##VIDEO ID:3wEA6vgVpuo## good evening everyone thank you all for being here who knew it would be this cold on a January night huh anyway uh welcome to the city's first meeting of the year the organization meeting of the city of summit um we will start first by calling um our role Mr Boer present Miss Hamlet present Mr McAn present Mr palaski here Mr Smallwood here would everyone rise and join me for the Pledge of Allegiance I pledge ALG 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 thank you okay we'll open our meeting with our invocation who tonight will be uh given by mon Senor Robert Meyer of St Teresa's Parish thank you monor yes you can use the other mic if that's more comfortable you can just turn it for yourself last thing we need is for the priest to break the mic good and gracious God you guide everything in wisdom and love accept the prayers we offer today for our Summit Community in your goodness watch over those elected and in authority so that all people may enjoy Freedom security and peace give our Civic leaders inspiration courage joy and strength to meet the needs of this community and help us one and all to display courage hope generosity and kindness so that we may honor others in the way we honor others we may Inspire those around us may Our Lives Mark our lives with strength to support worthy causes with Integrity to seek the truth and in all things be our inspiration and guide we make this prayer to you oh God both now and forever amen amen thank you mon sior okay we're going to open the evening by swearing in our two newest elected newly elected uh council members um so with that um I will ask Michelle cinon who will be sworn in as council member in the First Ward uh will m c cinon come up please with her husband uh miles and whoever else she wishes good afterno I Michelle cinon do solemnly swear I Michelle cinon do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the constitution of the state of New Jersey and the constitution of the state of New Jersey and that I will bear true faith and that I will bear true faith and Allegiance and allegiance to the same to the same and to the governments established and to the governments established in the united states in the United States States and in this state and in this state under the authority of the people under the authority of the people I do solemnly swear I do solemnly swear that I will Faithfully that I will faithfully impartially impartially and justly and justly perform all of the duties perform all of the duties of council member W one of council member W one according to the best of my ability according to the best of my ability so help me God so help me God congratulations good good perfect okay council member m Comon please take your seat at the Das we over here okay our next uh newly elected person is councilwoman in the second board had I looked at the Bible I would have known there's a special one has her name on it I CLA e to go ahead do solemnly swear I CLA e to do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the constitution of the state of New Jersey and the constitution of the state of New Jersey and that I will bear true faith and that I will bear true faith and Allegiance and Allegiance to the same to the same and to the governments established and to the governments established in the united states in the United States and in this state and in this state under the authority of the people under the authority of the people I do solemnly swear I do solemnly swear that I will Faithfully that I will faithfully impartially impartially and justly and justly perform all of the duties perform all of the duties of council member W two of council member W two according to the best of my ability according to the best of my ability so help me gu so help me gu congratulations Catholic School here's Catholic School okay council member to will you please take your seat at the J thank you very much okay now that we've got everybody in a full seat Full House here our first order of business will be to select our council president president of the common Council for the year of 2025 nominations are now in order I'd like to nominate uh council member McAn second second any other nominations all in favor I any opposed thank you council president congratulations yes please thank you all right thank you all for your support um I hope I deserve it so thank you uh all right and welcome everyone this is a very joyous occasion uh it's a great way to start the year uh where we have uh new faces new possibilities new things that we're going to do and it's just a wonderful way to celebrate our community our elected officials our new elected officials and our volunteers that make up uh what I believe believe is one of the pillars of our community the people who give uh of themselves to make our community better so welcome everyone um should I the people or do coun no do Council Pro Temp first and then we'll do that yeah so you can tell who really runs everything here um so uh at this time uh our next order of business is to elect our president protm who will act as president of the common Council in miam absent and as mayor in our mayor's absence uh nominations are now in order I'd like to start the nominations and nominate councilwoman dilia Hamlet second do I hear any other nominations okay hearing none uh all in favor I I opposed congratulations councilwoman Hamlet thank you thank you very much all right um before we get to certificates of appreciation I just want to uh say a thank you to everyone as I mentioned who who's come here but we do have some dignitaries I'd like to point out that are here um first off I'd like to thank our honorable assembly woman Nancy Munoz for being here uh we have our former mayor nor Rus thank you brother uh former councilman Dave bomgar taught me a lot he's here uh let's see uh councilman margerie Fox you're here somewhere there you are than for coming we have a couple who are going to honor a little bit later I'm going to skip over uh we'll get to them later but um we also have uh Republican chair Nick Corel is here and then um as well uh uh father Bob obviously did a great job with our invocation so thank you for coming and we also have the Reverend Dr uh harriel so thank you for coming and and then last but not least um our superintendent of our wonderful school system is here also Scott HW I'm hoping I'm not missing anybody um so with that we're going to uh Madame may I understand you have some certificates of appreciation do as a matter of fact should have worn my running shoes tonight here mic come on over um first um I would like to thank you all for this is our quartet that was playing in the lobby for our reception their Summit High School team so we have certificates of recognition and latte is on the house first we have Isabella Kim and Emma vak and Liv G and Julia Maya without their conductor they'd probably still be pretty fabulous but neeva bik very close did a great job hope we see you next year uh Madame mayor why you stay up there um this is always a highlight highlight of the year for I think for our community um which is our uh mayor Fagan is going to address the city with her state of the city address all right good evening Summit it is an honor to be here tonight as we reflect on the past year and look forward to the future of summit in 2025 first congratulations and welcome to our incoming council members Michelle cmon and CLA to I'm excited to work alongside you as we continue to serve and uplift our city and its residents I would also like to extend a heartfelt thank you to our outgoing council members Andy minegar who served for three years and Greg Varan who served for six including a year as council president your dedication has made Summit a better place I'd also like to recognize Lisa Allen for her exceptional Service as both council member and council president it has been a pleasure working with each of you and I'm really grateful for your valuable insights leadership and Service as I reflect on my first year as mayor I am both proud of what we have