##VIDEO ID:FMJZ0M55yL4## this is the commissioner meeting of October 9th 2024 at 6:00 pm at the Sussex County administrative Center commissioner meeting room one Spring Street Newton New Jersey can I have a roll call please commissioner degr here commissioner Hayden is absent commissioner shik here director space here deputy director Carney here moment of silence and salute to the flag tonight I would like to take a moment of silence for those that have been affected by Hurricane Helen and those that are in the path of hurricane Milton I pledge of allegiance 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 okay number 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 201 24 from the administrative center of the county of Sussex located at one Spring Street Newton New Jersey to the following New Jersey heral and Star Ledger and is also posted on the bulletin board maintained in 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 Electronics number five approval of the agenda can I get a motion to approve the agenda commissioner shik with a second from commissioner degr any discussion all in favor I I opposed abstain motion carries proclamations certificates and presentations we have three proclamations tonight one Proclamation recognizing October as domestic violence awareness month and that should be read on October 22nd by someone I'm just not sure yet who is going to be able to attend that one and then we have a proclamation recognizing senator Steven Oro and a proclamation recognizing assemblyman Harold J worths both Senator Oro and assemblyman Worth's proclamations will be read at a future event uh number seven there is no public hearing number eight public session from the floor this public session is for those wishing to make a comment of three 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 deputy director Carney with a second from commissioner degu any discussion all in favor I oppos abstain motion carries the floor is open for public comment okay can I get a motion to close the floor for public comment okay commissioner deg and a second from commissioner shik any discussion all in favor I oppose abstain number nine commissioner comments we'll start with commissioner shik it's been a very quiet two weeks um leading up to this meeting so the only thing I really wanted to um say was I'm not very happy with the institutional report of the college that's been forwarded to us and has been made public and I look forward very much look forward to being on the committee for the budget that's all for now thank you commissioner dgrp uh so continuing my comments from last week on expanding agricultural programs of susus County Community College and Technical School I wasted no time in meeting with Sussex Tech to explore opportunities similar to the ones at seccc for a uh the conversation included myself principal Gus madla and Laura Sussex Tech a teacher uh I want to thank them for their time and say that was a productive conversation that educated me on their work study program system and the different challenges I will need to face in in order to implement a successful Farm partnership uh similar to the one at SEC that's going on uh the overall goal of sending Sussex Tech students to a farm for Hands-On learning work work study will be to send the students at the beginning of the school year um of next year so September 2025 that's what we talked about um this is something I'll continue to work on with Sussex Tech we do have some time uh as always I will provide updates as they persist uh additionally uh yesterday I did attend a meeting organized by the chair of the Agricultural Committee in the State Assembly involving myself seccc officials and other presidents and a directors from New Jersey community colleges the conversation was about recruiting the next generation of farmers I was proud to inform everyone at the meeting that susus County Community College was leading the charge in optimizing our community college program to increase enrollment and retention for Future Farmers with the recent work uh of our farm partnership uh this was a long side president Conley and Dean Jason frug who I want to thank for including me in the conversation uh from the division of Health there will be a Women's Health Clinic Thursday October 17th 2024 from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. there will be a child health clinic Tuesday October 22nd 2024 from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m uh as well as there will be a health check Clinic uh the same day Tuesday October 22nd 2024 from 2:00 p.m. to 4 p.m. all clinics will be at the Office of Public Health nursing 2011 wheatsworth Road in Hamburg please call 97357 n570 extension1 1275 to make an appointment uh lastly commissioner schik deputy director Carney and I attended the US County firemen's parade in Hampton uh thank you to Hampton fire department for their Hospitality the delightful lunch and for inviting us to be a part of the uh parade it was terrific weather for it uh our fire departments and First Responders are vital and the safety and protection of our communities I send my sincere thanks to the courageous men and women who commit themselves to serving as First Responders your dedication is greatly appreciated uh that is all I have thank you deputy director Carney all right will be short today