitigation measures were taken um so first we wanted to Pi pick a site that minimizes the impact of trees as I mentioned uh we will only have one tree removed at this site in addition um freshwater and repairing Zone disturbance uh is very limited so for someone that is uneducated in the environmental aspect I had to figure out what a reparan Zone was so for the residents uh watching uh I know some you guys of course know probably what it is a reparan Zone um or areas are lands that occur along the edge of rivers streams lakes and other water bodies uh examples include stream Banks river banks and flood Plaines they're different from the surrounding Uplands because they soils and vegetation are shaped by the presence of water Bruce did I get that right wonderful oh an A+ I'm I'm really excited um so you know we really wanted to make sure we're not impacting um the environment especially with us having uh the lake there and that being a high area in addition we wanted to make sure that uh the freshwater um there was limited freshwater disturbance limited um and we can refer again to page five on the PowerPoint um and bring back the map from CME there is a 50ft transition area Bruce yes um had to Google that one too so uh you can see on the map and again I apologize there is we are in the buffer if I'm not mistaken but being that there's an existing playground equipment you can do a template for template um good so far no okay keep rocking um so you know we are able to do it there as well so again we're really excited about this this this is something that we have really we're pushing for this grant covers 75% of the total cost of the playground equipment and the burrow will be submitting an AARP grant for the remaining 25% so we're writing we're we're getting we're we're trying to get money total cost of this project if I'm not mistaken Mr CFO is a little over four 49 $659,000 so as you can see the equipment is not cheap uh this is going to be done well it's going to be done right and most importantly it's going to have a great use for the children and the adults to have a great time now one of the things that was brought up at the wre Advisory Board um when we discuss this matter is will we be locking the facility a number of towns that have um playground equipment for disability some towns do lock it we will not be locking this facility this will be an open space um I believe Tom's River if I'm not mistaken there's a code that's required to get in we are not doing that it is open space uh there will be a frence around um the back end and the side um that's going to help parents of course with you know children potentially running off um but this will be an open space and open to everyone in the burough so again thank you um Don I I can't speak highly uh of the work that Don's done she has put this together has really been the backbone of this grant um getting her information uh making sure that everything is done in time making sure we have our public meetings um we have our focus groups Don has really I I really want to highlight the work that you've done with this because um it's not easy the application process has been super lengthy it has been super time consuming and I feel like the last 2 and a half 3 weeks we have been consumed with with grants on my lunch break I've been doing PowerPoints learning about repairing in zones and all that good stuff um but really this is a testament to your hard work um and I feel confident well I you always feel confident but hopefully we get this grant uh because it will improve South River it's going to improve the quality of life for our children and most importantly our children with disabilities will have a home where they can also participate we do realize that right now there is a lack of playground equipment we do have some in town um but man this will be a game changer for us and we're really excited about that so don once again thank you from the bottom of my heart I'm sure mayor and Council feel the same way we cannot thank you enough for all the work you've done Bruce I know we've been a pain uh trying to get information uh I I just really want to thank CME as well for all the hard work that they've done uh with this uh it's been a again it's been hasn't been easy and not only are we competing against other buroughs in the State uh lenpy Park in East Brunswick which is 1.2 miles away from South River has applied for the same Grant um so we want to be competitive we want to win this Grant and we want to bring this to South River so with that Mr Mayor um I'd like to request that we open open this up for public comment um in order to hear from our residents absolutely first of all great presentation Jason uh awesome pres awesome uh lecture on what you uh 13 minutes guys what you defined as Jake's law sorry uh I am opening up to the public you have 10 minutes uh please state your name and your address I am Dorian Kerber 24 Rea Avenue burough of miltown it just so happens we beat you it's not as a large playground area it was uh done with the park viiew elementary school they did all the fundraising for it they did all the pl application for grants that was before it was open um to the school district and they had a committee particularly a parents that had special needs it was a combination of all kind of parents and they were very successful it's they have a the original playground and then over to the other area uh to the right of the parking lot is their uh inclusive playground Does it include I'm sure it does um if you update things it usually has Braille too does it have Braille writing writing on it yes yes the the the board okay so it's it's a great great opportunity people were so happy to do it and I think this is a wonderful idea to really go ahead and be like part of the other towns that are inclusive on playground equipment Edison did theirs last year the there is really big and huge um I forget what park it was David cral in miltown has is getting they're currently installing yes right so we're it's growing and a lot of towns have done it uh especially out of state so it's finally New Jersey's you know getting their act together so um I appreciate the time to talk and I'm I'm so happy to see this happen and thank you so much thank you anybody else from public hi Sher garrettson 153 cam Avenue um first like thumbs up for going for the grants I'm so proud of you all and Don is that you thank you um and that you're doing environmental assessments uh so so crucial um I have a couple questions just as a resident and maybe some of my fellow residents would have the same questions just because I I sincerely don't know um how many kids uh in South River specifically have disabilities and would benefit from this park should I so that's actually a great question because that's something The recre Advisory Board um asked that's something we were going to ask at uh work with the school board to try to get a number of students that this would actually impact um but based off of what we got it's going to impact quite a bit of students we just don't know exactly how many okay so oh do you oh even better there's a study linked to the Grant application where you can look those figures up available from recers and according to that site um have 1,812 with disabilities and 157 of them are under 18 wow just wasn't aware according