accomplished and eager for what lies ahead over the past year we have tackled significant challenges but we have also celebrated meaningful wins Summit is a Vibrant Community and that is thanks to the collective efforts of our city staff elected officials volunteers and residents all working together to make some Summit a better place to work and live and I look forward to continuing these efforts into 2025 our 2023 election demonstrated that voters over overwhelmingly felt that Summit faced significant safety overdevelopment and quality of life issues beginning at our first meeting in 2024 your elected officials acted swiftly to address each of these bipartisan concerns among other challenges ensuring the safety and well-being of summits residents is my highest priority this year we have made notable strides in enhancing our Public Safety efforts beginning with the resident protection ordinance this initiative strengthens protections for residents and provides additional resources to combat local crimes such as motor vehicle theft and burglary God bless you we have also expanded our Police Department's table of organization by adding two new officers to our team this strategic enhancement reinforces our commitment to maintaining safe well patrolled neighborhoods and ensuring the security of our community these efforts are making an impact police chief zori's end of the year report available on our website shows a reduction in overall crime in 2024 with a particular decline in property crime one of the top concerns for our residents Downtown parking is also a top concern increased enforcement improves parking availability and quality of life for our residents and for our businesses with our new director of parking who was promoted from within the city we we have increased parking enforcement Additionally the summit Police Department issued double the number of parking summonses in 2024 compared to 2023 but there's more work ahead this year we will focus on improving parking driving and pedestrian safety including addressing the rising concern around ebikes and E Scooters we are looking to other cities that have successfully imple implemented safety measures to protect both Riders and pedestrians and as a physician I urge everyone to remember that helmets are not just for kids wearing one is the best way to protect yourself when riding a bike a scooter or any other open a transportation consistent with our focus on safety and quality of life our ongoing work to address homelessness continues to make a noticeable difference for our visitors and our residents by partnering with local organizations the mayor's task force on homelessness has helped eight individuals experiencing homelessness find housing employment andess access to Rehabilitation care we remain committed to stable to providing stable Housing Solutions and supporting those in need Summit is a wonderful shopping and dining destination and we are committed to ensuring that everyone who visits or spends time downtown feels safe and welcome engagement and transparency are cornerstones of this Administration when residents are informed and involved our community thrives in 2025 we will continue to to prioritize accessibility and open communication whether addressing issues like flooding or noise in your neighborhood or walking through areas like the saltbrook to hear your concerns concerns directly we remain committed to a Hands-On approach I am available to meet with you at your convenience and I encourage you to reach out to me or contact the city clerk to schedule a time to discuss your concerns we're also working hard to keep you informed every two weeks our Police Department publishes the police blot offer ing important safety Public Safety updates in addition we provide several notification systems including nixel and smart 911 that keep you updated on everything from emergency alerts to Community News I encourage everyone to sign up on our website to stay connected we are active on social media as well with live streamed meetings on your YouTube channel and daily posts on Facebook including a Mondays with the mayor segment and a recently initiated weekly Neighborhood News update for busier residents and later this year we'll be introducing a digital newsletter to delve deeper into key City issues and initiatives through town halls listening sessions and one-on-one meetings we are ensuring that our residents are informed and involved in the decisions that shape the city when it comes to Excellence I fully dedicated to ensuring that our Public Schools rank among the top in the state achieving this means collaborating closely with our school board to strengthen policies around core subjects particularly in Steam to maintain our academic competitiveness it is equally vital that we keep parents informed and actively engaged in their children's education by fostering a culture of teamwork and transparency we can build lasting trust with families retain students in our public schools and continue to raise the bar for educational Excellence the recent construction of state-of-the-art steam facilities across all schools in the district underscores the board of education's commitment to enhancing the academic experience at every grade level likewise the new turf at the lower high school field along with proposed improvements to Anderson's Fieldhouse reflect our ongoing dedication to extracurricular Excellence ultimately shaping a budget and policies that not only preserve our exceptional academic and extracurricular programs but actively but actively improve them is a fundamental responsibility of the Board of Education we continue to invest in our playgrounds and public spaces creating environments that are safe and welcoming for all community members I'm excited to announce that maybe playground is ready to go out to bid and we hope to have it completed by the summer thanks to careful budgeting grants and Community Support we will soon have summit's first Ada accessible sensory friendly and intergenerational playground designed to serve everyone in our community thank you to the Department of Community programs staff and The Advisory board members for engaging enging neighbors and residents and incorporating their input into the final design one of our major goals for 2025 is to work with Union County to ensure the completion of the long-awaited Bryant Pond renovation the county is committed to finishing the project and we are eager to see this important space revitalized in fact I received an update just a couple of days ago from the county stating that they will go out to bid tomorrow and expect to award a bid in this quarter the the park line project is also positioning Summit as a leader in protecting beautifying and enhancing our environment through close collaboration with the parkline foundation and adjacent neighbors we will continue to create this beautiful linear pedestrian Park along the abandoned Railroad on June 14th we will hold three sessions here in the council chamber to gather residents feedback on the tatlock lighting proposal It Is by working together that we make our city shine that is why we are working hard to ensure frequent Di with our residents regarding the issues you care about I encourage you to attend that meeting and share your thoughts with us during one of those evening sessions I'm also proud to announce the successful completion of our first year of mayor's Wellness campaign this initiative not only promotes healthy habits but also focuses on creating safer environments for outdoor activities like walking and biking in September we hosted our bike and pedestrian safety rodeo in partnership with Avenues in motion resident resents had the opportunity to get their bites adjusted for no cost and receive free helmets if needed while also learning important safety rules around through an engaging challenging challenge course Additionally the wellness campaign has teamed up with the wait until 8th movement which encourages limiting social media and device use until at least 8th grade I will continue to promote Wellness year