believe it or not not uh I'll start with the clerk I don't have anything from planning actually I take that back I do uh the bridge on Main Street in Sparta um I drove by there yesterday they're still driving cheating I guess they ran some issues I keep everybody up to date um when the time come I just thought that that bridge would be a little further along Bridge been uh it's been uh going on for about four years now not longer um this one comes from the clerk um per uh Jeff parrot I am pleased to report the income for the month of September 20 2024 2,577 56 higher than that of September 23 current revenue for the fiscal year 24 ending September 30th 24 is 212,000 5481 higher than of September 23 total County payments through September 24 equal 2, [Music] $179,450 oh we're still doing good still selling houses people want to move to susex which in nj.com that was um an article last week I believe two weeks couple weeks ago that people are moving to Su County which is nice to hear it's number one in the county in the state by the way her nj.com uh the E uh the economy is number one issue during any given election year and never never more so than with the 2024 election property alert system as of August was 54 new enrolled to date is 1284 Daniel's law enrolled in August was 13 to date is 642 little briefing on District 24 Senator Parker space is in the audience today thanks for coming Parks uh assembly one Fantasia POS a bill in the assembly Commerce Economic Development and agriculture that would prohibit the unintentional feeding of black bears current law prohibits the in intentional feeding of bears right so unintentional to intentional among the things this new bill will do is mandate how bird feeders are hung up as well as months and time of the day they can be outside mandate how homeowners store their trash and language in the not only ban bans hunters from baiting for Bears but potentially could ban the baiting of deer Statewide so no more deer feeders the bill entices enforcement by municipalities by switching the switching the proceeds from the fines from fishing game to municipality where the offense occurred the bill was heavily supported by radical anti-hunting activists So I listened to uh assembly woman Fantasia today on the radio ban bait uh whatnot so basically you can get fine I believe the first time is a warning second time is a $1,000 fine so what you're going to have what she seems to think and I agree is people uh walking around the neighbor Hood looking for bird feeders getting their tape measure out reporting to the municipalities to the Mayors to the council and rting them out so you're going to have people walking around it just I mean uh deer deer being deer feeders have been around for before my time sh Parker could attest to that and they want to get rid of them as well little upset on Friday measure expanding accessible transportation oping for New Jersey residents with disabilities and seniors were signing to law the 2-year program permitting taxi cabs lines and transportation Network Comp comp to replace New Jersey Transit asset Access Link van in certain cases will begin in four months Su man ganar was the Prime sponsor of the bill which was a2607 uh this is a statement from assembly M ganore our most vulnerable depend on reliable transportation to get the medical care they need groceries and life sustaining Services all the New Jersey residents with limiting Mobility require more widely accessible service but is especially concerning for those who live in more rural communities currently have very few options expanding New Jersey Transit reach through alternate providers recognizes limitations of Access Link and a growing needs of customers and caregivers Senator space and assembly members fantasian at ganar are also pushing the legislator to pass a bill which allocates 7.5 million annually for preserv preservation of land in a Highlands region and extends the expiration date of special dual appraisal purposes process rather I'm sorry for Green Acres and preservation program in the highlands region which is a467 27 and Senate 3466 that's about all I have as as commissioner D said we attended the fireman's parade it was a long event it was a good event uh and in my hometown to took home a bunch of trophies which I was proud of as I'm sure mayor SE thr was as well that's all I have for today thank you I first want to say I'm a little disappointed that commissioner Hayden didn't make it to the meeting today um but I'm going to use my commissioner comments tonight to talk about the Sussex County food pantry this vital service has been around since the 1950s and is currently run by a dedicated group of unpaid volunteers who place food orders take food deliveries organize and run food drives solicit and receive Food and non-food donations package and redistribute donated items and promote the food pantry I visited the food pantry on a handful of occasions myself met with his volunteers and held meetings with various individuals who make the food pantry a success last year alone the food pantry provided meals to 20,40 people donations come in all shapes and sizes via organized food drives such as stuff the bus and cram the cruiser but the vast majority of food and non-f food donations come from a wonderful Angel donor the food pantry receives approximately $10,000 worth of