##VIDEO ID:6fCv5yOcXdY## e e e e e e e e e e e e e this is the commissioner meeting of December 18th 2024 at 6 pm at the Sussex County administrative Center commissioner meeting room 1 Spring Street Newton New Jersey can I have a roll call please here here here moment of silence and salute to the flag I pledge of allegiance to the flag United States of America and to the rep for it stands one nation under God indivisible withy and justice for all four public statement pursuant to the open public meetings act chapter 231 pl1 1975 adequate notice as defined by section 3D of chapter 231 pl1 1975 has been made by regular mail and email such notice being submitted on January 7th 2024 from the administrative center of the county of Sussex located at one Spring Street Newton New Jersey to the following New Jersey Herold Star Ledger and is also posted on the bulletin board maintained the administrative Center for public announcements and has been submitted to the Sussex County Clerk in compliance with said act at this time please mute all electronic devices number five approval of agenda tonight we have two amendments to tonight's agenda first we are looking to table item 14 V the second is that we are amending the Personnel agenda to correct a title change that was voted on at the meeting of December 11th 2024 the approved position County division head director of internal affairs to be retitled County division head director of special services can I get a motion to approve the agenda as amended still moves second okay deputy director Carney and a second from commissioner de Gru and discussion um item 14v is being tabled since this resolution was not presented at the previously held agenda meeting it was only placed on the agenda tonight at the direction of the CFO but was not reviewed by all relevant departments and parties um one thing that I've been looking into over the past year is a 26 week pay period but that is not what this was um the board and I are not looking to rush to implement policies until we are able to consider the impact on everyone all in favor I opposed abstain motion carries we have no proclamations certificates and presentation no public hearing public session from the floor this public session is for those wishing to make a comment of 3 minutes or less regarding an agenda item please line up at the microphone and state your name municipality and agenda topic for the record can I get a motion to open the floor for public comment okay uh commissioner shik and a second uh commissioner degr sorry uh all in favor I I oppose abstain motion carries the floor is open for agenda topics only okay none being present can I get a motion to close the floor for public comment so moved okay commissioner degr and commissioner schik second any discussion all in favor I I oppose abstain number nine Commissioners comments we'll start with uh commissioner Hayden so we had the pleasure of doing budget hearings Monday um for Capital gr and I and uh everybody came in with small asks I think there were a couple things we could pair down but uh I think it was fair asks of everybody and I think it'll help the taxpayers what we dealt with so really all I have right now nice commissioner shik uh I don't have any comments for uh this meeting okay thank you commissioner degr so last Friday I traveled south to Trenton to attend nj's yearn Summit uh which centered on artificial intelligence and cyber security provided County Commissioners from across the street uh with valuable opportunities to talk and gain insights from industry leaders on leveraging AI to enhance organization and efficiency within County government uh the summit also emphasized the critical and import critical importance of proactive cyber security measures to safeguard against threats before it's too late uh very big thank you the NJ executive director John and audio for organizing a really wonderful event uh on Monday as commissioner Hayden mentioned um him and I participated in the capital budget meetings um many thanks to ELA Christina Lorraine as well as Ron for coordinating these productive sessions with department heads uh I believe they did an excellent job presenting their Capital requests offering thoughtful and well-prepared explanations that focus on maximizing the County's ability to deliver top quality services with longevity and optimization in mind uh overall it was very informative and most importantly a productive day at the County office uh additionally last week the county received another generous donation of SE seeds for County seed Library uh with this donation we're now finalizing preparations for the seed Library launched through Senior Services this January in the coming weeks we'll be completing the 2025 calendar for phase two three and four of the program which will focus on seed distribution education as well as retention recording for the initiative's success uh even at the njx summit it was brought up to me by the Camden County Commissioners uh who applauded this effort uh which was a nice surprise um last but not least this morning the tax board held an engaging and informative meeting as several municipalities met for uh discussions on re-evaluations reassessments and roll backs uh I do want to take a moment to applaud our tax board Commissioners and our dedicated tax County uh County tax administrator Melissa Rockwell uh their expertise and ability to clearly explain the statistics analytics and reasonings behind the various actions that took place um whether it was to the municipal tax assessors the mayor the council or even just the indiv ual taxpayers present uh was really remarkable their knowledge and professionalisms are very valuable assets to our County and I just want to make you know everyone aware of their efforts and all the hard work that they do uh with that um that's all I have for this week Merry Christmas God bless Christmas deputy director Carney um I will be brief I know this is uh commissioner shik's last meeting I just want to thank him for his service here um I think