##VIDEO ID:0F37ASj28hY## gotta turn to [Music] angels in the AR spinnings hallu e e e e e e e e e e e e I dreamed I was in a Hollywood movie check one two check one to good evening good evening family and friends T neck residents our program is is going to begin in a few short moments everyone please begin to make your way to your seat council members to the deis council members to the day as family and friends please find your seats e e e once again good evening family and friends happy New Year welcome here to the Rus Center for our 2025 Township atinc Township council reorganization meeting let's get a quick Round of Applause for our elected officials up there on the deis for our community it has been a very fast and furious year I think we could all agree to start we're going to ask everyone to please rise out of your seats for the Pledge of Allegiance we have our flag to my left I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America to The Republic one nation and first roll call of 2025 we have council member beler here thank you yes we're gonna need to speak into the microphones Council thank you council member G here council member Goldberg here council member Catz here council member Oregon here council member ban here and council member Schwarz here adequate notice of this meeting has been provided by resolution number 30022 sending a copy to the newspapers officially designated for 2024 and 2025 by way of resolution number 22024 fing a copy in the township clerk's office and posting it on the municipal building bulletin board and the mayor hereby directs that this statement be included in the minutes also present this evening from our Township we have our Township manager Miss jacqulyn hashmat we have Deputy Township manager Anthony verley to my right we have Deputy Township Clerk Kristen dorcha Scott sammon our Township attorney our dedicated department heads we have our cable master Ron Goodman lurking around somewhere along with our tech department we also have OD debella from Bergenfield here this evening which is powering us audio and visual and we need to thank Parties by boreli for setting up our awesome stage and our uh pipe and drapes and helping us make our room look so beautiful this evening and of course a very special thank you is an order to our Department of Public Works and Recreation Department for helping make this event happen and of course of course it's very important that we recognize what a reorganization meeting is and its purpose in the face of our community and our community is not what it would be without so many of our dedicated public servants you'll notice that this evening we're here at the legendary Richard Roa Community Center our rec department and it's also brings me joy but also some sorrow to wish our Recreation director Glenn Crockett a happy retirement after 46 years of dedicated service we would be absolutely remiss not mentioning glenna's contributions to our community this evening being that we're here doing our reorg meeting at our beautiful Rota Center so before we continue with our program this evening we want to pass it along to our Administration to just share a few words and memories of Glenna uh to get our evening started I'm going to start at the bottom of the deis all the way to my left with Miss hashmat good evening and Welcome to our reorganization meeting to include a memorable tribute to our newly retired superintendent of recreation Glenna Crockett even though I have only been the township manager for six months I have had the honor to work close closely with Glenna on several Township events it only took one tinic event being July 4th where I witnessed glenna's organization knowledge and dedication as a new manager I felt very fortunate to have have this department running so well and her immediate support of My Success was a true relief today we honor glenna's 46 years of truly legendary service and commitment to the township of tenac I want to personally thank Glenna for always taking a moment to give me insight and ensure I didn't miss a deadline or a detail it takes a real leader to look out for others and their future success congratulations glana you have nurtured immeasurable growth in our recreation department but most of all you have touched the lives of everyone in this room and throughout tenek over many many years always remember that your legacy is eded into the foundation of our recreation department and I hope to continue all you have done throughout the coming years years I want to remind you that on behalf of the council and in honorable Rec recognition of your almost 50 years of service a bench will be dedicated to you in V Park this spring we look forward to having you at the unveiling ceremony and to once again celebrate your outstanding contributions to the township of Tink May the next chapter of retirement be one of health happiness and beautiful memories cheers and God bless you always um 46 years I wish I can say you've been there before I was alive but I just missed it um but that's I've only known there you are the rec department um I hope we can move forward if the Gym's not here next week it means we can't best of luck in a very well-deserved retirement and I hope you actually know what you can do during that time but come out here and shoot some hoops Doug can I actually walk with because we have a couple things to give her from Council Kena Kena we're going to miss you you've helped so many people over the years you've helped thousands upon thousands of families over the years you've helped my family you've helped children adults the list is is never ending we love you we're going to miss you so much we appreciate you and everything that you and your team have done for us and we have some lovely flowers for you but we also have a plaque for you and I'm just going to read it into the record we also have the certificate that was presented at your dinner party but Glenna Crockett Recreation superintendent with heartfelt appreciation and recognition of 46 years of dedicated service Visionary leadership and commitment to enriching the Tina Community your tireless efforts made the recreation department the crown jewel of Teck and the Envy of many other communities congratulations on your well-deserved retirement we wish you the very best of luck in this next chapter of your life and you're going to keep bowling right I don't know if you guys know but she is a state champion for bowling and has been for a long time we miss you we love you so we're a relatively young Council I think with the exception of Ellie and Mark most of us have only worked with the UN Council for two to four years but as residents here you've helped each one of us so when I was a child I went to sports and arts and my children went to sports and arts and they did Dancing with Miss Judy I think her name was um but each uh family in town benefited in some way not just us and my favorite part of hearing the budget presentations was yours when you told us that you service I think it's from two years old to I don't I don't know how old the seniors were um and that's what the rec department does so from preschool and children up to the senior center and calendar around whether it's holidays um Sports in the Park Senior Center um year round you bring joy and learning and teaching and something to do for everyone and um countywide EK is known to have this energetic wonderful Senior Center and I've seen you interacting with children and I've seen you interacting with the seniors and it's not always easy and they're challenging and you're amazing and you're going to be missed so thank you very much for everything that you've done so I have been here for some of the Milestones of uh glena I think uh we passed the watch many many years ago uh as far as giving that to you but um I will say that when you think about tenek and the different um institutions or places that there's ability to have interactions with so many diverse or or or interesting Unique Individuals from the community you think of like the Ambulance Corp you think of um the library you think of our Sports organizations and you think of this building over here where literally people from the ages of what is it one to 100 are here dancing knitting reading meeting playing ball and obviously the parks are under your purview as well so you've really done tremendous work for the what we pride ourselves here in EK on the diversity of our community um and you should be really proud about that you know I know every year I make a little silly joke about your bowling and stuff like that like I'll take you on we'll challenge I'm not going to do it this time this time I just want to talk about what a great job you've done when you moved into this building from Forest Avenue and when you turned this place into really a community center which is what it is obviously so we are going to miss you um and we thank you very much for everything you've done for the township of tenek and for every single resident of this town and I'll take you on bowling anytime so Glenna it's been an honor the last couple years to serve with you on PPR um I know that I've seen the inner workings of what you do which is everything um and I can say I remember the Forest Avenue building too um and you literally have been the only Recreation director I have ever known um because I grew up in tenek I went through Sports and arts I went to I remember getting my first pool pass at the Forest Avenue building and and look at what you've done I mean it's such an accomplishment so you really should have something you so much to be proud of and I know that you you will have an amazing time bowling I know Glen bowls with my best friends so um I'm looking forward to hearing about that and and I'm sure I'm sure I'll hear about that so um good luck and you you've earned everything Lena there are no words to say how grateful we are for your 47 years of service to ten you have been a pillar of strength to this community an amazing leader I was um amazed to hear that you were the first African-American woman to serve as a superintendent in the state of New Jersey I mean just unbelievable unbelievable you have set a a great role model for our children um and then just to talk about what you've done when so I'm fairly new to Tek I've been here since 2013 and I was just so amazed when I found the Roa Center because there's nothing like it to be able to come with my one and a half-year-old and you know put him in the the dance classes as they get older sign up for bitty basketball to be able to sign up for um Zumba myself when I was looking for exercise I mean and then my mom when she moved here a few years later she signed up for all the senior classes I mean you've just done a phenomenal job finding ways to serve the community and bring us all together um Ellie said it perfectly when he said you when you think about community and teac you think of Roa and so we really really owe you so much for what you've done here and we let's give her another round of applause thank you Glenna Glenna I concur with everything that my colleagues have said um I happen to remember uh the the old Rec Center uh as a teen I remember going to dances there so it was really amazing to see how you oversaw the the the building and buildout of this this project and all over the years um as I um settled got married and had my my children I was so excited about um all the various programs I mean it was like we would get giddy when we would see the color flyers in the lobby knowing that these were events and these were classes that we could all partake in and getting a swim pass and uh even overseeing um Sunshine Gardens which I I brought my three-year-old at the time and and we you would walk by the window and wave and and it was just such a pleasure getting to know you over the years because you are truly a servant leader and um just to show that the um the movement of time my uh that three-year-old is now a 21y old that