worth of food each week from that $10,000 there are no words to describe the generosity of the Angel donor simply amazing does not do them Justice they have made an enormous impact on the residents of Sussex County something that could never be matched they have made the impossible possible what breaks my heart is that the angel donor has faced repeated allegations of wrongdoing by commissioner Hayden and his political consultant who obviously have no conscious and they do not care whatsoever about the damage they are causing to those less fortunate innocent people innocent children are caught in the middle of their political and personal vendettas against a former Senator whose wife is one of the key volunteers I want to make it very clear in the past two and a half years that I've served as a county commissioner especially this year since these attacks began I've not witnessed or been made aware of any misconduct or illegal activity of any kind at in or surrounding the food pantry however the disgusting Behavior and the spread of these untrue allegations are putting the food pantry at risk of being able to continue to even operate going forward on September 29th I received an alarming phone call that has caused me to lose sleep I was advised that because of the baseless allegations and attacks the County's most vulnerable may be at Future at further risk I would like to ask commissioner Hayden although he's not here what his plans are going forward to replace the $520,000 worth of donated food that we may lose each year and how he plans to feed the growing population of atrisk individuals especially the hungry children whose parents depend on the angel donor's generosity I wonder if commissioner Hayden has ever spent a weekend not being able to eat or knowing how to feed his children or knowing when you yourself would have your next meal obviously the food pantries Angel donor has put people first Sussex County people and not personal agendas it's sad especially as we enter the holiday season commissioner Carney commissioner degr commissioner schik and I along with Sussex County staff and the food pantry volunteers are grateful for the generosity of every donor who makes the food pantry possible and above all for the angel donor who has made it possible to feed almost 160,000 people in the in the past 10 years as a county a board and a food pantry we would like to publicly acknowledge support and thank them for all their years of kindness to Sussex County the county has always tried to respect their anonymity however we cannot allow their kindness to go unrecognized and I apologize that they have not been publicly acknowledged and thanked before tonight I want to publicly apologize to them for what has been done to them and what they've had to go through and I would like to ask my board if they would support Proclamation um that I would like to have uh drawn up for our next meeting absolutely so I agree okay yes okay so we will we will get a proclamation together and see if they would like to send someone or if not we'll just draw it up and we can uh get the volunteers to come and accept it on that behalf just can I just add director yes you is very disturbing I think every commissioner majority of the Commissioners here are here to do good uh and then you just have one bad EG that brings chaos uh to the county time and time again um and this is really going to hurt suss County and I'm not sure how we're going to afford uh feeding uh what the the angel donor did as many people as they did so just one more thing that a certain person brings to the board um that's really disgraceful and um you know brings us all down because we are a commissioner board and people look at that they don't look at individuals they look at the commission board and that's what's going to you know be mud on our face is really what comes yes and we're a we're a good board we have four people we have to carry the weight for five because one just doesn't like to participate much and and and even working with you know the fairgrounds this year they they donated some money with the Chamber of Commerce even the the susus county GOP uh having food drives every time they can you know it's it's like you know going backwards when you have this kind of disturbing person that's sits on a board with us and by the way do we have a reason why he's here not here I mean it's about the fifth meeting that we missed earlier say that he was uh had a stomach bu that's okay last meeting was going to leave early because he had a migraine so all right I'm just curious director we haven't had any indication of anything from the AG's office not that I'm aware of nothing from the AG's or the attorney okay yep so the rumors that were out there that they had come here were not true for that okay uh I think that was I feel like it was the first dat that we start started talking about the food pantry yeah but the uh the letter was probably back in March so yep okay uh can I get a motion uh to support an Proclamation for the next meeting okay commissioner shik in a second okay uh do we need a roll call or all in favor okay all any discussion no all in favor I oppos Asain motion carries so we'll have that for our next meeting okay okay number 10 there is no consent agenda number 11 the approval of the minutes of the regular meeting of September 25th 2024 