round making our community health healthier and safer for all as Summit grows we remain committed to responsible development that serves the community's best interests in 2024 we took significant steps with the creation of the Morris broadc Crossroads overlay Zone a strategic zoning change designed to ensure Summit receives the highest and best use of Key Properties such as The Old Firehouse the chestna street parking lot and 7even Cedar Street this zoning allows for Creative correctly scaled development to potentially include housing both market and affordable units and retail space while maintaining the character and values of our community ensuring we preserve open space and enhance quality of life responsible growth also means utilizing resources to address issues as they arise our Department of Community Services which oversees our trash and recycling services the transfer station and our C click fix service responded to over 4,000 tickets submitted this year thank you to our community for alerting us when you have an issue our transfer station continues to be a Crown Jewel of the community with the summit free market which keeps gently used items in circulation and our recycling center which keeps recyclable items out of the landfill the total amount of Rec materials recycled in 2024 at the transfer station was more than 343 tons affordable housing remains a priority in Summit and in 2025 we will continue to advance creative thoughtful solutions that reflect the needs of our community collaboration with local nonprofits landlords and organizations such as our house will remain at the heart of our strategy by utilizing affordable housing trust funds we are focused on improving existing properties including a group home currently owned by our house while also fostering the development of new housing opportunities to serve our residents summit's diverse character is one of our greatest strengths and we are committed to maintaining that that while addressing the growing need for affordable housing unlike the overdevelopment seen in some neighboring communities Summit is dedicated to responsible growth that preserves the Integrity of our infrastructure and our neighborhoods rather than concentrating large all affordable housing units in one location we are committed to an approach that was first set in motion a decade ago that distributes affordable H units across the city incorporating them into the fabric of our community rather than concentrating affordable housing in solitary locations in 2025 this balanced sustainable approach will help ensure that Summit continues to be a welcoming thriving Community for all while addressing our affordable housing objectives one of the most visible accomplishments this year was the completion of the new Firehouse which also serves as an e Emergency Operations Center this facility is critical especially with suit unique location flanked by two major highways and serving our daily population and our 24-hour employer like Overlook and Bristol Meer squib and soon to be Ken view as well it is vital that we are prepared for any situation 24/7 the new building includes a decom decontamination area designed to protect our firefighters from the long-term health risks they face particularly exposure to harmful chemicals this ensures they can continue to serve our community with Excellence for years to come as we enter 2025 is that my time is that my buzzer up as we enter 2025 there is a renewed sense of optimism across our community we are excited about the progress we've made and are committed to building on that momentum working with Summit downtown Inc we plan to make our downtown even more vibrant with improvements like a new permanent fence and enhanced landscaping near the Farmers Market at City Hall we are fostering a positive work environment in promoting internal talent to that end the evening we will be proud to appoint our CFO Tammy Baldwin as City administrator Tammy I Tammy whose great great-grandfather George Baldwin was summit's second mayor is an outstanding leader and we are thrilled to have her in this important role we have welcomed new team members including our new Chief Communications officer ensuring that we continue to choose the best for summit's future numerous candidates sought these and other positions with the city giving us the opportunity to select the very best fit for our city Summit continues to be a place not only where people want to live but also to work and to serve thank you Summit for being a part of this journey thank you to all the volunteers both retiring and currently serving on our many boards and committees Without You Summit would not be the incredible special place we call home please make use of the many resources the city provides to keep you informed this speech along with links to corresponding data will be posted on our website there you can also find ample information on many city services and as always our doors are open for you to come so we can listen to your comments and your concerns we are proud of what we have accomplished so far from strengthening Public Safety to fostering responsible development to addressing affordable housing in and as we kick off 2025 we are filled with excitement about what lies ahead together we will continue to build a summit that is safe thriving and full of promise for the future thank you all right um thank you madam mayor for that wonderful update on the state of the city uh at this time I'm going to throw uh call an audible and we are going to have uh what has be always a favorite of mine in Council meetings which is a historical minute and councilman palowski has graciously offered to give one today well so hopefully all hopefully not all of you heard the historic minute from uh October 22nd but we thought it was appropriate to do it again here tonight done to a tea that is the condition of our bread there is no sogginess from insufficient baking nor lack of nourishing qualities through too much baking Summit Bakery uses material of the fine quality and offers customers bread rolls and biscuits of the most delicious flavor and high grade another had of the time for the Summit Bakery States our bread will be delivered to residents at any time desired we make all kinds that's good the summit Record newspaper published these advertisements In 1902 for George W Baldwin and Son's bake shop which was located at 466 Springfield Avenue with the telephone number 123 who was George W Baldwin at the time of the ad he was our mayor the second mayor of summit he held that post for two years which was the term back then a Democrat Baldwin also had been a member of the first summit Council in 1899 living on Elm Street and representing Ward 2 the first ordinance introduced and passed at Baldwins and the first Common council meeting held on April 22nd 1899 provided that the mayor and common Council quote would serve without pay that's still on the books today and I haven't ever gotten paid I don't know um in 1915 President woodro Wilson appointed George Baldwin as summit's postmaster an esteemed Knight and founding member of the benevolent and protective order of Elks Lodge Number 1246 in 1931 George Baldwin and his family have been fixtures in Summit for over 150 years take a tour of the property maps around city hall and you'll see no shortage of Baldwins George Baldwin begat Clinton Baldwin Clinton Baldwin begat Ralph Baldwin Ralph Baldwin begat Harry Baldwin and Harry Baldwin begat our esteemed CFO and City administrator Tammy Baldwin all right that's awesome thank you councilman palowski it's nice to and thank you for all the Baldwins for uh for adding to the rich tapestry that is summit's history um okay we're on to our uh ceremonial Awards uh go down here yes got to H down here you don't have to all right we have a couple of awards for um some of our retiring Council people uh so this is a kind of it's It's happy but it's a little sad um but I know they're probably very happy uh but it's sad for us uh because it was such a nice thing to to work with these people I'm going to start off