just graduated from college so thank you for all that you've done you have poured into our children and our families and we owe a debt uh to you for all that you have done and enjoy your retirement Miss Crockett would you like to share a few words good evening and thank you for the all those kind words let's see here well for 46 years I have been employed by the township of tenek first as a supervisor for 5 years the department looked very different back then there were six full-time employees five of us working in one large room in the old townhouse tx's first public school I was promoted to superintendent in 1984 the second superintendent of recreation in the Department's existence and the first africanamerican Super intendent in the state of New Jersey over my 40-year tenure as superintendent I was instrumental in the Department's expansion with full-time Staffing over doubling in size and an increase in programs facilities and amenities we started out refurbishing all playgrounds to code we took over the senior nonprofit organization that was housed in the townhouse that had 15 registered participants at the time today due to exceptional staff and programming we now serve over 800 senior residents quarterly free of charge we successfully instituted the senior and disabled transportation service having two to three vans on the road two to three days a week servicing over 1500 residents free of charge to vital doctor appointments food shopping and miscell miscellaneous errands also free of charge we built moved into and manage our over 50,000 square foot award-winning Center operating seven days a week where our department offers programs from 18 months to over 90 years old houses our youth basketball Sports organization and reserves rooms for Township and local organizations for meetings the original Jewel of our community those are just a few of the highlights during my tenure we have won several State and County awards for excellence in programming and excellence in design including our award-winning Rota Center and the vote Park Sports plex the Envy of communities throughout the state but in 2024 I was extremely fortunate to be the recipient of the State Recreation association's most prestigious individual award for administrative excellence I worked with several outstanding Town managers in my past 40 years starting out with wers Schmid my mentor and friend Gary Sage the financial Wizard and true friend of recreation Halen fall my personal Angel and good friend William browon and and Dean kazin who I had known since they were police officers and our present manager Jacqueline hashmat who from day one not Not only was extremely supportive but has been a good fast friend to me and the department however I would be nowhere without the support and dedication of my talented Recreation team that I have assembled over the years past and present all very special to me in so many ways a special thanks to my dedicated assistant superintendent Lisa skullnick recently retired and sha Powers now act Acting Superintendent of recreation and all the full-time part-time staff who make every day the dream workor with their hard work and dedication to provide the very best for our residents I want to thank dvon Romeo my onth job husband and all of DPW for their unwavering support and assistance over the years plus all the other departments Council volunteer board members volunteer Sports organization members who make Teck a great place to live every day to set our to see the smile on the faces of our residents who take advantage of our programs and Facilities is proof positive that we're doing something right I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to serve the residents of tinac for the past 46 years I will cherish the friendships I have made the memories I will take with me and the many residents who have supported me and those who have made and continue to make a difference in the lives of our resident especially our youth thank you so much B round ofuse big round of applause for Glenna I'm going to miss you glena all right now now we can begin our reorganization meeting I'm going to be calling up our police chaplain Daniel ma to begin with our invocation good evening Council Township manager dignitaries department heads and the residents of TAC in just a few moments the council will be doing one of its most important UH responsibilities and that is electing new Deputy Mayors as well as a mayor so with that in mind knowing how important leadership is is and how important good good leadership is to our community let us ask the Lord to help guide and direct them in their decisions will you join me in a word of prayer Eternal God we turn to you now and we ask Lord that you would uh resignate within the hearts of those on the council to choose the people that you would have in place during this period of time for the community of tenek Lord your providential care will be upon them now guide and direct them and we ask this Lord in your precious name amen thank you thank you and at this time I I want everyone to know that tenek was I believe the first municipality in New Jersey to designate a Township poet Laurette a uh agent that will come help us commemorate certain events and occasions and similar to the inauguration we have our poet Laurette here this evening Mr Scott Pleasants to share a piece with us as we start our new year thank you to the township Council Our Town manager and clerk for this opportunity to the residents of tenek and all those who may be listening if ever there was a town where trees guarded beliefs and sidewalks provided a path to understanding a place where people would occasionally meet at the intersection of Hope and Humanity where generations of Treetops watch over children playing and the morning due on laune creates a welcome mat for familiar family gatherings on a new day where your side of town merges with my side of town during spring festivals and winter Gatherings it becomes Our Town a common place amongst Neighbors with an optimistic view we Prosper Together As We Lay at top an outstretched blanket of diversity looking through a cloudy sky and seeing rays of sunlight holding hands with division and unity embraced by the arms of community tenek a town strong Where We rise for early morning walks around afternoon fields of Dreams Deferred and flags of different colors fly free freely on polls of representation Redemption and painted protests and a municipal green host character and Creed with a dignified salute to a military veteran this is a town where a castle on a hill remains a springboard for all things possible year after year releasing blue butterflies Into The Wind that often return home for reflective reunions on a new day where we get accustomed to seeing each other at church meeting just a few blocks away at the synagogue sharing at the mosque and teaching at the temple empathy shows their shame and shun for My Views May differ and lawn signs paint a colorful picture of varying and prominent ideologies where sometimes elected titles with power can become selected titles that uplift lift the powerless and egos remain within the tuck of a shirt pushing forward support for an entire Community collectively when we place paving stones along the way of Consciousness we can create a path to fairness this is a town where morality can still be invited to sit at the table of righteousness and hopefulness once again continues to feed new Beginnings allowing the offering of change to remain purposely peacefully positioning itself on a platter for our taking Tac where you see me as I see you and working and living together we harness the ability to see each other along a park path within a house of worship at the crossroads of what was and what will be through the pulse of your neighbor and the faith in your friend and certainly influenced by the beat of a small Town's heart as the sun rises today on a new day on a new day thank you thank you so much Scott thank you so much to begin our agenda I'm going to turn the microphone over to manager hashmat to share with us a couple recognitions and plans looking forward good evening again and happy New Year welcome to this very special evening for our Township Council before my sentiments for a look ahead into the new year I would like to recognize some dignitaries present with us this evening these are in no these are in no particular order so if you could please hold your Applause till the end former mayor James dun leevy former councilwoman Javon Ramy rice police chaplain Reverend Daniel Mae former council member Alan S former council member Keith Kaplan former council member El Natan Rudolph former Township manager Dean kazinsky former Recreation superintendent Glenna Crockett Jersey city mayor Steve phlip assembly woman Ellen Park from the Board of Education trustee Victoria fiser former Board of Education member Howard Rose from our clergy Council Rabbi Daniel fredman special recognition to my special department heads Deputy manager Anthony verley police chief Andrew mcer deputy chief Seth kgal Fire Chief Joseph berold our CFO Issa Abasi Deputy CFO Aisa adami DPW director Travon Romeo DPW superintendent Mike serabian purchasing agent Simona Ian tax assessor James Tai construction official Mark bino Acting Superintendent of recreation Shan Powers our Township attorney Scott salmon Our IT director Andrew fiser our judges judge Randazzo and judge Erica Youngblood and oh and um Ed edha from Board of Education thank you let's give them all a round of applause please yes again welcome everybody here to the 2025 reorganization meeting and at this time it brings me great honor as your Township Clerk to provide you with the certification of our recently reelected council members I Doug ruson Township Clerk of the township atin hereby certify that on November 5th 2024 Karen Oregon Michael Pagan and Mark schw s were duly elected by the people of tenek to the T Township Council quick Round of Applause for our elected officials it brings me great joy to begin inviting them down to have the oath administered to them we're going to go a little out of order we are going to bring Michael Pagan first down off of the deis to be sworn in by Jersey city mayor Steven flip e I your name to solemly swear Solly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States 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 that I will bear true faith that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same and allegiance to the same to the government established to the government 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 and that I will Faithfully that I will Faithfully impartially and partially and justly and justly perform all the duties perform all the duties of the office of council member of the office of council member according to the best of my ability according to the best of my ability so help me God help me God congratulations thank you may congratulations councilman begun at this point we're going to call miss Karen Oregon down off of the deis to have the oath administered from Rabbi Daniel fredman from the Jewish center of EK I I Karen Oregan do solemnly affirm do solemnly affirm that I will support that I will support the Constitution of the United States the Constitution of the United States and the constitution of the state of New Jersey and the constitution of the state of New Jersey that I will bear true faith that I will bear true faith and Allegiance and allegiance to the same to the same and to the governments and to the governments established in the United States established in the United States and in this state and in this state under the authority of the people under the authority of the people and that I will faithfully and that I will faithfully impartially impartially and justly and justly perform all the duties of the office perform all the duties of the office of council member of council member according to the best of my ability according to the best