can I get a motion to approve the minutes from the regular meeting okay commissioner shik and a second commissioner deg gr um any discussion all in favor I opposed abstain motion carries number 12 we have no ordinances number 13 no appointments and resignations uh number 14 resolutions can I get a motion to adopt the resolutions a through O Okay commissioner deg in a second commissioner shik any discussion roll call please commissioner gr yes commissioner Hayden is absent commissioner sh yes director Stace yes deputy director Carney yes okay Awards of contract change orders bids can I get a motion to adopt resolutions a through e okay commissioner Carney and uh commissioner shik any discussion roll call please commissioner gr yes commissioner isent commissioner yes director space yes deputy director carne yes number 16 Financial uh can I get a motion to pay bills list a for October 9th 2024 second okay any discussion roll call please commissioner gr yeser is commissioner yes director space yes deputy director Carney yes okay B uh payment of bills list B October 9th 2024 can I get a motion to pay bills list B okay commissioner shik and a second from commissioner degu any discussion roll call please commissioner de grp yes commissioner Hayden is absent commissioner yes director space abstain deputy director Carney okay 17 Personnel um can I get a motion to approve the Personnel agenda for October 9th 2024 okay deputy director Carney and a second second uh commissioner shik any discussion roll call please commissioner de yes missioner sh yes director space yes deputy director Carney yes okay number 18 administrative report I'm getting smile from my CFO over there so I want to thank everyone for thank you I I got real brief I guess the most significant thing happened this past week was in the past two weeks we had a meeting with jcpnl with District 24 and a handful of the Mayors to talk about the billing that happened through the the enormous bills that were received by our residents through June and July and what some of those effects were the the the theory was that they started instituting these new smart meters and they thought that had some issue with it but come to find out the smart meters were very accurate and very dependable what had happened um call it an excuse or what have you how they communicated what happened during June and July was two things one was a rate increase for the generation of power and another rate increase for the for the um uh Power not power distribution so those two things are two different rates in your bill they uh commented that they don't have any control over those rates they're just passrs from there but it goes to the customer nonetheless and I don't know anybody that that gets electricity doesn't think that jcpnl is everything they don't understand that somebody else generates the power somebody else distributes it it's all a bill that comes from jcpnl the second thing that happened June and July is we all know they had a significant um heat and what they comment commented on was not just during the day it was Heat at night as well and people were using their air conditioners twice as much as what they normally use through that that particular time frame the other thing that we learned out of that that I didn't understand until now is that they have two different rates they have a winter rate that runs through October through May and then they have a summer rate that runs through May and October well in their summer rate if you stay below 600 uh Kow kilowatts per month you get a 2% it's a two cents on the rate if you go over that 600 it's seven cents a rate so everybody that in that June and July era was that used their systems more than that 600 kilowatt was getting not only whacked over to 600 but going to that 2 cents to 7 cents so everybody's bill was going it was doubling in some cases so they were kind enough to take information from some of the area mayors that had um their constituents just was having a hard time paying it and wanted to know what the reasons were they took those bills and they're going to go through those one by one but that was the significant things that they said that was going to happen um they still are focused they put $50 million in for vegetation management I'll be glad to see it because the County's been working very hard to do the same we put a lot of effort in that this year through Opera money and such so we put a quarter of a million dollars toward that this year so all the help we can get from them is greatly appreciated but it was a very interesting meeting to say the least Ron just two quick questions one $50 million that's probably through their whole area it is that's the state so what does that to do fors don't know yet they couldn't answer that question maybe next meting find that out oh absolutely these these new rates is this due to that the infrastructure no oh there's more those rates were just they these were the annual increases that come from either the BPU or the state BPU they're allowed to increase and I believe the energy generation was something like 3 point something and the Transmissions was like8 point something the and what I what I commented to them I said they got a perception issue because what was it three four months ago you as a board approved a resolution for to increase the rates for infrastructure