it's been a good year I think we got a lot accomplished uh I don't think it's going to be last of you I know you aspire to do other things if not one day come back here um to continue the work but I really appreciate your help here as the county believe us as well and again just thank you for your service and the time that you're here I think we worked well together looking forward to working with you in the future on some other things and topics and what than you and that's all I have okay that's nice and quick for you okay division of Senior Services New Jersey supplemental nutrition assistance program NJ snap there is a resolution on the agenda this evening authorizing the division of senior services to submit an application for the AAA NJ Snap application assistance grant in the amount of $100,000 this funding will allow Senior Services to assist older adults 60 plus and individuals with disabilities 18 and over with the application process for New Jersey supplemental nutrition assistance program njap as well as applications for NJ save and NJ Family Care New Jersey supplemental nutrition assistance program snap provides food assistance to individuals and families with low incomes to help them buy groceries through a benefits credit card well not credit card benefits card accepted in most retail food stores and some farmers markets eligibility is set by several factors such as income and resources NJ saves helps lowincome older adults and individuals with disabilities save money on medicare premiums prescription costs and other living expenses New Jersey family care is a federal and state funded health insurance program created to help qualified New Jersey residents of any age access affordable health insurance to learn more about the application assistance for these programs and the many other services available through the division of Senior Services called 97357 9555 and I would first like to thank my fellow Commissioners for giving me the honor of serving as director this year it's been quite an exciting year putting the best interests of Sussex County First always we've had so many things to be proud of by working together we finalized the purchase of the dentist Library which will get the needed upgrades now to make it ADA Compliant we transferred $100,000 to Sussex Tech en enabling them to save two shops on The Chopping Block cut 1.1 million from the college chapter 12 funding that was not needed and put that into 550 that 550,000 back into our capital for next year we passed 1228 million budget in March keeping the tax increase at a low 89% that was all by working together we passed the budget quickly and effectively we also allocated all of the American Rescue plan funds we also started a support group for our Sussex County veterans just to name a few things and I would like to thank Ryan Guru who is here and Lorraine hence for that and uh we we brought our meetings online so that people can watch from the comfort of their home uh plus numerous other things um I want to thank Earl also for the last you know 10 and a half months that you served with us it's been a pleasure um you have been very dedicated and I appreciate everything that you've done for susex County and like Chris said I look forward to working with you again in the future on other things and oh you're going to make me cry too so thanks thanks for being here Earl I wish you and Donna the best which I see Donna came today too so thank you um and I attended on Saturday a very crowded reach Across America ceremony at the Northwest uh veteran ceremony along with incoming commissioner Alan Henderson and it was very cold but very well attended um and it was nice nicely put on I've been enjoying that uh the last few years also attended the Sussex County Economic Development partnership meeting today with Mr Ron taen and that's always very interesting good things coming to Sussex County unfortunately we we aren't allowed to discuss them until they happen um but thank you again everyone and I look forward to uh 2025 okay okay number 10 there is no consent agenda number 11 approval of minutes there are none number 12 no ordinances 13 no appointments number 14 resolutions okay can I get a motion to adopt the resolutions a through U okay commissioner shik and a second uh commissioner dgr any discussion roll call please commissioner de yes commissioner Hayden commissioner shik yes director space yes deputy director Carney yes number 15 Awards of contract change orders bids the board of County commissioners of the county of Sussex has reviewed the award of contract change orders bids consisting of various proposed resolutions and determined that the adoption of the said resolutions is in and will further the public interest can I get a motion to adopt the resolutions a through m move okay commissioner shik in a second second uh deputy director Carney any discussion roll call please commissioner de gr yes commissioner Hayden yes commissioner shik yes director space yes deputy director Carney yes financials none Personnel uh a motion to approve the Personnel agenda of 128 24 okay uh commissioner degr and a second second okay commissioner shik any discussion roll call please commissioner degp yes commissioner Hayden commissioner shik yes director space yes deputy director Carney yes hey number 18 administrative report I've never been here this quick I'm sorry thank you no I do one thing that we can Comm communicate on the economic development meeting we were at today the percentage of Tourism between June and September this year was up 5.7% as compared to last year a lot of people com hotel rates were Hotel percentages were up airbnbs were up and people were looking to come to Su County and it a good increase from where it was last year uh commissioner shrick it's been a pleasure it's been even more a pleasure to sit beside you and see you just literally sweat through all the issues that we went through this past year emphasize sweat but no it has it's been it's been nothing less than a pleasure to work with you um