of my ability so help me God so help me God congratulations thank you congratulations coun woman Oregon last but not least we are calling Mark Schwarz down off of the deis to have his oath administered from Miss Emma harowitz my uh wife and daughters are not here tonight but uh my parents you can stay there if you want to come up you come on up my parents and my in-laws are both here um my sons and my daughter l in the back but they I'll let them stay there okay repeat after me please I Mark Schwarz I Mark Schwarz do solemnly affirm do solemnly affirm 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 that I will bear true faith and allegiance that I will bear true faith 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 the authority of the people and that I will Faithfully that I will faithfully impartially and justly impartially and justly perform all the duties of the office of council member perform all the duties of the office of council member according to the best of my ability according to the best of my ability so help me God so help me God congratulations councilman Schwarz thank you Rabbi Freeman thank you miss harowitz it is worth mentioning that we actually had Congressman goth Heimer here earlier this afternoon to swear in councilman Schwarz and councilwoman organ he canot make it here this evening but that's all right we had more than adequate fillings for him and at this point our recently elected council members have been freshly installed and we need to call up now our municipal judge Erica youngblut to honorably deliver the Athenian oath to our newly established Teek Township Council Council if you may please rise at your seat if you can raise your right hand and repeat after me I will ever strive for the ideals and sacred things of the city of City both alone and with many I will unceasingly seek to Quicken to Quicken the sense of public duty I will Revere and obey the city's laws I will transmit this Township of tenek of te not only not less but greater better and more beautiful beautiful than it was transmitted to me it was transmitted to me thank you thank you your honor and thank you tck Township Council it is now very official and at this point family and friends it is the duty of our Council to now elect the next mayor and Deputy mayors of the township of EK each me each council member is going to be provided a paper ballot from Mr Nora here uh we will collect those ballots and read the results out loud the first nomination that we are going to be looking for is for the position of Mayor Mr clerk yes I'd like to nominate Mark Schwarz for mayor second oh sorry I second that was a motion from councilwoman Oregon and a second Denise beler for Mark Schwarz for mayor so like I mentioned we have Mr Nora handing you all paper ballots please keep the motion that's on the floor in mind Mark Schwarz for May Mark your choice we'll give you a few seconds if you need a pen we will bring you one I thought I had the T neck windmill engraved pens waiting there for you also but I did not sorry whenever you're ready you can just hand it to Kristen there's a vote for Schwarz a vote for Schwarz a vote for Schwarz a vote for Schwarz a vote for Schwarz and a vote for Schwarz and one more vote for Mark Schwarz for mayor give it up for mayor Mark Schwarz mayor of the township of tenek you could switch your seat now if you'd like or you could wait until we're all done with the deputy Mayors there might be some musical chairs going on so congratulations mayor Schwarz at this time we are going to be asking mayor Schwarz to please come down and received the oath sorry I got a little tripped up there thank you very much uh just briefly in about 34 years ago um someone came up to me in high school and said they're running for a student council vice president can I sign their petition and I'm like oh you know I was interested in running for government and he said well why don't you go get a petition in run for Student Council from the freshman class so I signed Deli cat's petition for Council and he signed mine and we've been doing in government ever since so I'd like to call Mayor cats down to the um mic to please swear me in still remember that my family just uh stand up again I'm actually going to ask my uh son and my daughter-in-law as well in the back to uh come up I imagine uh I think my wife and my daughters are watching on TV but they are okay I I Mark Schwarz to somly affirm to somly affirm 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 the constitution of the state of New Jersey that I'll bear true faith and allegiance to the same that I'll bear true faith and allegiance to the same and to the governments established in the United States and to the governments established in the United States and in this state and in this state under the authority of the people under the authority of the people and I'll faithfully and faithfully and partially impartially and justly perform and justly perform all the duties of office all the duties of office of Mayor of Mayor according to the best of my ability according to the best of my abilities so help me God so help me God congratulations congratulations mayor Schwarz thank you very much um first thank you very much to the council for um having the faith in me and also uh thank you to our outgoing Mayor Michael Bagan uh the last two years were years that I first hoped they to happen again I hope years that our our town could move forward these were some very trying times times that had no Playbook and Michael ban and the council steered us through that so with that I thank you I thank you for all your guidance as my mayor the last two years um I also want to thank our our Township manager manager Dean kiny and Jaclyn hashmat um how you run this town how you also steer this town and I know how you've been steering the Titanic it would not have crashed so we wake up every morning we go to sleep every night knowing that you have us protected same for the staff our Township uh department heads as well as the staff in the room we thank you you live breathe breathe and eat T neck every single day and for that we owe in debt of gratitude towards you and we thank you also thank you for coming out out tonight our attorneys our our assistant manager and our clerk that runs the mothership as we say thank you all um going forward we have quite a bit to do in Tek as mentioned these were some trying times but now looking ahead the ABCs of tck action what I hope what I hope for tck is we have action every single day I said this over the last few months I'm a GS person get stuff done never let perfect get get in the way of good enough but get things done we're never going to be perfect but we need to move forward and so for that I ask the Public's help helping the council the council to help us to get it going next building building is not a four-letter word this council members of this Council were able to pass eight years of zero budgets and we did so because we built we built smartly but the money coming in helped our residents see eight years of no taxes now unfortunately times have changed over the last few years since covid but we need to get back to the business of building a nationwide crisis that has no affordable no affordable housing people can't move into this neighborhood there are no houses for sale we need to be building and as everyone knows that many towns in t many towns in Bergen County especially tck owee hundreds of affordable housing units and that is our mission that we must build but and what I learned from councilwoman Hillary Goldberg see collaboration we need to do that with our community yes I always rush things a little too quickly and I've learned over the last two years collaborate with the community have your community meetings listen to your community learn from them before you start building diversity we're surrounded by towns that simply aren't diverse we have white towns we have black cities we have Asian Villages but tinck we have it all it's our biggest strength but it's a strength that we must work on every single day we don't know each other we have to learn each other live with each other and respect each other every single day lastly e economics we got to keep an eye on the budget we got to keep an eye at the end of the day everyone here wants to live here they want to live here in peace but they want to live here and be able to afford to stay here and for that the council must work on the affordability the economics of staying in tenek I try not to use the word I but we there is no I in tenek and I look towards our Council our professionals our employees and you are residents that we could do this all together thank you thank you mayor Schwarz thank you so very much and at this time we will be doing our same process except for the position of Deputy Mayor one Mr Clark yes I'd like to nominate uh Karen Oregon for Deputy Mayor one the second from mayor Schwarz and that was a motion from Danielle G for councilwoman Oregon for Deputy Mayor one Mr clerk I would like to nominate Michael Pagan for Deputy Mayor one second the other the first initial motion was seconded so we need to act on that one first a vote for Pagan a vote for orgon a vote for Oregon a vote for Oregon a vote for Oregon a vote for Pagan and vote for Oregon majority goes to Deputy Mayor Karen Oregan congratulations deputy mayor to swear me in I'd like to ask someone else who has given a lifetime to tck uh Dean kazin have everybody here raise your right hand repeat after me I state your name I Karen Oregan to solemnly affirm to solemnly affirm 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 that I will bear true faith that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the saint and allegiance 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 and that I will faithfully and that I will faithfully impartially impartially and justly performed and justly performed all the duties of the office of Deputy Mayor one all the duties of the office of Deputy Mayor one according to the best of my ability according to the best of my ability so help me God so help me God congratulations congratulations Deputy Mayor clerk Mr clerk I'd like to nominate uh for Deputy Mayor 2 Denise belter one second sure I just wanted to see if Deputy Mayor Oregon wanted to say anything thing you want to say something yeah absolutely just a few words I'm more comfortable from here 40 years ago um my father ran on a ticket and one he ran with Bernie Brooks um m Boyd and Lucille Steiner it was as a diverse a ticket as you had ever seen them and they won um Bernie Brooks was mayor of EK Lucille Steiner ended up being a female deputy mayor for a very long time and um I'm just very proud right now uh to be here I was texting with Jackie Kates today uh Tink has had three female Mayors um only one of them is still with us and she has been a role model for me for a very long time since I sat in a room and filled out postcards for her when she ran um she governed with strength but with Grace and um I'm just very proud to be up here today so thank you all congratulations Deputy Mayor Oregon Mr clerk I'd like to nominate Hillary Goldberg for Deputy Mayor to second there was a first from councilman bean and a second from councilwoman Goldberg sorry didn't I already have a motion on the floor I had nominated uh Denise Belcher for Deputy Mayor 2 yes you did however the the the the the the motion the the floor was not open at that point attorney sammon I would say hear me I would say these these are not motions as much there are nominations and so the as many nominations can be made as the council would like to make and then the vote can proceed from there point of clarification does it matter which order we go in then no Mr clerk did you catch the second the the for uh Denise beler did you catch the second who was our second I'm just getting Clarity so I'm I'm so sorry there's a first yes first by Danielle G for Deputy Mayor two for Denise