improvements they had haven't even started that yet and yeah we didn't we didn't we did not we were asked to I thought we did we asked to a year ago we never did that good good because they don't know what that even means if if they're looking for that and I'll just speak for myself they need to come back up in front of us and explain what's going on I find that hard to believe that June and July was hotter than the past years that's what I was thinking the same thing that whatsoever I think that's little BS some people with $700 electric bills and something else is going on but they can come in front of us and explain why I weren't happy to invite them but they want a resolution at least for me come here they don't even have the they don't even have the approval for the they didn't even have the the organizational approval for the infrastructure Improvement that it's not all for infrastructure for sure and and the power's down we don't have enough power and all the the cars being pushed on us for for electric cars and whatnot that's fine and Dy but they need to explain what's going how much this is going to cost and realistically why are these rates are going up why that June and July was that hot I don't sweat that much but it wasn't that hot so anyway that's all I had for for the week thank you thank you okay County Council report not much for public session uh contracts have been exchanged on most of the real estate matters we have um jails moving along I should have resolutions and stuff ready for you guys by the next meeting I think so couple things to clear with you guys in terms of that before the evening ends but other that I think we're ready to roll good okay unfinished business anyone have any unfinished no okay new business I have new business um we have had some talks you know some of the Commissioners uh about a dress code policy um did you make copies for me you for did okay so I just I will read it in I have a resolution I would like the board to approve um dress code policy for Sussex County Commissioner board whereas and this will also go in the handbook um of the county whereas Sussex County requires employees to be neat and orderly and dressed appropriately for the work they perform employees must also present themselves professionally and avoid casual and suggestive attire or hats or other clothing of a similar nature that does not present a business-like appearance and whereas it is the desire of the board to adopt a similar policy for commissioner board meetings and whereas Commissioners shall be dressed in business attire while attending commissioner meetings meetings and whereas the following attire is inappropriate to be warn by Commissioners when attending meetings of the commissioner board jeans dirty Andor torn clothing t-shirts or sweatshirts with adver which advertise my watch uh jeans dirty and or torn do really annoying okay a tire that displays advertisements such as contractor Andor vendor information halter tops or clothing that exposes the midrift sundresses indor tops with spaghetti straps without any covering shorts excluding scorts spandex clothing or clothing generally worn for exercise clothing worn so that undergarments are readily visible undergarments worn is outerwear transparent clothing excessive piercing a visible body parts including connecting chains Beach wear including flip-flops or similar Footwear that may pose a safety hazard sneakers and or work boots now therefore be it resolved that the Sussex County Board of County Commissioners does hereby adopt this policy as part of the conduct of the commissioner board meeting um any discussion yes director um I like everything you have I would like to have everybody here because it seems like when all the Commissioners aren't here it causes a problem yes so we could just put this for our next meting for our next meeting that way we're all here hopefully we're all here and then this way we can get cop and if anyone wants to edit something on it um in the metime because I would like to make it for not just commissioner meetings but other meetings that we attend to all all our meetings that we have in this building that we represent yeah yeah committee meetings perfect okay we'll do that we'll do that we'll table that we'll do that on our next meeting you put a deadline on that though in case we should have four people on the board more than one more time no matter what I think I think we'll just do it next time yeah as long as we have a quum yeah I'm good sounds good okay thank you okay number 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 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 deu in a second uh commissioner shik any discussion all favor I oppose abstain okay the floor is open three minutes or less to reate yes yes de Aran I would add to your I think it's great I absolutely do but I would add when you're representing the commission because I saw a couple things in the newspaper recently and I cringed it because the picture was wasn't very professional so I would just add that that's just a suggestion do what you want okay the second question I have is for the I know we were working on trying to get the um food pantry litigate um legally right they were trying to do paperwork with the did that ever get done or that kind of got dropped when they AG no the the county has final