with the uh the longest serving council person I know I said a lot of things about him uh in uh in December uh but my friend Greg Varan who served as a council person in Ward 2 for six years uh Greg came on the council when uh when I was on it and I really enjoyed his enthusiasm his love for Summit and his really desire to work really really hard and none of that changed um in the six years uh that he served this community uh so with that um Greg we like to present you with your very own city of I uh I hate public speaking but if you have to twist my arm about it um good evening and thank you very much uh I had the honor and pleasure of serving this place and these people I love so much as a member of council uh for six years two full terms and a full year as council president I took time at the end of the last business meeting in December to say just about everything I wanted to say about all that uh I am proud to have accomplished and where I think we go from here the one part I'll repeat because it can't be said enough is thank you uh three groups to thank first uh my family my incredible wife Megan my parents who are here today uh without whose support my service would not have been possible possible uh next to City staff led by the amazing amazing Tammy Baldwin um those who are here and those who are not here but who leave a wonderful Legacy who serve with the utmost professionalism and Grace finally to all of you the people of this wonderful Community who understand the power of our voice and the value of our vote it has been the greatest honor of my life serving you and I wish you the very best to our elected officials their families the staff and indeed the community as we begin another year thank you very much all right uh next up I'd like to recognize retiring council member Andy minegar so Andy served on Council for three years uh representing Ward one um I did not know Andy pretty much at all uh our paths didn't cross uh while uh I was on Council and then he ran um but I will say one of the huge benefits of volunteering a run for office or to to to serve the city is you get to know wonderful people and I had the real distinct pleasure to really get to know Andy over the last several months and it's to my benefit because he's just a wonderful guy comes in with a great attitude every day um care so much about the city it shines through his comments were so thoughtful I learned a lot just listening to him and I'm going to miss his service on Council so with that Andy you door number two a wonderful uh thank you everybody I promised um council president murnan that I would keep this under 15 seconds so I intend to keep that promise um this has been an amazing honor um thank you city of summit thank you so much a man of his word there you go um all right uh the last uh person I'd like to recognize uh here tonight is uh former councilwoman and uh president Lisa Allen uh it's odd my journey as a I'll call it a politician in Summit actually began with Lisa someone said would you consider running for count Council I go I have no idea what that means um this was a dozen years ago maybe something like that and the first person I met was Lisa because she was chair of the Republican City committee at the time and I sat down I'm like wow who is this person she's got energy she cares um she's a really good salesperson because I went and saying this is not for me and uh she convinced me to throw my hat in the ring and I'm really really happy that she did uh fast forward Lisa ran herself and um you know she just lights up a room uh when she's in it you can tell she's sincere she cares um and it's been a pleasure to watch her serve the city um she was a lonely voice for a couple of years um but she was a strong voice and she never uh shied away from uh making her opinions known in a very intelligent thoughtful way and the city is grateful for that so um with that I'd like to present another map to uh retiring council person uh Lisa Al so please wow thank you do I have three minutes yes just one more no the other one the there one more is it a I have one more present for you is it a cake no you get your own inscribed gavel oh oh yay you never got yeah so so Pat you're in trouble that no no she uses it when you're at thank you okay all right so I had to Red Line a very long speech so I will keep this under two minutes because I've often Been Told to keep it short um I really want to thank you for this incredible honor tonight um thank you for the reminder Mike I I forgot that your political career started with me seared In My Memory yeah and it is a fitting night tonight so thank you for honoring me um my grandmother Josephine always used to say God gave us two ears and one mouth for a reason her words informed my view on public service to listen listen to really listen more than I speak serving a city of 23,000 people is a profound responsibility and a lifelong gift for personal growth the greatest gift of public service is the opportunity to connect with people from all walks of life learning from those who are both similar and different serving others especially those facing challenges beyond our own experience reminds us that the struggles of one person can eventually touch an entire Community whether it was improving infrastructure or addressing serious Community issues how we treat each other while addressing those issues determines if we rise or fall together Grandma Josephine also taught me that when one speaks do so with humility empathy and patience these are not just words they are traits that support good governance and they are essential for progress strong communities are built on more than civility they are built on accountability and leaders who are those leaders are those who take responsibility for their words their actions and their impacts as I learned firsthand as council president I enjoyed hearing learning and learning from all people it's not always easy and no one does it perfectly but I believe it's important not to vilify our neighbors and our friends with whom we disagree and in a small community at all costs we should avoid retreating to our Echo chamber every one of us plays a role in making Summit better and EV on every single day and that's why every single person is in this room tonight it's all up to us to ensure that the community we build and support reflects the very best of who we are and when we debate the issues we focus most on respect and accountability a special thank you to my husband Pat and my kids Zach and Trevor their unwavering support made my nearly four and a or three and a half years on Council possible thank you to the entire city of summit staff the residents are incredibly lucky to have you congratulations business administrator at Baldwin we don't even know how hard our city staff works and EMS so thank thank you to all of them to every friend resident Summit volunteer and Community member as the mayor said Summit is it runs on volunteers I appreciate everyone who cheered me on offered advice asked for help I want to thank you all for allowing me to serve you and finally to the coun the new council members I would really like to congratulate you on you on your win councilwoman camelon and councilwoman to um congratulate congratulations on your win I wish your colleagues and council president best of luck as you all work together to make Summit a place where respect empathy and accountability are more than just words they are the foundation of everything you do thank you guys congratulations thank you yeah all right thank you everyone um all right at this time I'm going to ask M our Madame mayor to uh come to the podium again and with a very very special uh award this award I think uh started it was it under nor you we began this right like what was it seven or eight years ago yeah um and it's it's a wonderful tradition and um Madame mayor is going to uh announce our volunteer of the year it's going to be hard for me I may I may choke up on this one um it is an honor to present the volunteer of the Year award to my friend Leah Griffith a remarkable individual