Belcher a second by Ellie Catz Ellie white cats Ellie white cats sorry uh Mr salmon which motion do we need to consider which nomination I would say these are nominations rather than motions and so the council can vote on uh vote oh okay so both both nominations are on the floor and Council vote as they wish each individual thank you for that Clarity we work it out we have Deputy clerk denor here with our ballots we have a vote for beler a vote for Goldberg a vote for beler a vote for beler a vote for beler a vote for beler a vote for Goldberg Deputy Mayor Belcher congratulations welcome Sheriff Kuran good evening T at our administrator oath of office for Deputy Mayor to Miss Denise beler please repeat after me I state your name to solemnly swear or affirm soln swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States Constitution of the United States and the constitution of the state of New Jersey constitution of the state of New Jersey that I will bear true Faith their true faith and allegiance to the same and to the government established in the United States to the government established in the United States and this state this state under the authority of the people authority of the people that I will Faithfully faithfully and partially and justly perform all the duties of the office of Deputy Mayor to of office of Deputy Mayor to according to the best of my ability according to the best of my ability so help me God congratulations congratulations deputy mayor beler just a few words first first of all I wanted to thank our sheriff sheriff auran give him a round of applause he is such a a busy man in demand he actually had his swearing in earlier today and um he covers such such a does a wonderful job of covering our our County and I just want to just just share that um just a couple of people that really come to mind today and and the first one is my my youth pastor my youth pastor I always think of him uh because he um he was a true um man of God who TR trusted in a better uh community in a better world so he taught us a lot about serving and serving meant giving back and whatever that meant uh you could serve from the pull pit but you could also serve in public uh service to your community and he he Not only was my my uh Pastor growing up but he U went on to be uh the very first African-American uh mayor of Englewood and um I I you know he has gone on to Glory but I think of him in on on days like this uh I also want to thank former mayor um lazette Parker because she represented so much in terms of wanting to see our community United coming together um wanting to make sure that we we uh we came together and supported us in all efforts and and and so forth and it means a lot to me that the the the Legacy that she left um to us and I every time I sit in on the in the council chambers and I sit on the day as the the one photo we have on that back wall is is Lizette Parker and and she just encourages me when we have tough times uh and lastly I also want to thank um former uh councilwoman Javon Romney rice for her dedication and the um the example that she has set for for many of us to persevere despite hard times and despite you know uh whatever things you you must have uh have to overcome so uh thank you for this honor I I truly feel honored and and privilege to to be sitting in the seat God bless you congratulations again Deputy Mayor beler and at this point it's been a pleasure serving as a presiding officer for this meeting with you all but it's time that we give the gavel over to Mayor Schwarz and I will respectfully ask our council members up on the deis I guess to place some musical chairs so we could maybe have the two Deputy Mayors flanking the mayor e Schwarz yes sir just want to quickly say congratulations to our mayor and our two Deputy Mayors and would now be the appropriate time because if so I would like to make a motion to appoint Hillary Goldberg to class three planning board seat second I heard that one second we vote on there there any other motions we actually vote if I I apologize my first time sitting here second time sitting here in 13 years do we entertain out the other motions or would we vote on that motion first I'm sorry can you repeat the question the motion was for there was a motion for planning board we have a motion in a second so we're going to vote on that first or we're going to entertain any other motions You' vote on the mo on that motion that's so those aren't nominations like you meant yeah yeah so we'll run down the role I'm sorry Mr clerk yes before we go into the government portion of the business can we first just finish the ceremonial portion would that be okay to the m maker of the motion well I thought that that ceremonial portion was over and that we were going to go to good and Welfare so I figured welfare I wanted to say a few words if that's okay so did I I'm okay with that continuing and then taking the vote on that Mr CL thank you very much you want okay first I want to congratulate um my friend um of 34 what you say how long do we meet each other 34 years 34 years um for becoming mayor um for your hard work and dedication to the residents uh and to your um transparency with all the council members I know you're going to do an amazing job I want to congratulate the two Deputy Mayors like Deputy Mayor Oregon Deputy Mayor Belcher I wish you a lot of success um and to the council well also to the residents here I want to thank you very much for coming out for being involved for being engaged I certainly would like to recognize my good friend Manny Klein who's always in the background but helping out Teek working very hard I won't be mentioning other people tonight I don't want to miss anybody um but I do want to say the following to my Council colleagues and that is that as as mayor Schwarz mentioned he is a a person who likes to get things done and getting things done will only benefit the entire Township of tenek but also been getting things done sometimes irritates some people in EK and he needs our support as our CO as his colleagues he needs um our different talents that we bring to the table each one of us have different strengths unique strengths unique relationships and by his agenda getting accomplished will benefit this Council and will benefit this town will benefit the residents so I ask that us as a council can put aside any differences and any uh feelings any um any issues that we might have or might have happened over the last two years the town has chosen to continue with this Council um and uh I ask that we try to work together as cohesively as possible and as United as possible for the betterment of the entire Township of EK so I want to congratulate everybody the entire Council and wish the mayor good luck in the new position and I just want to also recognize our amazing employees and department heads by the way which really work every single day to make sure that all of our residents are happy and led by our manager Jackie and is Dean still here okay so just mentioned I said a few things nice about him too Mr Mayor can I also say a few words thank you um so first of all con congratulations to Mayor Mark Schwarz our newest mayor and our Deputy Mayors uh Deputy Mayor Karen Oregon Deputy Mayor Denise beler um I know we have not always seen eye to eye on all issues um but I truly believe now is the time to set aside all past differences we spent the last year focusing on things that divide us and I'm really looking forward to focusing on things that bring the community together um I know Mark talked about building but I think what's really cool about working together are that we can think about creative ways to build right we can think about how do we pull in the community when thinking about how we build so yes we want to get things done but we want to do it in a collaborative way and again focusing on the things that bring us all together so I'm really hopeful um a year ago I would have never imagined this team working well together um these past few weeks have been amazing and I'm really hopeful and I I ask all the town residents here to also remain hopeful um and support this leadership team to really do what's best for EK um again although we we have not always seen eye to eye I will say that these three leaders have always demonstrated a commitment to tenek always I know that every decision that they make is based on what they believe is the best for our town so I'm very excited to support all of you and work with all of you I'm looking forward to these next two two years and I hope all of you and that sitting here with me will do so as well thank you one second one second mayor uh members of council miss hashmat you had something oh is my mic on oh yeah I just wanted to mention Craig Ferdinand our court administrator that I did miss that is with us today as um our depart with our department heads and also um you're dismissed um if you'd like to head home thank you for attending thank you yes Round of Applause for our esteemed department heads that's right sorry mayor May mayor Schwarz if you will I just want to say once again congratulations mayor Schwarz Deputy Mayor Oregon Deputy Mayor beler it has been a pleasure with working all of you for the past two years and four years and that's it Mr Schwarz just that there's a motion in a second on the floor thank you sir okay give it back to the clerk if there's no no other council members like to speak Mr clerk yes cool so there was a motion on the floor from councilman Bean in a second from councilwoman Goldberg for councilwoman Goldberg class three planning board position so naturally we run down the role councilwoman Belcher sorry Deputy Mayor beler I I need to update my form don't judge me yeah I'm looking at the old names Deputy Mayor Belcher in terms of uh voting for uh the motion that's on the floor from councilman bean and seconded from councilwoman Goldberg is to appoint councilwoman Goldberg to the class three planning board position uh no and councilwoman G no council woman Goldberg yes everyone deserves a seat at the table councilman Catz coun Deputy Mayor Oregon no councilman Bean yes mayor Schwarz no motion died Mr Mayor I'd like to nominate for the same uh position with a class three planning board council member seat on the planning board uh Denise beler I'll I'll second that Schwarz that was a second from Mark Schwarz same position Deputy Mayor beler yes councilwoman G yes councilwoman Goldberg no council member Catz yes deputy mayor Oregon yes councilman Pagan no mayor Schwarz yes all right appointed we'll see a resolution okay um Mr cler I believe we opened the meeting to good and Welfare at this point correct yes sorry uh that is correct sir okay I don't I don't have the usual um blurb over here if You' like to read it three minutes to members of the public you're welcome to approach the podium uh we also have capability on Zoom for those at home if uh there's anyone on Zoom also please raise your hand we will momentarily get to you at this point we're going to open the floor to anyone in person that would like to come to the podium mayor you could call on people mayor Schwarz yes Ron Schwarz coming up anybody thank you mayor thank you Mr Mayor runch W 698 lch Avenue tck New Jersey I haven't seen you guys since the election so I want to give my congratulations who Mark Schwarz Karen Oregon and um council member pan for their wonderful Victory on November it was a very hardfought campaign as you all know I think you guys ran a great campaign and I want to congratulate you for the significant Victory which you guys won on November 5th I want to agree with Mark Schwarz which is um a moment of Hope for the future because I rarely agree with now mayor Mark Schwarz uh I want to agree with Mark and thank him for his comments and agree with him that yes we have to build we do not have enough affordable housing in in EK we have to get more but I also want to agree with Mark when he said that we have to get community Buy