paperwork so they're 5 no they're not registered to operate as a food pantry they're officially Reg so all that paperwork was okay anyone else okay okay can I get a motion to close the floor for public comment and return to regular business director yes I just saw Mrs Bren walk com I'm not sure she's aware that it's public session yes yeah oh this is Mrs Brennan Miss Brennan Miss Brennan did this is our second public comment this isn't the agenda so uh deputy director carne was just wondering if you wanted to make a comment you probably missed my commissioner comments oh I'm sorry um I'm taking a class at the college and I was kind of in and out so I apologize for that yes just say your name and your uh yeah I'm sorry thank you thank you want to speak thank you Kathy brenon Hampton Township I I appreciate this like I said I am taking a class so I'm kind of like in the middle of the class I have to kind of run out and and then I have to kind of like run back to the class so I'm a little discombobulate um you know the same situation is still going on um very concerned about you know what's going on and um how it's affecting the reputation of the county and um I don't know this for a fact but I have heard rumors that the commissioner has said he will not run for re-election like I said that's just a rumor don't know that it's true um if it is true I would be very happy with that um I think we need someone else in here who is going to be interested in what's going on in the county uh helping the people and um um getting getting the job done rather than um for lack of the better term causing lots of chaos and um that's basically it's same thing I will reiterate you know that I say every time um I wish that he would have resigned um obviously that's not going to happen um I'm just concerned that um there's County Business that could be conducted that isn't being conducted Ed because time is being wasted on what is not necessarily what has to be done and the uh food pantry uh whatever you want to call it I don't want to call the Scandal because I don't feel it's a scandal um diversion maybe I would call it I feel it's just detrimental to the county and I think we need people in here who are here to help the county not to make name for themselves and thank you thank you you you might have missed my comments I don't know were you here during the commissioner comments before no I'm Sor okay so you you might have missed it you might want to listen to the audio I think you'll be pleased with my commissioner comments so thank you very much I'm fighting back I appreciate you giving me the time like I said I'm on a crazy schedule right now okay we're gonna we're we're going to have a proclamation next meeting for um the angel donor of the food pantry and I don't know if they'll be here but we're going to thank them thank you he anyone else okay can I get a motion to close the floor for public comment and return to regular business commissioner shik with a second from commissioner deg grou any discussion all in favor I oppos abstain motion carries number 23 reminders please check the County's website at www.sex.nj.us804anddate.com CL session not open to the public in accordance with the provisions of mjsa 10 col 4-12 SEC whereas the subject matters about to be discussed may be excluded from the public portion of the meeting by resolution of the board of County Commissioners as an exception to the open public meetings act pursuant to mjsa 10 4-12 B and whereas it appears necessary for the board of County Commissioners to discuss such matters in executive session now therefore be it resolved that the board of count of the county of Sussex in accordance with the provisions of njsa 1012b and njsa 10 4-13 that the board at this time enter into an executive session from which the public shall be excluded and be it further resolved that the general nature of the subjects to be discussed relate to the following items authorized by njsa 1012b as designated below number seven matters relating to litigation negotiations and the attorney client privilege uh office litigation Sussex County jail and the county policy payroll uh be further resolve that the deliberations conducted in close session may be disclosed to the public upon the determination of the susex County Board of County Commissioners or provided by law that the public interest will no longer be served by such confidentiality and be it further resolved that upon completion of the business for which the board has entered into the executive session the board shall reconvene and resume its meeting open to the public and be it further resolved that the boards uh not to take formal action right during the uh after returning from executive session except to adjourn the regular meeting okay can I get a motion to adopt the executive executive session resolution and enter an execu into executive session deputy director Carney and a second from commissioner schik any discussion all in favor I opposed abstain motion carries can I get a motion to adjourn from executive session and return to regular business so move okay commissioner deg and commissioner shik any discussion all in favor I oppose abstain motion carries 25 adjournment can I get a motion to adjourn the meeting move okay commission Carney and commissioner degu any discussion all in favor I I opposed abstain 72 five