to the census they got their numbers okay good to hear um just curious will this also be a fun place for kids without disabilities is it inclusive that way too we're going to it's going to be open for everyone okay great um the the one thing I mean I just started looking at stuff this afternoon I really hadn't uh been a that aware of this before the Ada surface um have is this the most environmentally friendly Ada surface that we can get what what is the impact on that are we going to have to replace it every few years it's it's I from what I understand it's either rubber over a wooden wooden chips or wooden substructure or it's um pip poured something poured in place right so i' I'd love to hear that addressed um I'm always concerned and you know ad nauseum will be asking do we need to make more non-permeable surfaces in South River so I'd love to hear your the same surface if you go to is that what's in Fitzpatrick park on the what the the basketball area basket okay and I guess that okay so we are looking for these yeah I'm sorry to cut you off Joe that is why we are on back order for all of our stuff so part of this you know and to get a little bit off topic uh We've we're redoing Del's Pond Park we've had the playground equipment in for now since what June July the issue we're facing is the the environmental friend the the PIP is on back order and we are put on a list to do that uh speaking to the our Ben Schaefer Representatives that have helped us uh logistically think about what to put in the park and what to do we wanted to make sure we picked a a flooring that was you know friendly for wheelchairs um and make sure that you know whether children or adults in wheelchairs had accessibility to the park but most importantly we able to roam around freely so part of this will there will be a sidewalk you know installed to to have access to the playground equipment as well and make sure everything is ADA Compliant and make sure we're going to add additional handicap parking spaces of course because of this um but most importantly one thing that I didn't bring up um we're looking at doing a quiet Zone uh for children with autism in a gazebo that is part of this as well so again we're really I'm excited about this something I'm very passionate about uh we are passionate about um but it's really we're reaching for the stars and that's what we're hopefully going to get so that's wonderful and it sounds like you're doing your due diligence and thinking down the line you know will they still be good in 10 Richard keeps us on our toes just know that that's his job okay well thank you thank you thank you if I could add the Gazo also is there for not only shading which is a requirement of the oh let me get you the check check s could you turn on the mic uh the the gazabo is also not only for shading but it's also for a quiet area for children who need to escape um you know maybe they're very excited at the playground they need a few seconds to regroup and calm down that's what the quiet area is for in the gazabo area um it is one of the requirements of the grant along with 20% shading of the uh facility thank you any anyone else from the public first call second call third call make a motion to close public motion oh he's coming he's coming [Laughter] yeah thank you s sather cooch 104 which ter Pike I really think this would be a positive for the town allowing children with disabled blind people and everything to come into town and don't feel unexclusive that this town doesn't have anything for them so it's a big PL thank you thank you motion to close was by councilman siola second by uh councilwoman Bas all in favor I Alissa consent resolutions please whereas resolution 22401 authorizes the burough Council to utilize a consent agenda to adopt various resolutions of a routine and non-controversial nature at one time now therefore bden is hereby resolved that the below listed resolutions are hereby adopted by the burough Council and whole as if the same were individually acted upon consent resolutions 2024 83 to 202 2484 883 resolution approving the recreation and open space inventory 84 resolution approving submission of a Grant application to the njde Green Acres Program for the construction of a completely inclusive playground at Kowski Park what is your motion motion second motion by councilwoman Ballas seconded by uh council president Olivera councilman Ballas yes Council councilman Cula yes councilman desian yes councilman grensky yes council president Oliva yes we're going to go into governing body uh comments uh Council siola I just look forward to this Grant and the playground and for the kids anything for the kids is a plus that's it Council Alice I I agree and thank you Jason and and everyone that worked on this it it will be a very important part of the town so thank you all so much councilman desian yes great presentation great job to everyone involved and it's going to be great for the town councilman kinsky thank you um like I said it is a great presentation it's going to make a lot of people aware of uh some of the needs that the children have are going to need and everything like that too and it show a little bit of the compassion that we have towards some of the people that are a little bit challenged thank you council president no just thank you again uh sorry you guys had to listen to me speak for 15 minutes but uh um like I said this is something we're I'm very passionate about and I know as a mayor and Council something we discuss and I'm just really excited for this um for the committee that's hopefully going to decide I will be heartbroken if you don't pick us so don't break my heart please uh but again thank you again to dawn for everything um and this is a positive step and even you know I'm going to be positive we're going to get the Grant and this is just going to be the first of many for us to continue to partner with our shade tree team and make sure that not only are we improving our Parks but we're going to have something for our children um and adults with disabilities have a home for them as well so thank you to the mayor for allowing us to to do this and uh I will pass it over to you thank you uh Dawn great job with the Grant I know there's more grants to come but this is a very very important Grant considering that we believe that the kids are our future especially in this town uh Jason excellent again on the uh presentation I know that in your conversation you said something about the Board of Education I'm assuming they're going to be involved no no so the I was going to say about the numbers of children in town with disabilities but Don was able to pull that from the Census Bureau so I misspoke well I didn't misspeak but um I didn't have the information that Dawn had um but now that we have that we still want to reach out to the board of v as our partners to make sure we were able to actually we want to get them involved with what we're doing for the kids yep um great presentation once again this grant is a great thing for the kids of this town uh I look forward to it I'm hoping that we get it uh we need it so um keep our fingers crossed thank you everyone for coming out to this meeting do I have an adjournment motion to adjourn a motion by President ala and second president Council I I like that right councilman all in favor I thank you