my Bruce brother and I'll see you soon there and um it's always been pleasure sitting with you and going through the issues you've always been very open and and understanding and when we talk about issues that sometimes we don't understand yet you seek for clarity and God knows as an administrator you can't ask for anything better than that so thank you God speak Hey Ron just real quick sorry um I just could you just give us an update on the meters and then the jail jail subdivision where we're at end of the year meters are ordered they're on the way they being um that was done we got confirmation of that this week the jail was in front of the Newton planning board as of today and they've got some revisions that we're going to have to do on easements for Wastewater and water it didn't app it didn't appear on the original survey that we had on it um they're concerned that if we sell it and the owner has to make repairs on that it's their responsibility and we should identify the Line in the Sand of what's ours versus theirs versus Newton so ke is going back to the drawing board tomorrow to revise that get on the next meeting in January so that's where we're at on that for the EAS for the EAS okay and the meters will come in do next month I would hope so start off the year like that yep okay perfect thank you everybody welcome okay 19 County Council report okay Merry Christmas uh 20 unfinished business I just have a little unfinished business myself again maybe this could go back to County Council I did get an email I think most of you Commissioners did I guess with from ktie Fina uh regarding the survey um that is something that we can do in house is that not a conf is that that's not a conflict because we're it's not a third part just because it's not a third party we're buying it it's our survey authorizers tonight the waivers and all that we need it we'll ask to see if we can do it internally I don't know she may be able to get that survey quicker I don't know that I'd rather get fast are okay well let's just find out what could what could be faster that's all we the the environmental study is in were good we don't have to have the phase two generator test came in good adding inspections came in good all so far we're good title search has been um asked for I don't know we've gotten that and the survey is the next thing roof was good inspections were all good is this is this still on slate to close this year trying to the bank wants to bank desper wants by I'm sure the realtor wants to close it's a mut thing they just call I mean we're as anxious as they are you just can't move so fast Council said you got third party people that are having Christmas parties and stff hard pull along we call every day perfect 21 new business anyone I have new business too told you had more um I'm not sure Christina can you pull your mic closer to you because can you not hear you yeah you'll be able to hear it Echo once it's closed I just don't talk loud enough um SEC dorm presentation that is scheduled for January 8th January 8th and they're coming here that's that's our that's our regular Mee and he plans on going every going over everything that have to do with the dorms correct okay okay any other new business no okay 22 public session from the floor this public session is for those wishing to make General comments of three minutes or less on non-agenda topics please line up the micro line up at the microphone and state your name and municipality for the record can I get a motion to open the floor for public comment commissioner degr and a second commissioner shik okay all in favor I oppose abstain okay the floor is open for public comment we missed you just noted as is being a problem and I'm afraid that by doing this could become a problem could become an issue with some people and some people perhaps wouldn't want to be involved with it anymore because they don't want to be invol in the drama which I would hope would not happen and I wonder if it's some sort of get orhs away from other things I mean as someone who says they are a truth Seeker I think it's long over time that we were answers about a stolen Bor and we were never and I hope that that would happen in the and I also that fantry continues andt thank you and I will say there is no missing $500,000 in money of the County's money the county is has not lost any $500,000 that that we didn't take in any $500,000 so thank you and we do support the food pantry okay anyone else also yeah there are no rais is coming to the commissioner board so you can't you cannot read and I will go on the record and I will guarantee that there will not be a raise um that that is just hearsay and uh he likes to write a lot of things that are not true it be wrong to give our s raises when we have employees that still need assistance right yeah there's there's no raises coming our way thank you yeah and I and I will say yeah and I will say uh for the record also that the last time the uh that they changed the salary of the freeholders Commissioners now was in 2001 so it was a long time right thank you thank you I just and I and I do you we do still want to see that we've all been asking for that all year thank you very much yeah can I just add director can I just add real quick yeah Diane do yourself a favor and like block that watch doog because it's it's pretty it's garbage it really is a joke as the writer yeah you just block you better off yeah well I think the guys who write that are pretty obnoxious people so you'll have that okay anyone else okay can I get a motion to close the floor for public comment and return to regular business so moved okay commissioner Hayden and a second uh commissioner degr any discussion all in favor I opposed abstain motion carries number 23 reminders please check the County's website at www.sex.nj.us804anddate.com [Music] can I get a motion to adjourn the meeting commissioner Hayden and a second commissioner shik all in any discussion all in favor nope okay uh meeting closed the new record 6:24 p.m thank you he tried it