in community Buy in and listening to the community is of utmost important as we go forward in meeting your agenda mayor Schwarz we have people in this town who have their opinions about what kind of development we'd like to see and I'm glad that you have opened your heart now to start listening to those people we may not always agree but I'm really glad that you're you're listening and you're also right that we have been through an incredibly divisive two years in this town people who have been friends with each other and work with each other are no longer friends with each other we need more places in this town where people can come together we're here together tonight but it's not enough to be here tonight we have to be together in other places going forward the Tina Garden Club is one of those places my wife is now a member of that for the last year she's meeting all sorts of people from different parts of town and becoming friends with those people another place is the TX Swim Club very unusual all members of the community are welcome in the TX swim club and have been coming to the swim club and where else have you seen Lisa Schwarz and Keith Kaplan working together uh for a particular cause that is a sign of Celebration I think in this in this community and I hope that you will listen to people like us who come here and ask you to do what you can to te to keep the Teck Swim Club as a robust Community place where people can get together do what you can to keep the club going help in any way that you C can make it a partnership public and private and also make it more accessible to even more people in t so that we can all enjoy our t swim club together congratulations everybody it's a night for Hope and I hope we can go forward thank you thank you Mr seagull good evening my name is Rich seagull I'm a 25 year teenic homeowner I had a feeling uh Mr Schwarz that you'd be elected so I waited until you were elected so that I could speak to you directly about what you did to me I wrote a song the title of the song is in Palestine I'm a professional musician I co-wrote that song with another tneck Resident Dave Litman who is also an anti-zionist Jew as I am you took that song you removed my vocals from it and you put vocals of a Zionist song called Jerusalem of Gold on it and you had my name written on it it says Rich seagull Jerusalem of Gold did you get a good laugh out of it you got rich seagull to sing a Zion a song it's amazing to me that somebody who would do something so infantile so Adolescent and so disgusting is now our mayor what you need to do now is you need to get that thing off the internet or be sued and since you did it as a seated council member I'm prepared to sue the town as well good evening thank you anybody else uh my name is adner Strauss resident since 1975 and I must say that today's ceremony uh was very moving and I have a sense of um this is our democracy the most basic level this is a beautiful picture of our democracy uh but I'd like to say that the most important thing to me is how you guys handle the Affairs of our town which reinforces and strengthens the sense of the public trust and one well there is much to say with get stuff done but that has to be balanced by going about it in a way that doesn't trample on the public trust both are equally important so your actions have to be measured and thoughtful and then I'm going to make a little pitch about the TX Swim Club how the council deals with that matter and how they talk to and relate to the board of the TX Swim Club can strengthen the sense of public trust or undermine it and not for tonight prefer another meeting I will mention a few things that have so far transpired in the dealings between the council and the board of the TX Swim Club let's just say did not necessarily enhance public trust and hopefully moving forward that can be taken into consideration thank you congratulations to all of you thank you sure uh Michael Robinson 547 North umberland I was really not prepared to speak tonight I was going to just kind of listen but I found that the eloquence of uh some of you council members talking about community and getting together and trying to not talk about you know divisive things but get things done and all that sort of stuff well I am a member of the uh TX Swim Club board and I think it's a jewel in our community I know that it's open to the entire community and I want to emphasize that because I know there's always been issues around inclusiveness we want to be part of this community in a way that will keep it going and allow people to swim I know there are many obstacles legally and otherwise of how we can make this work but I have to believe that together whether it's Pro public private whether it's all public whatever to keep this thing going forward and working with the board the the the the uh Swim Club board we are open to pretty much anything to get this thing done in a way that will preserve the swim club for the entire community and I mean the entire community so let's figure out a way to get this done thank you thank you uh before we turn over to zoom is there any one more um Mr n recogniz council president George n from Boda emirus George Nunes I'll be very brief uh mayor Schwarz just want to address you directly and by the way congratulations uh to the new governing body uh from what I know and I'm not a tinck resident but I'm a neighboring resident uh tinck is a fabulous Community with wonderful people not unlike other communities you deal with human dynamics and politics they say is a blood sport I think you guys have the opportunity you certainly are off to a good start to take the blood aspect out of your politics to get things done I've known mayor Schwarz for 30 years and and I've known him to be a person of the highest character in all of his Endeavors charitable business everything that I have witnessed mayor Schwarz has always looked to create value for stakeholders I know him to be an honest well-intentioned focused and accomplished individual and I personally have no doubt that my friend mayor Schwarz is GNA do what he's always done for the community of EG that I happen to know that he loves very dearly so congratulations and good luck thank you pres yes Mr Miss bber sorry oh sorry Mr Mayor next yeah sorry we'll do we we'll do Mr Mayor will'll do yeah perfect thank you f fight for [Laughter] it you'll get me in trouble again um first of all congratulations to Deborah blerg Teck resident since 2008 um first of all congratulations to everybody up there well done I do hope this new Unity will mean we will keep the divisiveness from coming through our town and we will make sure that our town stays nice and safe for everybody to walk the streets and not feel when there are cars coming through to feel intimidated or to not feel comfortable and then secondly where do you get me and Ron Schwarz agreeing the t- neck Swim Club can we please just do something anything I've always been very much open it like you know they let me in as I said so it is a great place to spend the summer is a great place for kids to learn to swim um I've always been very much about the weekday memberships and not bonding let's get people in let them enjoy it after Camp you get to take your kids to the CL Swim Club it's a safe enclosed environment there's a kidy pool for the little kids you know everybody gets to hang out there there's the big pools and there's the lap pools and there's everything so let's do something instead of just writing it off and having them default it's a beautiful Oasis in chck let's keep it thank you thank you uh mayor d leevy and a new new new grandfather Jim oh you want to see pictures congratulations J I have pictures good evening uh Jim Dunley former mayor uh resident of Tink uh I wanted to congratulate uh Deputy Mayor Belcher Deputy Mayor Oregon and mayor Schwarz um I think this is a a positive beginning uh turning the page in town uh we've seen as we've heard uh a lot of a lot of infighting a lot of misunderstanding uh a lot of attempts at trying to change that narrative only to be shot down um Facebook is not the place to do it this town has to be off Facebook and be in each other's faces I would also say having been there where you are now um it's sometimes a difficult adjustment between the campaign and governing because governing is where the people are but you're always going to tick somebody off but in the long run it's probably going to be best for the town so I urge you now the campaign is over um the focus should be on the town the focus should be on governing not promises do the best that you can always always keep the township first the township not the neighborhood not a not a street the township and I'm sure knowing as I do um because I served with uh Karen and I served with Mark and I've served with Ellie uh I know they served with Mike I know that they know what is best for tck and best for the town and to move into a governing mode for the town for the things that matter most for this town and not anywhere else thank you thank you Mr may this side anybody on this side okay sorry Howard Howard Rose 45 year resident of tench uh former member of the planning board board of education uh several other organizations in Township based on that I know what you people are going through and what you do why you do it and how you do it my congratulations Mark uh you've arrived in a good place to our Deputy Mayors as well uh I hear a lot of optimism coming from the mouths of our council members this evening and I'm glad to hear that there's a little bit of dissonance to the conversation but it was civil and it was not longterm the overriding situation this evening was an upbeat situation continue doing that for the next couple of years thank you Barry and then Max will do you afterwards Barry opit 40-year resident of tenek also president of the tenek swim club I want to congratulate the um new mayor and Deputy Mayors no secret that you and I have that you and I Mark have a lot of disagreements about things but I respect your integrity and I respect your honesty and a end of the day having to being able to resolve disagreements with honest people of Integrity is what democracy is all about as I just want to say a couple of words about the swim club what the board of the swim club wants and I believe the vast majority of the members of The Swim Club is to have an open accessible and affordable facility for all residents of tck we have an impass based on the fact that the members will not agree to transition it with a default but I believe in my heart that that impass can be resolved and I look forward to meeting with you guys and it hasn't escaped me actually that the three uh that the mayor and the new Deputy Mayors happen to be the three members of the committee that was um 12 welome to the swim club ironic in any event I look forward to being able to get together to try to resolve the imps thank you Maxine hi good evening happy New Year and congratulations to everybody my name is Maxine angel I am speaking as the secretary of the TAC Republican Municipal committee tonight and on behalf of the TAC Republican Municipal committee I want to wish a hearty congratulations to the entire Town Council to our newly elected Town Council Members to Mayor Schwarz Deputy Mayor Oregon and Deputy Mayor belter we wish you the very best the oath of office Oaths of office that you all took are so inspiring and I loved hearing the words and I just want to wish you on behalf of our committee wish you the very best in all that you do in all of your comings and goings and you that you should be protected that you should have wisdom that you should have strength and energy this is a very very hard job that you've signed up for and obviously you have the faith of the people of TK so we look forward to a successful year together God willing and um all the best and the rep Republicans meet uh usually the last Tuesday of every month so you're always welcome our doors