whose dedication to our community knows no bounds Leah has selflessly given so much of herself leaving an indelible mark on all of us as chair of the mayor's task force on homelessness and president of the summit volunteer first aid Squad Leah's leadership has been instrumental in shaping our community's response to some of its most pressing challenges her work with the summit Foundation where she served as grants chair and board member and her tireless commitment to Family Promise since 2005 culminating in her role as national board chair has transformed countless lives but Leah's contributions go far beyond volunteerism she is a true leader who makes things happen Leah embodies what it means to not just live in a community but to actively shape it to not just see problems but to roll up her sleeves and work relentlessly to solve them and if that weren't enough Leah is a devoted wife and mother of four incredible children and she has been there for each of them at every turn giving her time and energy to their school's pto's and ensuring that both their needs and the needs of others are met with care and compassion Leah Summit is incredibly fortunate to have you as part of our community your selflessness and commitment to helping others makes this town a better place every single day thank you for everything you do you inspire us all please come forward I really thought I was going to get through that without crying that was really really close um I'm going to read what the um certificate says um because it also tells you why you're getting this award um this is the uh city of summit 2025 volunteer of the Year award awarded to Leah Griffith in recognition of your exceptional contributions as a dedicated Community leader and Visionary we commend your outstanding ability to connect with people from all walks of life always with respect and compassion your skill in both listening and speaking has profoundly enriched our community we are grateful for your generosity the countless hours you've dedicated and for being a true embodiment of volunteerism and service hang on that I'll be extremely brief um first of all I just want to say thank you and I'm very humbled because as we everyone in this room knows Summit is a special place and there are so many incredible Volunteers in this community so I'm I'm really really honored um Summit is special and Sumit doesn't just happen it happens because of leadership and because of all of you who commit your time and energy so thank you to everything that everyone in this room does thank you anyone in the hallway oh um before we're going to um uh Rec iiz retiring volunteers there are seats available in uh in here if anyone wants to come in if you're standing out there come on in uh there's plenty of room okay there are seats over here to the left here in the front row here don't okay start yes sir all right you you announce the names I'll hand the hardware all right sounds like a plan I think we're good team um this is our opportunity to thank our volunteers um who have volunteered on our boards and committees who are retiring from their boards or committee positions um so first um Michael col Lo from the Board of Education I don't think I saw Michael um Jody Campbell from our mayor's task force on homelessness Rick Bell from our planning board and the environmental commission as the planning board representative Brian odonnell from the palal I know I saw Brian did he leave his kids were here okay nuts um David Fosgate from the palal Stacy Don it's David's birthday too oh happy birthday David I did not know that 29 again MH um and Stacy Don please come forward if you're here I I should have said that if you're here please come forward to receive your Hardware as Mike called it Stacy was the fearless leader of the palal Imagine running that show she did an excellent job and Josh ryal also p all right um Sheila sh from Summit public art Lauren Holt also Summit public art um elain Anderson from Community programs Advisory board thank you um Carrie Baker Ralph from the community programs Advisory Board and Dr Rich barardi from the Board of Health I know he's not here tonight so then it's your turn unless you want me to keep reading all right so these were Council appointments uh these people have retired as of uh December um Melissa Phillips from the sumic economic development board all right um from the free market steering committee uh Kate Witcher here all right thank you also from the free market steering committee uh Kaa Jane thank you uh like to recognize uh Esther Ellis from the retiring from the Housing Authority not here um also like to thank uh Dory gagnan retiring from The Summit parking advisory committee don't see Dory um retiring from the park line steering committee uh Philip t Philip and then finally retiring from the zoning board you can't keep away it's uh it's Claire to so thank you CL that's our retirees okay thank you okay um I did forget one thing um while mentioning uh Claire uh Claire obviously incredibly accomplished uh woman that were're uh happy to have her serve supported by her husband David it's David's birthday too so thank you all right um at this time I'd like to make our an announcement of our 20 20 25 appointments um uh Council appoints people to all our committees the mayor appoints people to committees uh there's a it's a volunteer process people ask to be on committees uh they're vetted talk about it and we're so happy that we have so many people who are willing to serve um our community so um um making appointment for our Council standing committees and board Liaisons um the these are in our Council packet I'm not going to go through all of them they'll all also be posted uh on our City website we will officially um put them on their boards as part of our consent agenda uh a little later in the meeting I'm also going to not bore you with everybody's name but I do want to say thank you to those who have stepped up and volunteered and raised their hand to continue to make this place a wonderful place to live thank you okay do you want to announce the standing committees yes that's I do want to announce the standing committees um so uh as part of our job up here uh as as Council people uh we work with our incredible City staff um in order to make our town work as well as it does and we're we're lucky to have the city staff that that we do um as part of that we have six standing committees that two Council people each are part of um everyone up here except for me um is a chair of one of those committees and I'm just going to announce uh those committees uh now so our administrative policies and Community Relations Committee um is uh chaired by councilwoman cson and seconded by councilwoman Hamlet um our capital projects and Community Services uh committee is uh chaired by councilwoman Hamlet as well and seconded by councilman Boer our community programs and Parking Services uh committee is chaired by councilman Smallwood and seconded uh and by councilman palowski our finance committee is chaired by councilman to um and seconded by councilman Smallwood I also go to those committee meetings so I do something um you get all the glory um our law and labor committee is chaired by councilman uh palowski and seconded by councilwoman to and then finally last but not least our safety and health committee chaired by councilman Boer and seconded by councilwoman cson and those are our standing Council committee assignments for this year 2025 so thank you all for uh doing that okay um don't we're on to the business part of our meeting we we'll keep this part short and sweet I hope um we do have an ordinance for introduction uh uh today and taking us out with this doesn't get any rest for the weary uh councilwoman to please introduce this ordinance okay thank you council president um I'm happy to um introduce ordinance 1701 um the title is long ER than the body um it it is um an ordinance to amend the ordinance titled an ordinance to establish the 2024 salaries wages or compensations of and for the officers and employees of the city of summit in the county of Union and the state of New Jersey and this ordinance adds the position of finance director to the list of salaries um recognizing that that um our business administrator is going to continue wearing the CFO hat but somebody needs to do the work so are you making a motion to yes yes I would like to move move I excuse me I move to introduce this ordinance excellent thank you second excellent all right um we don't have comments on uh you can open it to council but the hearing will be for the public right so we'll have the hearing uh the hearing date will be January 21st on this where uh people from the public uh can weigh in uh are there any comments from Council at this time all right uh hearing none um we'll have a roll call roll call Mr Boer hi Miss Hamlet I miss cinon I Mr palowski I Mr Smallwood I miss to I president MC I motion carries all right um at this time we're uh on to our consent agenda I'm going to pull cons uh consent agenda law and labor number one we're going to vote on that separately um and then we will uh uh do the rest of the consent agenda uh as a package so um so uh at this time I guess if I'm pulling it uh councilman um palowski would you introduce law and labor number one on the consent agenda sure uh this is resolution ID number 11685 to appoint City administrator um we've discussed it already a little bit tonight we're very uh happy and proud to uh promote Tammy Baldwin I hope to the uh City administrator and I move to adopt this resolution I happily second all right at this time do I have any uh comments from the public comments from Council all right all in favor I opposed motion carries congratulations to Tammy would you like to say a few words in your new role as City administrator I would thank you council president um if you all indulge me this is a very big moment in my professional career and it's an exciting opportunity and I do think it's worthy and deserving of me addressing for just a few moments um first and foremost thanks be to God without whose guidance and plans for me I would not be sitting here today thank you to Mayor Fagan council president MC Turnin and all the members of common Council including the outgoing members for your vote of confidence I appreciate that um your confidence in appointing me into this role and I promise to work hard every day so that I can affirm your decision and make it one that you all can be proud of a special thank you to my colleagues and my co-workers here in the city special shout out to my finance team your support and your words of encouragement mean the world to me and I look forward to serving all of you in this new role and in doing all I can to assist you in continuing to to do the great work that you all do for the city of summit I have had the Good Fortune over the last 24 years during my career of working with intelligent thoughtful inspiring supportive challenging and sometimes demanding business administrators co-workers colleagues professionals and elected officials some of whom are in this audience tonight and on this day um it occurred to me that there are four Council people here from when I was appointed as the CF in 2019 councilwoman margerie Fox mayor raist councilman bartan was here and and council president MC Turnin were all here so it's really nice that you all are here today when this is happening um I have learned a lot from all of you and I thank you for that a heartfelt thanks to the first business administrator that I ever worked for a man by the name of Frank Bradley who believed in me I might tear up um he's not with us today but he told me that I to pursue my MPA amongst many other CFO CPM all these certifications and he thought that someday I'd make a great administrator I followed all of his his advice I'm here today and I think he's smiling down from up above one of the most awesome parts of this appointment is that I get to do it here in Summit I was born and raised here I went to Lincoln School and Jefferson School and the junior high school long before it was called the middle school but after it was called the high school just to be clear um I went to the community center when it was known as the Edison rec center and took tap and ballet and roller skating and all of that both of my parents were born and raised here and several of my lifelong friends are from this city my great great-grandfather was the second mayor of summit I come from a long line of public servants um there are state county and local elected officials in my family there are DPW workers policemen firemen runs the whole gamut so we come from a long line of serving um I sincerely respect this position that I'm being appointed to and the responsibility that comes along with it I look forward to serving my colleagues my co-workers the residents and the elected officials in providing the best service to the city I save the best for last and a big thank you to my parents my children who can't be here they live in Florida my parents are here my sisters are here um my nieces and nephew are here and my boyfriend for their unending support of me and my career over the years and for never making me feel bad when I say sorry I can't I have to work sorry I can't I have a meeting you guys are the best I love you all and if you'd like to leave you may sorry I can't I have a meeting thank you all right um so the rest of the consent agenda I'm going to bundle and do I have a motion uh to present the consent move the consent agenda as presented so move second second all right at this time are there any one from the public who would like to comment on our consent agenda all right anyone from counil to comment on our consensus sorry councilwoman camelon please thank you council president um there was one it regarding the um volunteer appointments can we pull that or um and vote separately on on that we discussed this in closed session do you remember what I'm talking so can somebody walk me through the process so we could do that um the the thing with the the Committees uh just to be aware if your vote if you vote no it means you vote no for everybody um the appointments all the appointments um and because there it's all or none for the appointment so we can do that if you'd like uh we can uh of course we can do that uh but just so if you're aware the process um it if for the voting if you do vote no it means you're voting against everyone in the list okay so it's just one okay so if I just have a problem with one specific appointment you can voice your concerns and then decide how you'd like to vote I see okay okay okay so you like to do that so we can pull yes we can pull number we'll pull number four going on that separately that's the committee assignments the number five is the council oh yeah that's right yeah MH the committee assignments yeah so it's number five you want to comment on the regular board appointments yes yes thank you um so that's that so we'll do that one separately uh any other comments on the rest of the consent agenda from Council um if I may council president yes please Council thank um I'd like to make a comment on the on item number two the council r rules for this year um the rules is proposed memorialize council's recent practice of having the public comment on proposed ordinances and resolutions before the council discussion of those and in recent months there have been a more than one situation where a member of the public realized what the resolution was really going to do only during the council discussion and by then it was too late for the public to comment um um I had expressed my concern about this to you and we agreed that when a council member introduces an ordinance or resolution um that council members should fully explain it so that members of the public have sufficient context to understand what it's going to do and to formulate any comments they may have and with that understanding I can vote to support these rules thank you no um uh Claire and I sat down what a last week and we spoke about this and um I think it is right if you look at uh uh the way ordinances or resolutions