open to you so again congratulations and thank you so much for your service blessings to all of you happy New Year thank you Dr yuck Mr clerk will go to zoom afterwards or if there's people on Zoom thank you hello everybody Philly U Bell Avenue I first want to congratulate mayor Schwarz Deputy Mayor Oregon Deputy Mayor beler and um and I hope that this is a new beginning for our town uh for Unity throughout the town for Unity on the council working together respectfully uh I hope that all happens going forward um I also look forward to working with members of the Council on uh the development issues in town uh and um particularly uh the American Legion Drive Beverly Road um development uh I know there's some uh work that needs to be done with the residents around uh that development before it goes forward so I'll look forward for that happening and in terms of the swim club I was a member of The Swim Club I have not been for many many years because I don't really like to swim but um and so we would pay our annual dues and we would go there once a summer and we decided that wasn't really money well spent so we left the swim club but the swim club is is a beautiful uh facility uh we enjoyed our time there when our kids were young and I think that a lot of people in town aren't even aware of how nice a facility it is so if there was a way to for the town to open up that facility in a way that is Affordable I certainly would be in favor of that I know it it costs money and it takes a lot of work but I I hope that that this Council works on that with the people from The Swim Club and makes it happen for all the people at Teek congratulations to all of you I look forward to working with you thank you thank you all right yes mayor Schwarz let me see we have a couple hands here bringing in Chuck Powers you should be able ble to I'll give us one second as he comes in here one second oh here he is hang on one second Chuck I can see him hang on one second Chu give me a check one two yeah one two all right yeah we can hear you good um well we have to begin with a congratulations to the entire Council and to how it has now selected its own new leadership we uh we wish you the very best and that the the goals that you set for yourself with maybe a little not quite so much on the build by build side um are things that you can carry out effectively I am concerned to to have found this afternoon right through my co that 11 new resolutions have been placed on the township agenda for tonight's meetings apparently to be voted on one of which is to approve a new planner for tenek but the scope of that planning whether or not that is a replacement or an addition to the the current planner is not clarified either in the bidding process I was there for the opening of it um or anywhere else in the description we need there's no question with development as being the central issue that's going to be wrestled with we need a really fine planner that understands us I am not sure whether not topology is that I hope someone will take the time tonight to explain the scope of what it is that we're asking this new firm who we've never seen before one of the four who bid uh what it is that they we are asking them to do and why we decided to choose them I think that that's something the public certainly should know about before you act that's not a criticism necessarily I don't know why it was that you didn't get the um the uh resolution to the public sooner but we certainly before you make such an enormously important appointment if it is for the full planning scope please explain your decision thank you very much thank you bringing inuk AR and we'll do we'll go back to the room afterwards Mr G cool you got it Mr chair after that after that gentleman we go give us one second she's coming on you're free to unmute whenever you're ready good evening council members my name is shuk t resident first I'd like to extend my congratulations to our newly appointed mayor and Deputy Mayors this is a moment of opportunity to guide T in a direction that benefits all of its residents as we look to the future I sincerely hope that this Council under its new leadership will take a different approach than in the past previous leadership often appeared dismissive of its residents favoring certain sides or interests and frankly it did not pan out well for our town that approach led to division and mistrust which we cannot afford to repeat tin is a beautifully diverse Community but creating an inclusive environment requires action not just promises our residents have made it clear that they value Equity transparency and unity I urge this Council to prioritize these principles engage directly with the people and ensure that decisions reflect the needs of everyone not just the select few we are watching tonight with hope and expectation ten deserves leaders who stand by their word and demonstrate commitment through thoughtful and inclusive decisions I hope we could all work together to rebuild trust and move forward in a way that truly serves all of tin thank you guys good night cherer and then Mr H will go to you afterwards much Mr Mayor uh first of all congratulations to Mayor Deputy Mayors and to Town Council uh my name is Yan Meyer I am a resident of EK here for many many years I I also my business is located here in EK and uh this is a wonderful town we live in uh I'm also counsil to Tac and I'm actively writing for the ambulance service service in fact this morning Thursday morning is my shift for a few hours and uh we are very happy to Service uh the residents of teen or anyone in need I uh but more importantly I'm also been a chair for the zoning board I'm been on the zoning board for many years and certainly have uh tried to do my very best and still continues to do that in order for the board of adjustment to run in a very efficient and smooth way and therefore I'd like to invite all of the council and anyone else as well as the public to come down and see how we work uh the mayor was indicating that there's a lot of buildings to be done and that applies of course to both commercial and residential uh we have open schedules there is no longer any wait so to speak to get an application through if you have all your papers in order and you get there and do the right notice that statutory notices that need to be required uh to be done in advance of a hearing you will be at the next meeting and most likely you will be heard and completed and that's uh what I've been uh trying to do every time we have an agenda the agenda gets completed every time and I think that's the benefit for the residents people used to think oh my gosh I got to go to the board of adjustment takes six months to get through and five months to get the papers work done by the time I'm done with everything thing and ready to build I am retired that is not happening for many many years um so it is a a progression and a progressive uh ability to get whatever you need done um within the confines of the law I thank you again um congratulations to everyone and thank you for doing all the work that you do uh and so many hours that you put in I can only imagine um how your family also supports you in doing that thank you uh trusty H good evening my name is edha um I'm a 20-year T resident I'm also a b of trustee I just wanted to congratulate mayor Schwartz deputy mayor uh beler and Deputy Mayor organ um I just wanted to say that I am looking forward to uh a strong collaboration between uh the B of Ed and the council the tin public school is very important for this community and I am really looking forward to a strong collaboration thank you very much thank you um Mr clerk yes we have Michael katsky okay good evening uh Mr CL can you hear me loud and clear three minutes Michael Katy a te resident um I'd like to congratulate uh mayor Schwarz um Deputy Mayor Oregon and Deputy Mayor beler and rest of the Council on their reorganization tonight I'm looking forward to a uh a great year moving forward uh and that's all have a great night everyone thank you I have no other hands there sorry okay we mind never mind the hands gone by got it okay hands gone so if that's the case we make them uh we'll close good and Welfare and we'll start M mayor pan as always I want to say thank you to all of our residents for coming out tonight and participating and once again I'd like to congratulate mayor Schwarz Deputy Mayor Oregon and deputy mayor beler and I look forward to working with you three as well as my other Council colleagues these next two years going forward and I hope everyone has a peaceful evening thank you thank you Council M sure I'll keep it short and sweet because I already spoke earlier thank you all for coming out and uh witnessing this reorganization I like I said earlier I'm very hopeful for these next two years and I'm looking forward to doing the good work for T thank you Council mcber so I want to wish my best to the new leadership team and Council majority I hope you understand the weight of the responsibility that you now carry tenek deserves leaders that are true to their word I'm proud of what we've been able to accomplish working together the past two years my value my work and my unwavering commitment to this town is what defines me leaders don't have to ask for permission they just step up and do their job to the people of tenek I hear you I see you and I won't stop fighting for you leadership isn't about titles or alliances it's about doing what's right you deserve fairness accountability and Leadership that listens I have fought from that for the very beginning and I'll continue to fight for it because leadership isn't about holding on to a title it's about holding on to your values I'm committed to a Teck where everyone has a genuine chance to have a seat at the table just as I was when we took office two years ago and I want to end with my thanks to my friend Michael Pagan who served Township with true Grace and dignity in a particularly diffic difficult circumstance he sets a model for how to do the job right and I want to give a special thanks to an incredible group of moms who taught me that we can disagree on so much but respect honesty friendship and commitment to do what's right is most important thank you mayor catch Deputy Mayor just a couple words I just want to thank everyone for coming out uh and support of of uh members um uh of the of the public like it's very important to me to to just share a couple quick word thoughts that I have and that is um first to congratulate my my colleagues I'm honored to serve um with with everyone um but the service Dey ma uh mayor is is very important to me and I I feel it's it's an honor to be sitting here um the Constitution that we just swore no to uphold is a test it's it's a Baseline from where we must govern um the hope of democracy requires nothing less for for us my commitment to the township is is to work hard for the quality of life that we all have come to love and and and to respect um to govern with mutual respect to govern with a open mind to seek counsel and yes to even consult with subject matter experts when necessary because um when we know more we do more and we do better there's a famous African proverb that says if you want to go fast go alone but if you want to go far go together we want to go far we want to go far but we want to go far in the right direction for tck for all on all fronts um we will not always agree as we sit here um but we are committed to govern from what's in the best interest of the people of our Township uh yes these are challenging times they have been for the last year year and a half but we are more than able to rise to the occasion presented to us tenac we are more than able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we can ask or think as we seek to find unity and peace for a brighter future to heal wounds and demend fences uh but our leadership requires of us to try and to keep trying until we get it right that is the Legacy that we leave to the Future Generations or those future people that will be sitting in these seats um I I want to thank here again my my colleagues I want to thank my Village uh of neighbors and friends and uh my my church family my Coalition family my business and extended family um for for your support and love uh and lastly to my my beautiful daughters thank you you are truly the wind beneath my wings uh thanks for understanding the late night meetings you see for yourself tonight how late we go and uh also the distractions of of yet being in another Zoom call thank you for your love and support through it all God bless you and God bless our Township yes I will thank you um at the end of the day we all want the same things we want health and happiness for our families um we have different interests yes there are some of us um for whom a swim club is so important because that's where we find our comfort yes or our lane to swim in during the summer um some like the fields are important to some and um helping the schools are important to others and it's our job up here to find that balance for you and to to figure out how we're going to keep life affordable for everybody else while we balance that and it's not easy but it's you know those are the decisions we have to make and the only way we can make those decisions are if we have trust amongst us and if we have a balance among amongst us and we may not always agree and that's fine there are things we disagree on but we have to be able to talk those things through and come up with that um balance and make those decisions and that's the challenge that we have and that's something that we vow to work on over the next two years and I'm very much looking forward to that we are going to have um as we discussed with Barry we're going to try to get a a meeting together uh over the next week or so nobody up here wants the swim club to close um and Ed we look forward to seeing you at your reorg on Tuesday night we wish you all luck and we look forward to working with you and to my two beautiful daughters because I can't um not follow um Denise's beautiful words um and to Eric thank you very much for putting up with me in in our home that we now call Council land and um to Mom I yes too and um I love you Mom and um yes thank you very much thank you I'm actually actually quite relieved that all of us forgot to thank our families so I also thank my f um thank my family uh my wife my two beautiful daughters and my sons as well uh and my parents and my in-laws and I look forward to working with this Council this last two years were very tough very tough worldwide especially um throughout the entire world but also here in EK and it's almost like we have a redo right now and we can redo we can Circle back and now focus on tinck so I I look forward to moving to moving on with the business of tenek uh Deputy Mayor Oregon spoke about the swim club American Legion Drive like you said there's some next action steps that will be taken and they will be taken quickly with the neighbors the sit down the agreements so we can move that forward um as a Rel to the planner and the resolution I'll ask the attorney right when we're finished to explain what's going on for the rest of the night as well as you know what what this is what these motions are all about and these resolutions um and lastly um as I've set out almost every meeting my phone number 917 9293375163 so please feel free to reach out to me with anything thank you Mr attorney can you explain what the uh what the rest of the night's about sure so the rest of the night the uh the resolutions that are on the agenda uh there are me see uh there are 19 19 resolutions on the agenda majority of them are for uh awarding Professional Services contracts to mostly mostly mostly the different law lawyers that represent the uh uh the township H including like Town Township attorney labor Council or Bond Council and so on um we also have resolutions on here appointing uh our our Township auditor which we were required by law to have as well as our Township planner um which I think that is what inspired this question uh topology is one of the applicants that uh applied uh to the to the township and submitted a proposal uh as part of our request for qualification process their scope of services are going to be identical to the township has received in years past I would encourage residents to look at the uh if you look in the agenda packets you can see our contract with them with them and list the scope of services which includes things like reviewing our zoning uh zoning ordinances master plan uh amendments uh it also includes developing Redevelopment plans uh applications before the different land use boards and uh helping us with uh uh complete our obligations uh with regard to affordable housing um but their their scope of services is exactly identical to what the township has received in the past um other than that we have uh there's other things that we have on the agenda like adopting a temporary budget we have to designate official newspapers for the publication of our ordinances and other notices have to go out uh the township is also required to uh change the custodian of our petty cash fund as well as authorize the bonding of our CFO uh to um uh for management of that fund uh and other other things along those lines but these are all standard resolutions that are typically adopted by the by the township uh at the time of the reorganizational meeting thank you uh Mr clerk you want to jump oh sorry am I on yes um I want to sorry I want to address something a a couple of things actually um so I would like to address the matter of subcommittee assignments for this Council term the resolution establishing subcommittees expired at the end of the last term So currently the Council has no subcommittees and without these subcommittees we're unable to efficiently address critical issues like zoning and affordable housing and this is not something that can be delayed until the next meeting it has to be resolved tonight to ensure that the council can function so uh if everybody's aware we are facing a projected number of 431 affordable housing units that we must build reinforced by a Court ruling today which would require us to have 2800 new housing units in ten over the next 10 years so that's not really a sustainable number for our Township or infrastructure So to avoid the repercussions we need to pass a binding resolution by January 31st on the number of units we're committing to so to meet this deadline and ensure that the council can fulfill its responsibilities like zoning and affordable housing uh we should at least discuss so that for the next meeting we can have a formal resolution and delaying this public discussion um can harm our ability to act swiftly and strategically on behalf of the residents and we owe it to our community to resolve this now so I move that we reestablish the following subcommittees for this Council term with a few adjustments so zoning and affordable housing I suggest merging them with members Schwarz Pagan Goldberg alternate cats Personnel Pagan Goldberg G alternate cats Street renaming Schwarz Oregon belter alternate cats budget G Schwarz Goldberg alternate Pagan and eliminating the following sub parking since it's inactive cannabis no longer needed based on the ordin ordinance leadership tck that was a onetime thing leaves hasn't met furthermore I propose that subcommittees be required to maintain detailed minutes for every meeting and that they be included in Council agenda packets posted online and send those minutes to all council members within two business days of meeting and hold one public meeting per quarter barring legal exemptions second um I'm actually going to interrupt because that actually is not the part of the meeting that we're at we're at the resolutions we're not at new business we're not at Old business I know but you can make a motion at any point that's that's great um Mr Mayor can I make a motion to table that and I'll second the motion to table it and I'd like to explain why or whatever the process is we can vote on the table if that's on the uh if that's the proper way so tabling this motion means that our residents don't get it know or this Council gets to know about affordable housing we literally have to pass a resolution January 3st thank you very much today is January 2nd this afternoon I spent with the attorney discussing the ruling that came out today and he indicated that the council should indeed have this conversation and we agree that this will be listed in Clos session on January 14th Mr Mayor if I could just note duy for the record two years ago we discussed subcommittees advisory boards statutory boards and I just want 100% reference I appreciate that and speaking with the clerk today we um we're going to push all the we we're going to push and we can vote on if you'd like to push all the appointments all the subcommittees and whatnot till Jan the January 14th meeting and a point a point of um of of information just for our the entire Council there is a plan there's plan to have a affordable housing subcommittee meeting there is no subcommittee well the attorney and I have spoken about when we speak about the subcommittee those people that are in the township that have been tasked with affordable housing numbers are going to meet next week to address the specifics asked from from DCA so there are things that are happening um that you you know people may not see right now but they are happening as it pertains to affordable housing and the requirements Mr can you confirm if there's current subcommittees at this at this point the subcommittees would have expired and will need to be re uh recreated by the Mr attorney couldn't we make a motion to extend the um the current subcommittees until the 14th yes I'll second I will say I say we'll say first of all there was there was a motion that's on the floor and motion table those that need decide okay so I'll remove my motion to table and instead make a motion to extend the current subcommittee membership deadline accar dat to January 14th instead of December 31st so second well because because already had the motion it would need to be a motion to amend okay or or table and then redo the motion it just because we have the current yeah we need to handle that motion that's on the floor from okay so tell me what to do I would I think before you trying to do either the council uh can vote on the current motion they can vote to table it or uh and then either way afterwards you can make you then make your motion point point of order we do not want to vote to change the composition of the subcommittees because there is a certain amount of history that those members have that have understanding as where things are in order so is is the vote that we are going to extend the subcommittee as they exist there's a motion on the floor for amendments from councilwoman Goldberg that was seconded by councilman Pagan and if I'm following along attorney Sam incorrectly we need to handle that motion before we hear correct or or a different motion to amend or table M I got we had the motion we can vote on the motion or we had an motion to that was amending the second motion we can do whichever way you want Mr clerk we call we'll let's call a vote on the first motion the first motion yes call vot on the first motion please repeat the motion Mr clerk it was a motion from councilwoman Goldberg for a few subcommittee amendments that I I I don't have them all in front of me I apologize and that was a second from councilman gone on those roll call please yeah I have a question well that is for Deputy Mayor Bel sure yeah the question the question I have if we're asking questions before we vote if if the motion is to make uh uh changes that's making changes to the composition of the boards okay so I just want to make sure that's what we're saying well the the motion is not to I wouldn't say it's this