were introduced in the past when the council person introducing it would give a pretty lengthy description of what the resolution or ordinance was including talk about supporting documentation in the packet somehow or other we've got of gotten away from that and there's it's most ordinances and resolutions have been usually just introduced with the legal langu anguage and then we come back and then we talk about a lot of the um information that's there and I think it's much better to when we introduce these things to give a full-blown assessment of what they are so people understand what it is and I think importantly um it will mean that we'll have a lot less questions about a lot of these things because it'll be explained up front um so happily for me the meetings will go smoother and maybe a little quicker uh as well as people are very very informed about what uh we're actually voting on so so um so that's I thought we agreed how we would address this um so we're going to keep the council uh public comments around ordinances and resolutions first but only after a very well vetted descriptive introduction of the resolutions or the ordinances by the council person um making the introduction thank you uh any other comments on the consent agenda okay um all in favor I opposed okay consent agenda passes um now let's we'll go back to uh consent uh on Law and labor number five which is the established board committees um councilman palowski how thoroughly do I have to explain this just oh what are we're doing I just make a motion to a motion toce yeah you ready this is resolution ID number 11518 to establish Council board committee Etc appointments um I move to introduce this resolution second second excellent yeah so this is what we spoke about uh on our appointments um that we talked about uh earlyer ear um but yeah so uh comments from the public comments from Council well I mean what are we actually talking about we're talking about I understand we're talking about this uh uh resolution right but what does well does the public even know what to ask we we don't know what the problem is there we don't know there is a problem okay you just asked there was a motion there was a request to pull it from the consent agenda so we're doing it and we're asking uh if there's any comments from Council people that's it okay sorry I was okay I councilwoman comson thank you um we talked a lot about this in closed session and um civility has been a big thing for me it's it's something I campaigned on it's something we've talked a lot about and I just think that we need to and this is specifically for one appointment um and I just think that we need to do more than just say that we want to restore ility I think we need to take some action so that's my that's my comment great thank you um other comments from Council all right uh all in favor oh I'm sorry councilman palow yeah um so um restoring civility I don't think is done by um punishing somebody who passionately uh voices their feelings um I have voted voted for people on last year hypercritical of me repeatedly telling me on social media that I'm unfit to lead why would I vote for them because they're passionate about the committee that we wanted to put them on and the person who's going to remain nameless that we're talking about here is very passionate about that committee knowledgeable about that committee and um I don't have any concerns whatsoever with uh that person being civil on her uh committee other comments councilwoman Hamlet um I'd like to just second that uh what councilman palowski said one of the things that I think a lot of people would find fascinating is some of the people that you would see uh us yelling back and forth from the deis um we're having really good meetings with a lot of these folks now and really collectively making things happen specifically homeless task force I give you multiple examples and what I've learned is sometimes you just have to get into a room and get to know people um get to know about their families and we've been able to do that this year with a lot of people uh that maybe we disagreed with and guess what we probably didn't know them that well so I think this is a real good opportunity sometimes for people who do disagree or don't get along to to truly try to see their point of view um as councilman palowski said uh they are passionate and sometimes it's good to have people that disagree with you and I've I've learned my lesson on that a few times and come out on the other side so I I support this uh volunteer council president yes councilman Boer first of all I just want to apologize to uh David Deets sorry I had to I had to talk man you know um no real quick I we we just discussed the public not understanding what we're talking about no one has any clue what we're talking about right now the public has no idea they're home right now listening to us talk about some Vol a volunteer and someone doesn't think that they should be volunteering and we don't know why or what or who or when or whatever so I mean to be honest I don't see the I don't do not see the point of this discussion because no one knows what we're talking about I just want to point that out so unless we're going to like discuss it what is this it's like a quag M sorry I just I just had to point that out because I know somebody's watching at home saying what are they doing what are they talking about okay oh fair enough other comments say councilwoman camelon thank you um some of those are are false equivalents this this this is an extreme situation this is not somebody passionately disagreeing and while nobody knows exactly who we're talking about people will see people will see all the appointments and there will be some people that question the appointments and I'm not saying I'm going to vote no on this and but everybody knew um how I felt in closed session so nobody should be surprised um I told everybody how I felt about this and I I'll just leave it at that this is this is not somebody who just Pally disagrees this this is um this is clearly or I'm sorry nobody's nobody's uh knows exactly what I'm talking about but this is over the line but it's fine we'll we'll leave it at that I'm sorry council president I just don't I don't uh maybe maybe I miss I don't know to be honest with you here and I didn't end this so I'm just going to Let's I I I understand this it you know I think what we're trying to do up here is be respectful of our volunteers um they do volunteer and we should uh support and actually commend people for doing that so there there might be a difference of opinion and I and I respect councilwoman kelson's uh willingness to be discreet around this because we do have differences of opinion sometimes but that doesn't change the fact that these people do volunteer and um you know I as I mentioned earlier volunteers are one of the amaz things that make our community what it is um so uh you know that's that's I I apologize why this is so opaque to use your word councilman Boer um it it's difficult discussion to talk about but um we talked about it so are there other comments from Council all right uh all in favor I opposed all right motion carries all right that wraps up our um our uh agenda items uh at this time I'd like to open up the floor to public comments is your chance anyone from the public like to comment all right uh no public comments we'll close public comment session of our meeting and then move uh to our council member comments does any council member like to comment on something that they just feel like commenting on councilwoman Hamlet uh thank you council president I just want to say how pleased um I was to support uh our business administrator uh Baldwin uh I work with her on a daily basis and I'm I know I'm probably one of the ones that tortures her on a daily basis by asking her so many questions um but truly um it is it is an honor to to be a part of this day I I look up to you I respect you and and as I told her um it became very evident as as our council president said when we were interviewing and and looking at