a a semantic thing it's not really to change the composition of the board of the Committees it's to create new committees with the composition that was described so it's it's a subtle difference but it's it's it's slightly different but there are edits correct correct mayor cats you had a no it sound we have we council member Goldberg put a lot of um um subcommittees together but it sound like there's one subcommittee that's more time of the essence versus everything else so maybe if if the council member over can explain that part and if she doesn't mind and if council is okay with it separating that one versus the other and so I I think actually what's G what we'll actually do which will accomplish what Mary cat discussed was right now we'll vote on this motion if a motion passes then we're going to have these revisions if the motion fails the second motion that was mentioned will be voted on which we continue the current committees through January 14th did I get that Mr attorney yes so let's call the first let's call Council Goldberg's motion first if it passes that's the matter if it fails we'll go to councilwoman G's motion please call the rooll yes thank you very much mayor Deputy Mayor beler no councilwoman G no councilwoman Goldberg I oppose tbling this because it postpones governance then I'm good with my motion however it's a yes or a no there's a yes I want my motion Council mcats no councilman Oregan no councilman Pagan yes Mr cler Deputy Mayor Oregon I'm sorry and councilman pagam was a yes and mayor Schwarz no well please call the rooll on the next motion that was presented by councilwoman G and this was to extend the Committees until January 14th at which point of that meeting we'll discuss Council MC Goldberg's excellent ideas emerging some committees establish a new Comm and establishing new members so please Mr Mayor I want to amend the motion to make sure that discussion happens in Open Session okay Mr it was discussed just now that it would take place in Clos so I would like it to take place in Open Session I believe it takes place in Open Session that's not what was said before though that's what I'm asking the motion is just to extend the Committees till the 14th there's and there's a discuss them in Open Session absolutely councilman do you have issue with that Open Session sorry can we clarify that one more time so the mo the original motion was to extend the current subcommittees through January January and councilwoman Goldberg is saying what and then if we have a new conversation about new committees will be an open session which is where we have that so I think we all agree on that oh sure I'm fine with that there's no issue with that I'll second that motion Mr Mayor Mr cler please call the rooll yes Deputy Mayor Belair yes councilwoman G yes councilwoman Goldberg no councilman Catz yes Deputy Mayor Oregon yes councilman Pagan no mayor Schwarz yes all the Committees are extended through January 14th councilman Goldberg I think those are some great ideas if you can please share them via email so we can um discuss at the January 14th meeting um Mr clerk you want to go ahead with the resolution mayor I'm sorry can I just suggest can can someone circulate all the suggested yes um sub committees not just those that council member Goldberg oh yes I'm sorry the entire process Mr clerk when we um get these suggestions we if we can circulate the suggestions in the full roster of our committees over the next two weeks so at the January 14th meeting we'll be prepared to elect members to the subcommittee also want to um in make sure we include the suggestion about the minutes and whatnot thank you resolutions Mr cour yes absolutely we have just a few this evening um that our Township attorney very gracefully elaborated upon uh so really we just need a motion to consider all of these resolutions approve Mr cler wait wait wait I would like to pull 3-22 and 5-22 three and five yeah motion to approve Mr Mayor is there a second second Schwarz thank you so this is for all the resolutions except three and 5-22 Deputy Mayor beler yes councilwoman G yes councilwoman Goldberg y councilman cats yes Deputy Mayor Oregon yes councilman Pagan yes mayor Schwarz yes councilman G number three Goldberg Goldberg sorry um so on 32025 I don't know if this is a question for Scott or Issa but a couple questions so why is the bond only for ISSA if there's three custodians I can handle if You' like okay basically the idea is that so there there are three custodians for the for the petty cash fund uh at the um at the end of the day Issa is I guess all all you know all roads lead to ISA and he's the one that is ultimately responsible as as Town's CFO and so by law he's required to be uh the one that's that's bonded if the other two individuals who are authorized to utilize the petty cash fund say abuse that fund or mis misuse that fund uh it is ultimately Isa who is legally held responsible for it that's why he's the one that's uh the one that that is bonded so how is the amount come up with is that the petty cash fund or how is that determine you talking about the amount that that he's B for the 200,000 I believe that if I recall correctly that's the set by Statute based on the size of the PED cash fund and is there any risk to the township for only having the one Bond or I don't know if this was done before if that didn't see any prior resolutions for that no as as long as the bond the bond is approved uh then there's no no additional risk to the town sh okay um so I move 3-22 second Schwarz Mr cler Deputy Mayor beler yes councilwoman G yes councilwoman Goldberg yes councilman cat yes Deputy Mayor Oregon yes councilman Pagan yes mayor Schwarz yes three is approved five five um this is for the CFO so can you just confirm what these are for um we're transferring over $500,000 so I just want to get clarity what they're for um we're moving $150,000 from insurance and what the impact is for the 2025 budget and surplus you have three minutes is this on okay so um statutorily under njsa 48 colon 4 the local budget law starting November 1st every year through March 31st budget transfers are permitted to be made I'm saying this as a point of information but uh for the school board unlike us they can make budget transfers at any time of the year any meeting so we legally cannot have any budget Accounts overexpanded at year end which is why the resolution is dated effective 12312 24 we rolled over our system this morning to the new year however when the transfer goes in the system all accounts have to be positive not having a positive account across all accounts in your budget will lead to a material weakness in your audit um why really it was primarily overtime for three departments that caused the overages and essentially My Philosophy and what I've been taught is every Department's Fair Game come November 1st to transfer money from I don't uh favor anybody I really look to where I can grab money from I wait till the year closes I make sure all accounts are even at least have you know some money in them and then now that we're in the New Year I'm going to look at salary and wages to transfer out of because that's it coffers are closed all the payroll checks have been cut through 2024 um the question was why insurance I was surprised there was money there if I'm wrong and there's some other bill that comes in we could simply transfer money around the next meeting but essentially come March 31st every account has to be made whole um because there's still expenditures coming in for example if there were leaves that were picked up in the fall and we haven't gotten the bill yet that's why you need to make sure you have adequate funds there um just one more question so is there anything that we could Implement for the department heads to help them track the budgets better so anytime they put in requisition or purchas order they could see their budget unfortunately because most of this was overtime um we're not going to say don't pick up leave so you don't incur overtime we do our best to manage it we do use seasonals we do use other techniques um you know I do watch overtime the Departments are responsible they watch overtime they do consult with the manager myself and just like now mayor schwart said congratulations to all of you by the way um it's about getting it done and there's cost associated with that and as I've been taught by my mentors this is the pendulum at the end of the day less staff more overtime more staff less overtime and we're always looking for that delicate balance one way or the other well I think what I meant more was like a budget tracker or something for the department heads something that they can kind of get a sense of this so that they're not over time I understand to some degree um but if there's other expenses or anything or if they're significantly underspent like some kind of budget tracker for the department heads might help as so we can do that my my point is I guess to clarify anytime they go into the financial system every Department can see their salary and wages budget and their other expenses budget to the penny live in real time um you know we can the manager and I can put our heads together and come up with the Departments what they can what they would like to see to assist them more maybe quarterly meetings maybe monthly meetings whatever the case may be uh neglected to address your point councilman Goldberg there is no impact with this budget transfer resolution to this year's budget because Surplus really is built from unspent funds in 2023 two years prior and anytime your revenues are greater that when you brought in so there's no direct impact on this transfer resolution on this year's budget okay I'm good I don't know if anyone else Mr clerk call the roll on five please thank you thank you so sorry mayor we have Deputy Mayor Belcher yes we have councilwoman G yes councilwoman goldbert yep councilman cats yes Deputy Mayor Oregon yes Council Pagan yes mayor Schwarz yes it's adopted thank you and Reverend I think the next step is a benediction to finish the meeting if I get that correctly Mr clerk yes take us home just on a a personal note before we close in prayer um I I know that each and every one of you sitting on the council has genuine concerns for community and I truly believe that there are many giftings that are before us um in the council your greatest influence is going to be in the chambers of the council how you interact with each other and how you put the agendas aside and just allow Divine wisdom to uh be a part of your meeting so congratulations to you all and thank you for your service to our community let us pray Lord I thank you for the council Lord that you provided for this town and Lord I just pray that as they interact with one another we've talked about collaboration we've talked about uh your agenda for the town Lord that you would help each and every one of them give them strength Divine wisdom Health as they do the business of the town uh to allow EK to flourish Lord so be with them and strengthen them now go with the community as we leave this place keep us safe and we ask this in your name Lord amen amen thank you okay with that I'll make a motion to adjourn the meeting second moot meetings all in favor I meeting is adjourned thank you very much and everyone thank you stay warm and with that the reorganization meeting has concluded family and friends we will see you January 14th at the first meeting of Our Town Council for real in 2025 it has been a pleasure full steam ahead everybody get home safe we will see you next time [Music] apprciate you you're a good man you're a good man good guy um like you're run what huh I'll be here before you bu get okay are you not gonna be here yeah I'm saying my guys will grab everything that's mine I mean you're right I'll go back otherwise step tonight I really don't want to give him my USB on my phone very little e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e