candidates that that truly uh our answer was sitting right next to us all the time and uh she was certainly became our first selection uh very very quickly so thank you for your leadership and your friendship and your guidance and I think she is the first female City administrator city of summit which is uh very exciting you go I think uh I think it was four Democrats and how many Republicans and know I can't how many of how many of us are there but uh unanimous bipartisan uh outgoing council members Varan and minegar as well as the incoming um uh council members so thank you for that uh I wanted to mention that I was asked to attend the 2025 Innovations and solutions for ending unsheltered homelessness uh with the um Department of Community Affairs uh so I'll be attending with Mike Callis M Mike Callahan uh we will beend in a bipartisan Roundtable um to discuss ending homelessness so I'm really excited to represent Summit in February out in Los Angeles and I look forward to reporting back uh how we can um bring those solutions back to Summit out of we're already making a lot of progress but I'm excited to go out there and learn more uh tomorrow we have a meeting with Union County uh with the county manager and um uh commissioner Marabella so we're very excited about that to talk about the saltbrook um um we also are meeting uh with other municipalities on Friday uh Berkeley Heights New Providence and an organization called Hoboken strategies strategies um to discuss something that was recently passed by the house and the Senate which is the Water Resources development Act of 2024 um basically what the uh what this uh development Act is uh it was passed recently uh many years ago but there's always different iterations of it um and it will allow hopefully for studies in that saltbrook area uh as I've mentioned before the saltbrook is a stream and Summit that's become so deteriorated that individual homeowners can no longer fix their sections um so it is a gray area because we certainly don't want municipalities um you know fixing private property um but we really had to engage d uh Congressman Kane's office Senator bramnick office um our director Aon Sher and his team have been working this issue for a long time but I feel like there's hope for these residents and uh it's my goal for 2025 to hopefully uh get this ball across the goal line for these folks and uh and get something accomplished otherwise I'm not sure what we're all sitting up here doing uh if we can fix problems so I'm I'm very excited about that and passionate and I hope hopefully we have some good news in 2025 and congratulations to our latest uh council members for joining us here we're super excited and uh and welcome thank you other uh Council comments councilman p thank you um three things congratulations Tammy so happy to have you um congratulations to um our new council members uh to and calmenson we've already had several really good meetings and calls and um as I discussed with uh Miss cmon during one of them we're probably going to agree 99% of the time we saw the 1% tonight but uh it's all good and I look forward to working with you both for 2 years at least um and then uh mayor Fagan mentioned helmets and um every day I I get emails about kids flying around town on their ebikes with no helmets and um you know uh I I tell uh my son's in uh 10th grade I tell him and his friends all the time you got to start wearing your helmets so we are looking to put together some kind of a um an education process and we got to talk to the chief still but some kind of an enforcement initiative and I think um I think the appropriate punishment is to walk your bike home if you don't have a helmet on um so uh we'll see about that but we'll try and advertise it at the schools and um because it is just a matter of time so that's all I have thank you other comments council president just one yes uh I just want to remind the public that on January 27th at 700 p.m. at the Summit Middle School the the department the Department of Homeland Security will be coming in to do a no to protect program presentation uh this program is a national public awareness campaign launched by the Department of Homeland Security in April of 2024 aimed at preventing and combating online child sexual exploitation and abuse uh this will focus on prevention education reporting and support I encourage everyone to come out to the middle school at 7 p.m. on that day this is for adults this is not for children this is for parents uh they will be going over some really detailed content this is a serious public awareness event and uh and I think it's very important in this day and age so I'll I'll be mentioning this at the next council meeting as well so thank you thank you other comments councilman uh Smallwood thank you council president um I would be remiss if if I if I didn't do this so it's my three thoughts make them quick first of all happy New Year to everyone thank you very much for coming out congratulations to our new council members um I'm really uh that's number one EXC number two uh I'm really looking forward to this new year uh we do have some exciting new initiatives that uh we'd like to introduce and accomplish for this year so uh please stay stay tuned and uh please join us at our Council meetings uh and number three uh former councilman Varan congratulations on finally getting your well-deserved Council chair thank I knew you I knew you were very excited about getting that and also uh councilman mittigar it was a pleasure working with you uh and congratulations uh I actually I I hope I is hope the map is available when I my term is end available because that looks really cool right uh other other comments from Council I just have one quick one that I forgot sorry please councilwoman ham because I had a turn councilman Smallwood forgot to mention this but I also want to say uh thank you for your service I know I spoke last meeting but um thank you to both of you um councilman Varan and minegar and your wives for your service to Summit um we very much appreciate it uh the last thing I wanted to mention is the paddle courts are officially open right Mark are they officially open uh they're officially open they won't be painted probably properly until the spring and we did get a verbal commitment today which hopefully will be on a resolution in the next couple of weeks uh hopefully we're going to have the owner of xenon paddles uh donate some paddles uh to Summit so that when we do our clinics and Mark is going to call some of the local Pros uh in the area who are willing to do that uh residents who want to learn to play paddle uh we'll have paddles there and um we should be able to get hopefully Summit will have their first paddle teams maybe next year even along with all the other communities in Summit so we're really excited for that um we're really excited to bring the game to Summit and Summit residents who don't know how to play it doesn't matter cuz we have lots of Pros around the area who can teach you and uh we'll have paddles for you and everything so it's very exciting and uh just wanted to let you know about that thank you other comments I'd like to make a motion to adjourn I'd like to one comment hold that one second I get to make a comment come on um no I just uh want to again say thank you for everyone coming uh it's this is a a great event um but it and it's supposed to be celebratory and and I think I hope tonight was I I certainly uh felt good about um all the volunteers and our retirees and our new Council people who are on the Das today and our new uh uh ba so everything's been great um it does though not uh change the fact that we've got a lot to do this year um and we are going to do a lot uh this year um so uh strap in come to meetings be involved be engaged uh we uh we're going to hit the ground running uh starting at our next meeting uh in two weeks um and uh really looking forward to uh doing a lot of great things uh for Summit this year so with that I'd like to make a motion to adjourn so move second uh all in favor I opposed we are adjourned